FUEN Congress 2025 to take place in Bozen/Bulsan/Bolzano

This autumn, Bozen/Bulsan/Bolzano in South Tyrol will become the meeting place for Europe’s minorities: From 23 to 26 October, we invite you to the 69th FUEN Annual Congress in the capital of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol in northern Italy. Representatives of the autochthonous national minorities, nationalities and language groups from across Europe are expected to attend.

This year’s FUEN Congress is hosted by the South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP). As an umbrella party for ethnic groups, the SVP represents the interests of the German- and Ladin-speaking population in South Tyrol, a region renowned throughout Europe for its linguistic and cultural diversity. The congress will focus on discussions about current developments in minority policy, encounters with the host region and its models for minority protection, as well as the future development of FUEN.

“It is a great pleasure for us to once again host this important gathering after 2013. South Tyrol, often referred to as a ‘small Europe within Europe’, stands like no other region for cultural diversity and lived multilingualism”, says Daniel Alfreider, FUEN Vice President as well as Deputy Governor of South Tyrol and Regional Councillor for Ladin Education and Culture, Mobility, Infrastructure.

Loránt Vincze, Member of the European Parliament and FUEN President, also emphasises the importance of the location: “South Tyrol is a role model for minority protection throughout Europe. It shows not only that such protection is possible, but that it is worthwhile. Minorities do not take anything away from the majority; on the contrary, they create added value – culturally, linguistically and economically. The South Tyrolean experience deserves to be replicated.”

The organisation and implementation of the 2025 FUEN Congress is supported by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior based on a resolution of the German Bundestag.