News from the ECMI InfoChannel

2025-01-13

Ein Study-Visit in die Grenzregion Deutschland-Dänemark

Eine Studienreise in das Deutsch-Dänische Grenzland bot neun serbischen Beamten letztes Jahrdie Möglichkeit, Einblicke in die Minderheitenschutzpraktiken der Region zu gewinnen, und inspirierte beide Seiten. Auf der Agenda für den Besuch standen u.a. ein Treffen mit dem Minderheitenbeauftragten und seinem Team in der Staatskanzlei und anschließender Diskussion mit dem Europa-Ausschuss, ein Besuch bei der dänischen und deutschen Minderheit, dem dänischen Generalkonsulat in Flensburg und einer Tour durch das deutsche Museum in Sønderborg (DK) sowie ein Treffen mit dem Landesverband deutscher Sinti und Roma. Besonders das geltende Prinzip der Gesinnungsangehörigkeit sorgte bei den Teilnehmern während des Aufenthalts für Verblüffung. Wir haben Jelena Mihajlov, die lokale Projektmanagerin für das Projekt „Schutz von Minderheiten für den EU-Beitritt“ über den Study Visit interviewt.

2025-01-10

Forschung und Aktion bezüglich des Minderheitenschutzes in Serbien

Seit letztem Jahr beschäftigt sich ein ExpertInnen-Team des ECMI intensiv mit einem Projekt in Serbien, welches von der Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) gefördert wird. Hintergrund des Projektes ist Serbiens Antrag auf EU-Beitritt und der damit verbundene stärkere Fokus auf Minderheitenschutz.

Wir haben die Forschungsbereichsleiterin Dr. Ljubica Djordjević interviewt.

2024-12-23

The ECMI holds an official side-event on minority language media at the 2024 UN Forum for Minority Issues in Geneva, together with the European Language Equality Network

As part of the 17^th session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues, held in Geneva on 28-29 November, researchers from the ECMI organised a side-event on minoritised language media together with the European Language Equality Network (ELEN). Speakers included the ECMI’s Sergiusz Bober and Craig Willis, as well as the UN Special Rapporteur Nicolas Levrat, Davyth Hicks and Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones of ELEN and also Elena Jiménez i Botías of Omnium Cultural – also an ELEN member as is the ECMI.

2024-12-17

ECMI Minorities Blog. How Public Service Media Enriches Learning For and About Sweden's National Minorities

Maarit Jaakkola

The performance of public service media is typically assessed through journalistic products and activities such as news articles and reporting. However, it often goes unnoticed that a significant portion of public service media output consists of less time-sensitive materials which can be utilized as educational resources, comparable to textbooks and other pedagogical materials. One of the three Swedish public broadcasting companies, Educational Radio (UR) is a central producer of teaching and learning resources for the national minority languages: Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani chib, Sámi, and Yiddish. These public service media products also largely compensate for the lack of textbooks and other formal learning materials in these languages.

2024-12-10

Exploring the Digital Transition for Minority Language Media in Italy and Germany

From December 2nd to 5th, 2024, Villa Vigoni, located on the scenic Lake Como, hosted the conference “The Digital Transition for Minority Language Media in Italy and Germany: A Knowledge Exchange with European Partners”. Co-organized by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) and Eurac Research, this event brought together researchers, practitioners, and media experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities of digitalization for minority language media (MLM).

2024-12-09

New Book Explores the Impact of War on Ethno-Cultural Minorities in Ukraine

In November 2024, Routledge published the edited volume Minorities at War: Cultural Identity and Resilience in Ukraine, edited by Elmira Muratova and Nadia Zasanska. The volume is a direct outcome of an expert workshop, The War in Ukraine and its Impact on Ethno-Religious Minorities in the Region, held at the ECMI in May 2023.

2024-11-26

ECMI Minorities Blog. Choosing Nonviolence in a Violent World: The Zapatista Struggle Thirty Years On

Barbora Valik

In 1994, the Zapatista uprising in southeastern Mexico captured global attention with its defiant cry “¡Ya basta!” (enough is enough). The rebellion became a landmark event. With the support of civil society and mass nonviolent mobilisations, the Zapatistas brought unprecedented attention to the harsh conditions many Indigenous peoples endure. Thirty years later, Indigenous communities in Chiapas continue to face significant challenges, from economic megaprojects to organised crime and deteriorating violence. In late 2023, the Zapatistas announced changes to their organisational structures in the hope of improving the communities’ ability to tackle such challenges. This blog post explores the motivations behind those changes, their impact on the Zapatistas' relations with the outside world, and the lasting importance of civil society in the current violent context. The Zapatista movement offers valuable insights into the power of networks and nonviolence, extending lessons far beyond Mexico.

2024-11-20

Radio Interview: ECMI researcher Maddi Dorronsoro Olamusu about her research project on Basque

Our colleague Maddi Dorronsoro Olamusu was recently interviewed by Segura Irratia, a local Basque radio station primarily broadcasting in the province of Gipuzkoa and surrounding areas, with online accessibility as well. Their programme ‘Bixi bixi’ discusses various topics related to the Basque language and the interview with Maddi was aired on 13 November. The radio host asked about the ECMI and the reception of her project on Basque at the centre, the presence of Basque in the minority language scene, and different aspects of her research project. As the interview was conducted in Basque, we have provided a summary in English.

