Autonomy and diversity – minority conference organized in the Italian Parliament

On the invitation of Daniel Alfreider, Chair of the Group of Linguistic Minorities in the Italian Parliament and FUEN Vice President, FUEN President Loránt Vincze participated on Wednesday, 19 October, at a conference in the Italian Parliament entitled “Autonomy and diversity – the challenge of multiculturalism in Italy and in the world”. The conference was co-organized by the IsAG (Institute for Studies of Geopolitics and Foreign Sciences) in partnership with the FUEN, and took place in the presence of the Vice President of the Italian Parliament Marina Sereni and deputy Secretary of State Gianclaudio Bressa. 

The conference organized at the Montecitorio Palace focused on minority protection systems from different countries of the world. International representatives presented and explored different minority protection models - legal, cultural and international - from in their own countries: India, Russia, Kazakhstan, several European countries and even from Québec, Canada. On behalf of IsAG, Alessandra Caruso presented a report on the “Ethnic minorities from the Arctic to Italy: a legal debate”.

In his introduction, Daniel Alfreider stated that peaceful coexistence between the language groups in South Tyrol might appear natural in the eyes of our generation, but it had to overcome historical phases, vetoes and prejudices, cultural and political opposition. At the beginning of the process any positive solution was denied, but in the end, the right for self-determination of the community was recognized.

"Europe experiences a worrying phenomenon: the rise of far-right movements and the spread of fear, induced by rising populism which aims to eliminate the presence/role of minorities. For this reason it is important to learn from each other. In particular, it is important that minorities who enjoy adequate protection put their experience at the disposal of those who still have to fight for recognition. Only by that we can honour the values that have allowed our ancestors to design and build a future, which does not belong only to a group, but to the whole community" – said Daniel Alfreider at the conference.

President Loránt Vincze praised the autonomy models as the highest level of appreciation of a state towards the minority groups on its territory and the best possible solution for long lasting peaceful co-existence in a region and state. “The autonomy solutions created in the 20th century proved that whenever certain minority groups questioned the legitimacy of the nation-state’s rule, autonomy was the answer as a compromise between majority and minority to keep the integrity of the state.” In his opinion, the Italian way that represents the right solution in the case of the German speaking community and the Ladins in South-Tyrol can be a model for many European states because it became an economic success story. 

The FUEN President criticized the states that were not able to start a discussion on autonomy: “Some nation-states of Europe, like Romania and Slovakia, still reject the idea of self-government for regions populated by minority groups, wrongly arguing that autonomy would be a form of ethnic separatism. They do not admit that autonomy is not a threat; it is a solution for managing and preventing conflicts arousing between the majority and the minorities. The principle of self-government should be valid for all people, not only for the state-building majorities (…)” stated Mr. Vincze. The FUEN President invited the participants to share the best practices by the force of the European minority solidarity, “because their homeland’s autonomy is an objective that many European minorities strive for”.