Lo Schleswig-Holstein it is the northernmost part of the German-speaking area and the only one Land of the Federal Republic of Germany in which three national minorities live: the Danish minority, the Frisian ethnic group and the Sinti and Roma; in neighboring Denmark, in northern Schleswig, there is also a German minority. This is why, in this Land, issues relating to minorities are an important topic, also explored from a scientific point of view at the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI) in Flensburg. The independent, interdisciplinary research institute was founded in 1996 by Denmark, Germany and Schleswig-Holstein with the aim of increasing respect for diversity through greater awareness of minority rights and minority-related issues in all areas of society, and is committed to improving the situation of national minorities in Europe. Since 2009 it has had a cooperation agreement with Eurac Research Bolzano (photo credit Werth).
L’ECMI It was one of the stops of the delegation of the Council of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, led by President Arnold Schuler, who went to the area in recent days Schleswig-Holstein.
A Flensburg, councilor and councilors also met with representatives of the Sydslesvigsk Forening (Southern Schleswig Association), the main cultural organization of the Danish minority. The visit continued in Denmark, with stops at the Knivsberg training institute (in Rødekro), the German High School for Northern Schleswig, the Federation of Northern Schleswig Germans – the largest cultural body of the German minority in Denmark – and the editorial office and publishing house of “Der Nordschleswiger” (all in the city of Aabenraa), where the delegation met representatives of the German minority in southern Denmark.
The topic of minorities was also at the center of the conversation with the Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Günther and the Government representative for minorities, Johannes Callsen. In the Kiel Parliament, the South Tyrolean delegation was welcomed by the President of the Landtag Kristina Herbst and held talks with the Council of Elders, an advisory body which includes, in addition to the President of the Landtag and her deputies, a representative for each parliamentary group.
“Study trips like this one to Schleswig-Holstein”, so the president of the Schuler Provincial Council, “First of all, they promote the meeting between cultures: thanks to personal meetings with political representatives and local people, in fact, we were able to delve deeper into social and cultural specificities. The trip also gave me the opportunity to get to know my fellow councillors better beyond the daily council life, thus creating a basis for further joint initiatives”.
