The first regional conference of FUEN on the Right to Education took place together with the YOU!MM Minority Marathon in Flensburg, in the German-Danish border region.
In the presence of vice prime minister and education minister of Schleswig-Holstein Mrs Ute Erdsiek-Rave and former Danish minister and member of the Folketing Mr. Frode Sørensen, representatives of Sorbs, Frisians, of the German minority in Denmark and the Danish minority in Germany discussed their education systems in a round-table discussion.
The round-table conference, which was preceded by welcoming words and presentations, and in which more than 120 guests were participating, was linked to the "Right to Education for the autochthonous national minorities in Europe" that was adopted by FUEN. Education is regarded as a challenge for society in the 21st century, which also creates the basis for the continued existence of minorities and the identity formation of each individual person who belongs to a minority.
Moreover this conference led to a "historical meeting". Never before the minorities in Germany and in Denmark exchanged and expressed their views and experiences about a subject in this way. In the run-up to the conference already some people met on the initiative of FUEN for a small group discussion.
All the speakers saw as important subjects the necessity of co- and self-determination in the education field, implementation of lifelong learning into holistic education systems, which have an important identity forming effect, as well as the contribution of education for peaceful coexistence between people belonging to a minority and the majority population. In this context, language education in the minority language is held in particular high esteem and is regarded as a regional richness seen from the background of the European standard of early bi- and multilingualism.
In the presence of vice prime minister and education minister of Schleswig-Holstein Mrs Ute Erdsiek-Rave and former Danish minister and member of the Folketing Mr. Frode Sørensen, representatives of Sorbs, Frisians, of the German minority in Denmark and the Danish minority in Germany discussed their education systems in a round-table discussion.
The round-table conference, which was preceded by welcoming words and presentations, and in which more than 120 guests were participating, was linked to the "Right to Education for the autochthonous national minorities in Europe" that was adopted by FUEN. Education is regarded as a challenge for society in the 21st century, which also creates the basis for the continued existence of minorities and the identity formation of each individual person who belongs to a minority.
Moreover this conference led to a "historical meeting". Never before the minorities in Germany and in Denmark exchanged and expressed their views and experiences about a subject in this way. In the run-up to the conference already some people met on the initiative of FUEN for a small group discussion.
All the speakers saw as important subjects the necessity of co- and self-determination in the education field, implementation of lifelong learning into holistic education systems, which have an important identity forming effect, as well as the contribution of education for peaceful coexistence between people belonging to a minority and the majority population. In this context, language education in the minority language is held in particular high esteem and is regarded as a regional richness seen from the background of the European standard of early bi- and multilingualism.
