European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)

12/06/2026

Heute, Morgen und Sonntag laden wir euch herzlich zur Kurzfilmtour bei uns ein. Wir haben ein tollen Film von einem estnischen Regisseur zu zeigen und freuen uns über euren Besuch 🍿🎥 danke an Flensburger Kurzfilmtage für diese Möglichkeit

11/06/2026

Q&A #8: How do minority language restrictions lead to violent civil conflict?

In our Q&A series we interview a wide range of experts in minority issues and explore diverse topics related to national minorities in Europe. In Q&A #8, Dr. Felix Schulte, senior researcher at the ECMI, interviews Dr. Matthias vom Hau. Dr. Matthias vom Hau is an associate professor of comparative politics at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). His work focuses on the intersections of identity politics, institutions, and development, and he recently served as the Principal Investigator for ETHNICGOODS - an ERC-funded project on global nation-building.

More about the ETHICGOODS project:

https://nation-building-research.github.io/

New publications:

https://nation-building-research.github.io/publications.html

More about Matthias vom Hau:

https://www.ibei.org/en/matthias-vom-hau_14331?

05/06/2026

Q&A #7: What were the key goals and targets of the ERC Ethnic Goods project?

In our Q&A series we interview a wide range of experts in minority issues and explore diverse topics related to national minorities in Europe.

In Q&A #7, Dr. Felix Schulte, senior researcher at the ECMI, interviews Dr. Matthias vom Hau.

Matthias is an associate professor of comparative politics at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). His work focuses on the intersections of identity politics, institutions, and development, and he recently served as the Principal Investigator for ETHNICGOODS - an ERC-funded project on global nation-building.

Find out more about the ETHICGOODS project:
https://nation-building-research.github.io/

Find out more about Matthias vom Hau:
https://www.ibei.org/en/matthias-vom-hau_14331?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nHkn6y-MGI4

In our Q&A series we interview a wide range of experts in minority ...

05/06/2026

Save the date!

Wir laden euch am 10. Juni um 19:30 Uhr zu einem Vortragsabend über die Friesische Freiheit in Nordfriesland ein.

Referent ist Dr. Christoph G. Schmidt, Direktor des in Bredstedt. Im Mittelpunkt seines Vortrags steht die Siebenhardenbeliebung von 1426, eines der bedeutendsten historischen Dokumente der Region.

An diesem Abend zeigt Christoph G. Schmidt die Unterschiede zwischen den historischen Fakten und der späteren Legendenbildung auf. Dabei verdeutlicht er, dass die „Friesische Freiheit“ kein abstrakter Mythos war, sondern ein mühsam errungenes Recht der lokalen Gemeinschaften, ihre Angelegenheiten und Besitztümer eigenständig zu verwalten. Dieses historische Erbe wirkt bis in die Gegenwart nach.

Alle Interessierten sind herzlich eingeladen:

📆 Mittwoch, 10. Juni 2026

🕖 19:30 Uhr

📍Ferring Stiftung, Hauptstraße 7, Alkersum

Der Eintritt ist frei, über eine Spende freuen wir uns.

Vortrag
Nordfriesland
Ferring Stiftung

03/06/2026

What were the key goals and targets of the ERC Ethnic Goods project? In Q&A #7, Dr. Felix Schulte, senior researcher at the ECMI, interviews Dr. Matthias vom Hau. Matthias is an associate professor of comparative politics at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). His work focuses on the intersections of identity politics, institutions, and development, and he recently served as the Principal Investigator for ETHNICGOODS - an ERC-funded project on global nation-building.

01/06/2026

Philosophie Mittenmang: Gastfreundschaft in ungastlichen Zeiten 🏠🤝

Im Rahmen der Reihe Philosophie Mittenmang, organisiert vom Philosophischen Seminar der Europa-Universität Flensburg, laden wir euch herzlich ein, gemeinsam mit Moritz Riemann (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel) über dieses aktuelle Thema zu diskutieren.

📅 Wann: Mittwoch, 03.06.2026 | 18:15–19:45 Uhr
📍 Wo: European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), Schiffbrücke 12, 24939 Flensburg

Alle Interessierten sind herzlich eingeladen! Der Eintritt ist frei.

