Added Value of Minorities

PRESS RELEASE

pfingstseminar2008With huge success the largest European minority youth organisation, the Youth of European Nationalities (YEN) carried through its Whitsun Seminar 2008 in the Danish town of Gravenstein/Gråsten from 7-12 May. The hosts of the seminar with over 120 participants from all over Europe were Junge SPitzen and DJN – Deutscher Jugendverband für Nordschleswig. Both organisations represent the German minority from south Denmark in YEN.

The purpose of the seminar was amongst other things to raise awareness for the added value of minorities. The basis for this action was the competence analysis, commissioned by the Schleswig Holstein State parliament, which investigates the minorities as standort-factor in the German Danish border region. The analysis was presented for the first time at the YEN seminar. In the analysis by the European Academy EURAC in Bolzano the political, economic, social and cultural competences of the minorities are being presented and recommendations for the future of the border region are being made. The competence analysis should serve as an instrument for the development of the multilingual region and also convince other regions to investigate the added value of their multilingualism. In a resolution of YEN and Junge SPitzen attention was raised for the competence analysis and was called for a study after the added value of minorities in Europe.
Another topic during the seminar was the Organisation Development of YEN. After one and a half year work on changes in the structure of the network, a Youth Leader Committee was elected at the General Assembly, which consists of three working groups that enlarge the presidium. In the coming pilot year the new structures will be evaluated and finally be established. Already now the new structure shows some success, because of the involvement of over 30 committed young people from various European minorities.

The old members of the presidium: president Aleksander Studen-Kirchner (Slovenian from Austria), vice-president Christiana Walde (Sorbian from Germany), treasurer Katalin Sebök (German from Hungary) and secretary Arkadiusz Luba (German from Poland) were said goodbye by the General Assembly with a standing ovation.

As the new president Frisian Hester Knol was elected. The other newly elected presidium members are Benjamin Roszenich (Burgendland Croat from Austria) as vice-president and Commissioner for Communication, Jože Jeraj (Carinthian Slovene from Austria) as treasurer, Andrea Kluknavska (German from Slovakia) as secretary and Commissioner for Enlargement, Igor Guizzardi (German from South Tyrol) as Commissioner for Politics and Dajana Horvat (Hungarian from Serbia) as Chair of the Youth Leader Committee.

During the General Assembly Aleksander Studen-Kirchner signed together with the president of FUEN, Hans Heinrich Hansen, the document to found a Dialogue Forum with the Intergroup for Minorities in the European Parliament. YEN will be represented in the Dialogue Forum by the new president Hester Knol as well as by Christiana Walde.

During the General Assembly the Croat youth association in the Vojvodina (CroV) and the Aromanian Youth Council (CTArm) reached the status of ordinary member of YEN. The Vlach Youth Council from Macedonia became extraordinary member.

YEN asked attention for the Aromanian minority in Romania and in the Balkans with a resolution about the situation of the Aromanians. In a resolution about the solidarity with migrants YEN promises to discuss the issue of the new minorities more intensively.

During the seminar days all the participants were involved in a simulation, in which they had to slip into the roles of various actors in the European minority field, which came to a climax at a (fictional) hearing in the European Parliament.

The simulation was supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe and developed with the support of BildungsSpektrum and FUEN.

The end of the week was a celebration party on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Junge SPitzen.

Source: YENI.org

Comments are closed.