News from ECMI InfoChannel

2021-11-18

ECMI Minorities Blog. Native Others: What Implications Does the Law on Indigenous Peoples Have for Ukraine’s Indigenous Population?

In July 2021, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a Law on Indigenous Peoples. It provides a framework for the protection of the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Crimean Peninsula, namely Crimean Tatars, Karaites and Krymchaks, and excludes Mariupol Greeks as a minority potentially qualifying for the status of the fourth indigenous group residing outside of Crimea. What was the general context of the adoption of the Law? What rights does it envisage? And what could the Law potentially bring to the recognized indigenous peoples? This blog post attempts to answer these questions.

2021-11-15

JEMIE Call for Papers

The Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe (JEMIE) welcomes research articles, commentaries, and book reviews from practitioners, academics and students on all aspects of ethnopolitics and minority issues. The deadline for submissions for the next general issue is 15 January 2022.

2021-09-30

ECMI Minorities Blog. Less equal than others: National minorities and the overlooked challenge of socio-economic inequalities

Socio-economic inequalities are part and parcel of people’s everyday life in any society; yet for people who belong to ethnic, linguistic, religious, or cultural communities, these inequalities tend to be markedly greater than for others. Quite often, national minority communities face higher hurdles in accessing employment and gaining incomes on a par with those of the majority, and have lower access to adequate healthcare services, housing, education, or public services in general. And yet, a conversation about the socio-economic inequalities facing minority communities, the specific challenges they face, or the ways in which their participation might be improved is largely absent.

2021-09-20

Two more Anniversary Bundles are out.

After the release of our first thematic bundle Minorities in the Digital Age four weeks ago, the second thematic bundle Non-Territorial Autonomy and the third thematic bundle Self-Determination and Secession are now publicly accessible as well.

2021-09-10

The ECMI furthers its cooperation with the Schackenborg Foundation and the Danish Foreign Policy Society

On 16 September, a new panel discussion will be held at the Schackenborg Castle in Tønder, Denmark. Following last year’s celebrations of the 100^th anniversary of the Danish-German border region’s plebiscites, this panel discussion will focus on the future of the region. The geopolitical challenges which lie ahead of Germany and Denmark, their cooperation prospects and possible risks will be among the issues to discuss. Under the promising title “German and Danish Challenges – in European perspective”, the organisers have invited renowned discussants and experts.

2021-08-23

First of ECMI 25th Anniversary Publication Bundles Is Out

In December, the ECMI will have been opened for incredible twenty-five years. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the ECMI commissioned an analysis of its entire publication collection, aiming to identify key analytical areas, where the ECMI’s publications have had the most impact. The analysis singled out 10 themes which will be presented in thematic bundles every other week. The first thematic bundle 'Minorities in the Digital Age' follows this year Summer School's topic.

2021-08-23

The 11th Annual Summer School on Minorities in Border Regions Focuses on Minorities and Digitalisation

The Annual Summer School on National Minorities in Border Regions enters its 11th edition this year. Regarding the current Covid-19 pandemic and the rising use of online tools, this year´s topic ‘National Minorities and the New Digital Paradigm’ could not be more up to date

2021-08-19

Federal Government Commissioner Dr. Bernd Fabritius Visits ECMI HQ

On Tuesday, 17 August, the ECMI was honoured to welcome the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters Related to Ethnic German Resettlers and National Minorities Dr. Bernd Fabritius at its headquarters.

2021-08-04

ECMI Minorities Blog. Why Scottish and Welsh Speakers Will Miss European Structural Funds

In this blog piece Craig Willis investigates the contribution of European Structural and Investment Funds projects in the period between 2007-2013 and 2014-2020, in order to ascertain direct and indirect links to the four Celtic languages, following the separation of cultural funds from the ESIF into Creative Europe and Erasmus Plus from 2007. He shows that, given that the speakers of such languages often reside in economically peripheral areas (at least in higher percentage terms), their livelihoods and everyday culture in the traditional speaking areas (even for non-speakers) are affected by availability of structural funds.

2021-07-19

ECMI Minorities Blog. Identity Disputes and the EU Enlargement: The Case of North Macedonia

The Bulgarian veto on the EU membership negotiations with North Macedonia in 2020 has once again brought to attention the identity dispute between the two nations and the implications for the accession process. At the core of the dispute lies a rather static understanding of the nation: the fact that nation is a dynamic phenomenon is almost fully ignored in the political discourse, at least on the Bulgarian side. However, bringing identity disputes and the question of national minorities’ protection to the fore is an attempt to divert the public’s attention from state weakness and the reasons behind it, such as state capture, while the EU accession process gets instrumentalized once more.

2021-07-05

Call for Papers - Special Issue of JEMIE on Minority Language Media and Covid-19

The upcoming Special Issue of the Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe (JEMIE) intends to focus on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on minority language media (MLM). We therefore invite scholars to submit articles tackling particular issues or highlighting best practices concerning MLM during the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns.

2021-06-30

ECMI Conducted Training Workshop for Minority Organisations in Germany

Sharing knowledge and providing training in minority rights related issues is one of the main core activities of the ECMI. On 23-24 June the ECMI organised a training workshop for the minority organisations represented in the Minority Council (Minderheitenrat) in Germany. The workshop idea stemmed from the cooperation between the ECMI and the Minority Council (Minderheitenrat).

2021-06-24

ECMI Minorities Blog. Unable to Stay, Nowhere to Go: The Hidden Reality of LGBTIQ Homelessness in the European Union

June Pride Month has been one of the most celebrated dates worldwide over the past years. From 1969 onwards, LGBTIQ minorities have taken over the streets across the world to make their voices and claims heard, and to fight for full equality. Although many achievements have been made since then, important gaps still remain to be addressed when it comes to LGBTIQ rights in the European Union. This blog post sheds light on the hidden issue of LGBTIQ homelessness and looks at how the political environment in the EU during recent years has further impacted already vulnerable sexual and gender minorities.

2021-06-14

Busy Week for the ECMI Researchers

In spite of the fact that a significant number of academic events have been postponed or cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, our researchers do not just sit back and rest on their laurels. The research at the ECMI is still alive and shared with the interested audience during many online events such as online conferences, online talks, or online teaching modules. Networking and building partnerships, an inseparable part of the ECMI everyday life, has also moved to the online sphere and the ECMI keeps its presence at important high-level meetings where minority rights are discussed.

2021-06-06

Workshop Schedule Continued with Minority Rights and Social Movements Workshop in May

One of the more neglected dimensions in the study of minority protection, and human rights more broadly, relates to the contribution of social movements in bringing about legal and social change to minority protection norms and mechanisms. To respond to this gap, ECMI hosted an expert online workshop on 20-21 May 2021, convened by the Cluster on Culture and Diversity discussing the connections, actors and legal approaches connecting minority rights standards and local activism based on ethno-cultural identity claims.

2021-06-03

Online Talk "Can Minority Non-Territorial Autonomy Work in Practice?" Will Be Held on 9 June

The next online talk aims to explore potentials of non-territorial autonomy, core practical challenges, and prospects for better practical outreach (both widening and deepening) of the concept. It is structured around four main topics: the nexus/tension between the territorial and personal principles in the minority protection; labeling the concept as “autonomy”; membership; and competences: NTA institutions as minority agents.