Sunday afternoon, 9 August 2015. After successful application process and long travel, international students from 11 different countries have gathered in Jaruplund Højskole to participate in ECMI Summer School 2015 on National Minorities and Border Regions.
Following the opening notes by Prof. Dr. Tove Malloy, Director of ECMI Flensburg, the programme was kicked off with a keynote speech delivered by Prof. Will Kymlicka, live from Canada via Skype connection. The keynote speech focused on a concept of multiculturalism and solidarity in diverse societies. Asking whether minority protection weaken national solidarity and welfare state, the keynote offered innovative approach to the issue and opened a floor for discussions to the participants of the summer school.
The keynote was followed by a panel discussion, composed by Prof. Tove Malloy (ECMI), Prof. David Galbreath (University of Bath), Prof. Michal Vasecka (Masaryk Univesity in Brno), Dr. Raul Carstocea (ECMI). Discussions were controversial, engaging panelists, students and touched upon the topics such as: populism, neoliberalism, social inclusion and minority protection regime.
In the end of the Day 1 participants were engaged in the icebreaking session, where they had a chance to get to know each other in an informal setting and find out about aims and expectations of others from the ECMI Summer School 2015.
Prof. Will Kymlicka addresses the students of ECMISuS15 live from Canada
About the Summer School
With a general theme of the ECMI Summer School: National Minorities and Border Regions, the focus of this year’s programme is “Changing order and new insecurities in Europe and its neighborhood: impact on national minorities”. International scholars and practitioners have joined the ECMI team to deliver academic lectures and seminars. As part of the ECMI Summer School annual programme, the participants will explore the Danish-German border region, its history and minority institutions. During an interactive two-day workshop on Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations of 1955 the participants will learn about the region and engage in a simulation exercise supervised by Prof. Tove Malloy. The highlight of the summer school is an online keynote address delivered by Prof. Will Kymlicka, prominent contemporary philosopher from Canada. The group will also visit Dybbøl Museum, Deutsche Bucherei Nordschleswig in Apenrade and city of Flensburg, in addition to the social events planned throughout the week.
Participants
The ECMI Summer School participants are junior scholars, practitioners, young and outstanding representatives of academia, media, NGO sector, public bodies, and professionals from the ethnically diverse and conflict sensitive regions from all over the world. This year the summer school will host participants from: Belarus, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Iran, Italy, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine.
Partners
ECMI Summer School is honored to have a support from our regional partners; within the frameworks of the Summer School, the ZEIT Stiftung Ebeling und Gerd Bucerius offers two scholarships to the participants from Eastern European countries. As a result, two young scholars with excellent academic backgrounds: Anastasia Bezverkha (Ukraine) and Vasil Navumau (Belarus) were chosen to join the course.
The two-day simulation exercise and related academic lectures, interactive activities, trips to the border region are made possible with the financial support of the office of Schleswig Holstein Minister-President.
The ECMI Summer School 2015 is hosted by the Jaruplund Højskole. The certificates will be awarded at the Flensburg City Hall.
Further information
The further details on the course (academic contents, activities, participants, speakers and the agenda) can be found in the Extended Brochure.
Please use the Twitter hashtag #ECMISuS15 to get updates live from the course throughout the week.
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Also interesting:
ECMI web-page about the ECMI Summer Schools
Feedback from the participants on the ECMI Summer School 2014
Movie about the ECMI Summer School 2013
Other announcements about the ECMI Summer Schools
Source: ECMI InfoChannel @ European Centre for Minority Issues.
