Special Meeting in Budapest

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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 09:41:28 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: Special Meeting in Budapest

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Dimitrijs Alehins <[email protected]>

Special Meeting in Budapest


Dear colleagues,
 
it is becoming a tradition that I am reporting on gatherings on the
problematiques of MINELRES.
 
19-20 June, European Foundation Centre (Brussels) in cooperation with
the European House Hungary conducted a Special Meeting of the EFC's
Minority Interest Working Group in Budapest. Participation in the
Special Meeting was most East Central European. As co-chairman, Ms.
Gunilla Hellman (Finland's Swedish Culture Foundation) was running the
event. Latvia was represented by two people, however was the only
Baltic state taking part in the meeting.
 
The main focus of the meeting was on experiences of NGOs operating in
this area in CEE countries. The Roma-issues got the highest
priorities, however, no Roma was there.

Unfortunately, I have no information about any previous sessions of
the EFC's Minority Interest Working Group or whether this group has a
permanent membership.
 
It was not specially emphasised, but I may conclude that the main
concern that EFC may have within the area of NGO work with minotrities
is to find out how efficient international funding can be there and
what project are most likely to fund.
 
I am glad that colleagues at the Meeting supported the idea to discuss
the issue of education for further meetings of the Working Group and
maybe also for the Annual Meeting of the EFC on 9 November in Torino
(Italy): "educating majority - the way of protecting minorities".
 
Hopefully, the ideas that the organisers tried to get from the
participants of the Meeting was meant for further use in collaboration
with the NGOs concerned and wider and not merely for the confirmation
of an agenda written beforehand. Hopefully, funders will find it
appropriate to consider possible solution that could play a key role
to many other problems without focusing on particular ethnic groups in
the regions, as the historic backgrounds of inter-ethnic troubles in
the CEE region proves very similar: intolerance of the majority,
arbitrariness in ethnic policies of the communist regimes and those
before the communist era, the language and education issue, the role
of the states "of origin of the minorities".
 
I may sound inexperienced in certain issues, however, I have got used
to what "we" (at the international levels, especially of the
"policy-makers") in many cases find urgent is to heal evident problems
of a minority, which I see as a very wrong and even harmful approach,
as it can provide merely short-term remedy. In the longer run,
focusing on the problems of the minority may evoke negative feelings
within the majority if it is not educated. Moreover, the
minority-focused approach implies the principle of "the majority is
always right" and that the minority is the only one who causes the
trouble. We all know that it is very far from being the truth.

I think, the way of understanding of civil society as a integrated and
inclusive society is now rapidly developing in Latvia after having a
series of official gatherings as a productive output of "voicing"
people's opinions on the streets in the spring in Latvia. This
development is quite healthy: discussion in the society without being
afraid of naming the thing with their own names is the best what the
"Russian Spring activism" may end up with. This is the most
appropriate way of responding to emerging conflict. If it is so, the
process is to be continued.
 
That is why I see training in conflict resolution, multiculturalism
and diversified membership for representatives of the majority and
minorities is the best what an NGO could contribute within the social
discussion. To keep discussion on, knock to doors of politicians,
media - to get them out of their shells to teach them responsibility,
co(!!)-responsibility.

Dim Alehins
Riga, Latvia

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