Questions concerning the rights of minorities and the preservation of social cohesion in ethnically diverse societies are among the most salient on the political agenda of many states. The growing diversity of national communities has generated pressures for states to create and adopt new models to accommodate diversity.

On 27 February 2015, from 9 am to 6 pm at EURAC, the Institute for Minority Rights organizes a workshop focusing on opportunities, challenges and synergies related to protection and inclusion of “new” and “old” minorities.
A group of 15 international social scientists will discuss questions such as:
Can migrant communities be compared to ‘old’ minorities? What are the differences and similarities concerning their claims, needs and priorities? 
What are the theoretical and concrete challenges as well as opportunities in extending minority policies to ‘new’ minorities? 
What are the concrete rights that can be demanded by, and granted to, different minority groups?

The workshop will be held in English and is targeted at practitioners and researchers. All activities are free of charge, but registration via email (johanna.mitterhofer@eurac.edu) is required.

The workshop is organized by EURAC together with The University of Turin (Dipartimento di culture, politica e società) and ArleF – Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The topic is particularly relevant because many European states have already adopted comprehensive protection mechanisms for ‘old’ or ‘autochthonous’ minorities, but are still lacking efficient and solid policies for the integration of the ‘new minorities’ resulting from migration. Thus, the question emerges whether traditional instruments of minority protection might be useful to manage diversity arising from migration.

Most international instruments on migrants’ rights contain only weak and very ambivalent references to rights related to identity and diversity. In this regard, applying well-tested policies to ‘new minorities’ could be a decisive step forward for their inclusion. However, the conviction that both old and new minority groups share some basic common claims does not mean that all minority groups have the same rights and legitimate claims.

An additional special focus of the workshop are old and new minorities that share the cultural, linguistic, or religious backgrounds, as is the case of the Albanian-speaking Arbëreshë community in Southern Italy and ‘new’ Albanian migrants. By comparing analogies and differences in terms of language protection, religious rights, and other safeguards that exist for these communities, potential synergies that facilitate enhanced protection and inclusion might emerge.

For further information: johanna.mitterhofer@eurac.edu

http://www.eurac.edu/en/research/autonomies/minrig/Pages/newsdetails.aspx?entryid=150821