FUEN speaks at conference about diasporas in the European Parliament

On Monday 2 May 2016, FUEN participated in the end conference of the project “A Europe of Diasporas”. The project was an initiative of organisations of the Jewish, Roma, Armenian and Assyrian diasporas in Europe. FUEN legal/policy advisor Frank de Boer spoke at the panel “A New, Inclusive Narrative for Europe”, which focused on the stories that are told in society, for example during history lessons in schools. In many cases diasporas do not have a place in the stories told in schoolbooks, in de media or in popular culture.

FUEN advisor Frank de Boer said: “although most of the European states have committed them through legal instruments such as the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities to take measures to foster knowledge of the culture, history, language and religion of their national minorities and of the majority, in practice there is a significant lack of knowledge and understanding in many European countries about the existence and cultures of minorities. This lack of knowledge is also a problem for most of the diasporas that are united in the network, and hampers the recognition of these minorities.” 

Typically, diasporas are groups of minorities that share a common cultural heritage transmitted through generations and are dispersed over many different countries. De Boer: “Most of the autochthonous national minorities that are united in FUEN are not considering themselves as a diaspora. However, in many cases, the groups around which the project was built face similar challenges as most of the members of FUEN do.”

The conference was the concluding event of a EU-sponsored project to establish a network of European diasporas. It aimed at promoting a better understanding of diasporas and addressing issues that different diasporas have in common. 

More information about the project:
A Europe of Diasporas