Seminar of the Slavic Minorities will guest the Folklorefestival

The intangible cultural heritage and support for the Minority SafePack Initiative are on the agenda.

Around 20 participants from 8 different countries are expected to attend the XX. Seminar of the Slavic minorities in Bautzen, Germany between the 22-25.06.2017.

Organized by the Domowina - the federation of Lusatian Sorbs under the umbrella of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), representatives of the Slavic minorities from all over Europe meet every year to discuss their concerns.

The seminar in 2017 is held simulatniously with the XII. International Folklore Festival Lausitz-Łužica, which is expected to host more than 1000 participants from different dance ensembles from Egypt, Norway, the USA, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Romania, Belarus, Italy, Colombia, Germany and Lausitz.

"The seminar is the annual highlight of the Slavic collaboration. The folklorefestival offers us the ideal setting to discuss the lively care of the rich cultural heritage belonging to our minorities and the possibility for future cooperation." Said the spokesperson of the Slavic Working Community, Bernhard Ziesch, FUEN Vice President and Chairperson of the Domowina.

The preservation of linguistic and cultural identity in the current political and social tense developments is a challenge for all minorities. The participants will therefore contribute actively to the colloquium with the topic “Integrating minorities into the tense field of preserving cultural identity.”

The program includes work meetings alternating with the participation in the program of the folklorefestival and excursions through ‘Upper Lusatia’ and ‘Lower Lusatia‘.

The seminar is accompanied by FUEN President Loránt Vincze, who will utilize the opportunity in order to present the European Citizens Initiative Minority SafePack. The initiative calls for protection of national minorities members and strengthening of the cultural and linguistic diversity in the EU. It forms a European framework for all minorities.

The initiative was already presented in early June by the Federal Government Commissioner for Resettlement and National Minorities, MP Hartmut Koschyk, in the German Bundestag and is regarded as the most far-reaching political initiative of the last 20 years in the field of European minority protection.

This year's seminar will be accompanied by the new project manager, Lusatian Sorb Theresia Lippitsch, who, in cooperation with the Domowina and FUEN, will support the large working community within the FUEN.