2024-11-11

ECMI Minorities Blog. The Diverse Ways of Managing the Language Question in Finnish-Swedish Sport

Sami Koskelainen

Swedish is one of Finland’s two official languages, but it is spoken as a mother tongue only by a minority. Finland’s language policy has traditionally been founded on separate language-specific institutions. This principle is also evident in sports, where Finnish-Swedes generally established their own clubs separate from the language majority. This blog post investigates how Finland’s language policy and linguistic relations have been manifested historically and contemporarily in Finnish-Swedish sports. On one hand, Finnish-Swedish sports have national structures and organisations, giving Svenskfinland a tangible presence in the sporting world. On the other hand, Finnish-Swedish clubs each have to negotiate local linguistic contexts in their own way. In bilingual areas with relatively equally sized language communities, cooperation has recently prevailed over animosity – language difference has been something to overcome rather than stubbornly uphold.

2024-11-05

Exploring Crimean Tatar Resilience: Insights from the ECMI-ZOiS-IWM Workshop

Elmira Muratova recently took part in the workshop “New Research on Crimean Tatars: Post-2014 Challenges and Strategies,” organized by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) in collaboration with the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) and the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM).

2024-11-03

Kongehusets forhold til mindretallet er usvækket

Der var store håb og forventninger, da kong Frederik X aflagde sit første statsbesøg i Tyskland den 21. - 22. oktober 2024.

En ny monark på tronen kan dog altid vække lidt usikkerhed. Margrethe var dronning i 52 år. Den stabilitet og styrke, hendes støtte gav til mindretallet, skulle nu videreføres af hendes søn; men ville kong Frederik bekræfte Danmarks og monarkiets fortsatte støtte på samme vis?

Læs den nyeste kronik af vores kollega Erik Kühl (udgivet i Flensborg Avis den 2. November 2024)

2024-10-23

ECMI staff presents at the International Symposium on Language Ideologies and Attitudes (IDEOLING) in Palma de Mallorca

It was the first symposium of its kind, fully focused on language attitudes and ideologies. The event was filled with experts and young researchers in the field, offering a great opportunity for networking and exchanging ideas.

2024-10-16

PLURILINGMEDIA’s First Management Committee Meeting: Setting the Path for Advancing Linguistic Plurality in European Media

The first Management Committee (MC) meeting of the PLURILINGMEDIA Action (CA23105) was held on October 2, 2024, at the COST Association headquarters in Brussels. This gathering marks a key moment in the initiative’s journey to protect and promote linguistic plurality in Europe’s rapidly changing media landscape. Spearheaded by the ECMI, the Action seeks to tackle the challenges posed by digitalisation and the dominance of larger languages in the media, and to support the use of regional and minority languages.

2024-10-15

Workshop zur Soziolinguistik des Nordfriesischen

In der ersten Oktoberwoche war es endlich soweit: Das ECMI hat bei dem Workshop “Die Soziolinguistik des Nordfriesischen” über 50 Teilnehmer*innen aus der Region zusammengebracht. ECMI-Forscherin und Friesisch-Expertin Ruth Kircher organisierte dieses Treffen, bei dem Forscher*innen, Student*innen, Lehrkräfte und andere Interessierte einen ganzen Tag lang Spracheinstellungen, Sprachwahrnehmungen und Sprachgebrauch im Bezug auf das Nordfriesische diskutierten. Die Teilnehmer*innen reisten sowohl von den Inseln als auch vom Festland an. Vertreten waren dabei verschiedene Institutionen und Organisationen, darunter die Europa-Universität Flensburg, die Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, die Ferring Stiftung, das Nordfriisk Instituut und die Friisk Foriining.

2024-10-14

ECMI Minorities Blog. Stirring the Pot: Kneecap, Radical Politics and Nurturing the Irish Language

Sophia McDonald

Northern Irish hip hop group Kneecap have been causing controversy as they have rose to fame. At the core of their music is the fight to keep the Irish language alive. They have made waves in music scenes across the world and in doing so, they have given young Northern Irish people a voice when representation has become so important. However, they satirise Unionist politics and for some, stir up painful memories of violence which plagued Northern Ireland up until the 1990s. This blogpost explores Kneecap’s provocative politics and their fight for Irish language rights in Northern Ireland via controversial performances, imagery and lyrics. Speaking to the post-peace generation, Kneecap have been injecting energy into Irish speaking youth, but is their approach making new progress or turning back the clock?

2024-10-10

Vortrag von Senior Researcher Felix Schulte bei der „Langen Nacht der Demokratie“ in Flensburg

Vortrag von Senior Researcher Felix Schulte bei der „Langen Nacht der Demokratie“ in Flensburg

Am 2. Oktober 2024 hielt Senior Researcher Felix Schulte einen Vortrag im Rahmen der „Langen Nacht der Demokratie“ im „Bildung(s)Laden“ der Volkshochschule Flensburg (vhs). Die Veranstaltung, die erstmals in Schleswig-Holstein stattfand, bot Raum für Austausch und Diskussionen über die Bedeutung der Demokratie.

Public Lecture by Senior Researcher Felix Schulte at the "Long Night of Democracy" in Flensburg

On October 2, 2024, Senior Researcher Felix Schulte delivered a lecture during the “Long Night of Democracy” at the "Bildung(s)Laden" of the Volkshochschule Flensburg (vhs). The event, held for the first time in Schleswig-Holstein, provided a platform for discussions and exchanges on the significance of democracy.