Wir freuen uns auf eure Perspektiven und einen spannenden Austausch! 🗣️✨

https://www.uni-flensburg.de/forschung/wissenstransfer/wissenschaftsdialog/philosophie-mittenmang

29/05/2026

Join us for the upcoming ECMI Research Seminar featuring Yair Sapir on June 4, 2026, at 02:00 PM (CEST)

We are pleased to announce that this will be a hybrid event, offering the flexibility to participate either in person or virtually.

This research seminar explores the complex linguistic and sociopolitical journey of Elfdalian, a North Germanic language spoken by approximately 2,500 people in northern Dalarna, Sweden. Despite its significant linguistic distance from Swedish—being more remote in its "classical" form than both Danish and Norwegian—Elfdalian has not yet achieved the official minority language status granted to five other languages in Sweden.

About the speaker:

Associate Professor Yair Sapir (Kristianstad University) analyses the revitalisation efforts led by the association Ulum Dalska, which have gained momentum since 2004. A central challenge in these efforts is the tension between "Classical Elfdalian" (spoken until c. 1900), which serves as the grammatical and lexical role model, and the "Modern Elfdalian" currently in use. Yair Sapir will also address the paradoxical challenge of obtaining official status while the modern form of the language becomes less distinct from Swedish, potentially undermining its claim to be a separate language.

Participate in person: To sign up and find further details, please visit the event page here: https://luma.com/weeqtd46

Online Access: You can join the live session directly via Zoom at the following link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3372977608?pwd=0a55PHOQJlSeeNX642DesCwuhzLSJL.1&omn=82464168172

Meeting ID: 337 297 7608
Passcode: 75830234

We look forward to your participation in this insightful discussion!
Please feel free to circulate the invitation among interested colleagues and networks.

22/05/2026

This paper presents the first study ever to examine parental language attitudes and the intergenerational transmission of Frisian in both Nordfriesland and Fryslân. It is co-authored with our excellent collaborators from Afûk and Mercator / Fryske Akademy. The results have implications for minority language maintenance and revitalisation! https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/fg649_v1

20/05/2026

Seit 2023 läuft das Projekt “The intergenerational transmission of North Frisian” unter der Leitung von ECMI Senior Researcher Ruth Kircher, die parallel auch das Projekt “The intergenerational transmission of West Frisian” leitet, an welchem die Fryske Akademy und Afûk mit beteiligt sind.
Beide Projekte erforschen (1) elterliche Einstellungen zum Friesischen und zur kindlichen Mehrsprachigkeit, (2) wie diese Einstellungen sich auf die Weitergabe des Friesischen auswirken, und (3) welche Unterstützung sich Eltern dabei wünschen, ihre Kinder mehrsprachig – mit Friesisch als einer ihrer Sprachen – großzuziehen.
Neben der Projektleiterin Ruth Kircher sind am ECMI auch Pavlína Heinzová und Katharina Jürgensen an der Forschung beteiligt. Außerdem hat Tineke Heck-Lemke (Friesisches Seminar EUF) ihre Masterarbeit als Teil des Projekts geschrieben. In Fryslân gehören Mirjam Vellinga von der Afûk sowie Jelske Dijkstra, Suzanne Dekker und Ydwine Scarse von der Fryske Akademy / Mercator zum Team.
Updates zu Publikationen, Vorträgen und Veranstaltungen sind regelmäßig auf der Projektseite zu finden: https://www.ecmi.de/projects-1/intergenerational-transmission-of-north-frisian

20/05/2026

Pomak Minority Women and the Fallout of Male Migration

After decades of strict movement restrictions, socioeconomic and political isolation, widespread male migration has profoundly transformed the lifestyles of the Pomak minority in North-Eastern Greece. Drawing on fieldwork in Pomak villages in Western Thrace, this blog post examines how seasonal male absence triggers notable shifts in minority gender relations and has introduced a new culture of modern consumerism funded by remittances. It argues that despite the excitement of newfound financial freedom, Pomak women are struggling with loneliness, growing jealousies within their communities, and persisting marginalisation in Greek society. Their present-day anxieties have resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: some older Pomak women are nostalgic for the times when they were living under militarised surveillance.

📖 Read the full ECMI Minorities Blog post here:

https://www.ecmi.de/infochannel/detail/ecmi-minorities-blog-pomak-minority-women-and-the-fallout-of-male-migration

Author: Marta Averof

After decades of strict movement restrictions, socioeconomic and political isolation, widespread male migration has profoundly transformed the lifestyles of the Pomak minority in North-Eastern Greece. Drawing on fieldwork in Pomak villages in Western Thrace, this blog post examines how seasonal male...