The first ever meeting of the Non-Kinstate Working Group was concluded in Rome today

The constituent meeting of the Non-Kinstate Working Group inside of the FUEN took place in Rome between the 6th and 8th of November 2017. The agenda consisted of three different working sessions. The founding of this working group has been a long-term objective of several FUEN member organisations.

During his welcoming speech President of the FUEN Loránt Vincze underlined the importance of European protection for minorities without a kin-state. “You are the language groups which need the most help to be able to pass on your culture and your language to the next generations. Many of the proposals of the Minority SafePack Initiative are about the lesser used languages, the non-official languages of the EU. The EU should become a overarching kin-state for you” – he said, referring to the European Citizen’s Initiative asking for a legislative framework for the protection of minorities at the European Union level.

It is a great opportunity to have this meeting here in Rome – stated President Vincze. The city of Rome was deliberately chosen for the founding meeting, since the Ladins – FUEN members and a minority without a kin-state – are facing a historic moment, which is a perfect role-model situation for others. The Italian Parliament has drafted a constitutional law, which will be adopted in the upcoming weeks. This so called 'Ladin Law' aims to finally eliminate the discrimination against the Ladin minority that still exists in the South Tyrol Statute of Autonomy.

FUEN Vice President and Member of the Italian Parliament Daniel Alfreider presented the Ladin minority of Italy, a community of 35,000 people, characterised by divisions and fragmentation. His presentation at the meeting was followed by an exchange of experiences and a discussion between organisational leaders. Each individual organisation must deal with different realities and challenges in their respective region, but there are also many similarities. The organisations can learn from each others experiences considerably. This was the conclusion from one of the working sessions. The Non-Kinstate Working Group members unanimously elected Daniel Alfreider as the spokesperson.

The working group decided to announce its strategy in the upcoming months. The main topics of cooperation will be language support, digitalisation, a European level lobby work, as well as learning about other working groups’ experiences and expertise.  

Minorities participating in the Non-Kinstate Working Group meeting were: the Sorbians and North Frisians from Germany, the Ladins from Italy, the Roma from Macedonia, the Yenish from Switzerland, the Aromanians from Romania, the Crimean Tatars and the Ruthenians from Ukraine, as well as the Meskhetian Turks and the Lezghins from Russia.

The project was supported by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and funded by the Federal Republic of Germany.