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.

Similar to the past few years, the 11th Summer School on National Minorities in Border Regions is co-organised by the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI) and the European think tank Coppieters Foundation. This year, the Annual Summer School takes place at the Danish Central Library in Flensburg on 22-29 August 2021. 

In eight intensive days, the participants will acquire profound knowledge in the field of minority issues and confront their expertise with the latest changes and challenges for minorities regarding the ongoing process of digitalisation. The 23 participants come from around all the world and many of them are members of different minorities themselves. After making sure that they met the current Covid-related entry requirements, they all arrived in Flensburg on Sunday ready for the intensive week-long programme.

The lecturers and trainers of the Summer School are equally as diverse as the group of participants. Besides the ECMI researchers, many external guests will also share their expertise representing different EU initiatives or human rights organizations such as the MAMA (Measuring anti-Muslim Attacks) or the No Hate Speech Network. Local minority experts will also be involved, for example, Hauke Heyen, researcher of the Frisian Institute of the Europa-Universität Flensburg, and Gwyn Nissen, editor-in-chief of the local minority Newspaper Nordschleswiger (full programme below).

Despite coming from very different academic backgrounds, the speakers of the Annual Summer school on National Minorities in Border Regions have one research interest in common - they all deal with the subject of minorities and new technologies. Through exciting lectures, presentations, and debates, different research angles and initiatives on the topic will be introduced.

Apart from the theoretical part, the programme also involves several interactive activities, such as a day trip to Denmark. The participants will go to Apenrade and Sonderborg where they will visit the publishing house of the minority Newspaper Nordschleswiger and the German museum.