ELEN

UN Forum on Minority Issues
2023-11-30 - 2023-12-01
30 November 2023 – 01 December 2023

LOCATION
ROOM XX, PALAIS DES NATIONS, GENEVA / HYBRID

THEME
MINORITIES AND COHESIVE SOCIETIES: EQUALITY, SOCIAL INCLUSION, AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
Registration: All participants are required to register for the Forum using an online registration system Indico following this link.
Registrations are open from 12 October and will close 20 November 2023. No application will be accepted after this date.

Participants will need to create a profile and complete the online registration before receiving confirmation of their registration by the Forum Secretariat. Confirmed participants will receive a QR code by email.
The QR code will be scanned by UN Security upon arrival in order to issue a badge of accreditation to the UN premises.
Please note that participants will need to plan and fund their travels to Geneva. Participants are also responsible for organizing their own visas, if necessary.

Limited number of pre-recorded interventions by minority delegates will be accommodated bearing in mind time limitations.
Participants from minority groups who wish to intervene via a pre-recorded video statement must register as soon as possible clearly indicating their wish to use this form of intervention. The Secretariat will provide further technical instructions on submitting the pre-recorded statement to delegates shortlisted to the List of Speakers.
Participants, as well as individuals and organizations who will not be able to participate in the Forum or who do not wish to take the floor, can contribute to the discussions by sending a written submission that includes proposal for recommendations at the following email address: hrc-sr-minorityforum@un.org
The event can be followed via livestream at the UN Web TV. Link to the livestream will be provided at the webpage of the Forum a few days before the event.
Preparatory meeting: A preparatory meeting for all delegates will be held on 29 November at Palais des Nations in Geneva. Information related to the specifics on the Room will be provided at a later stage.
More information on the 16th session of the Forum will be provided soon, keep an eye on the developments.
Background: The UN Forum on Minority Issues meets annually for two working days allocated to thematic discussions pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/15 of 28 September 2007 and resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012. The Forum is open to Member States, United Nations mechanisms, bodies and specialized agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental organizations, regional organizations and mechanisms in the field of human rights, national human rights institutions and other relevant national bodies, academics and experts on minority issues, representatives of minorities and minority and non- governmental organizations. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues guides the work of the Forum, prepares its annual meetings and reports on the thematic recommendations of the Forum to the Human Rights Council. The recommendations of the Sixteenth session will be presented at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, in March 2024.
General inquiries: hrc-sr-minorityforum@un.org

Website: https://www.ohchr.org/en/events/forums/2023/sixteenth-session-forum-minority-issues

Event: Safeguarding and regenerating European indigenous minority languages.
2023-11-28 17:30 - 21:00 (Europe/Brussels)
Safeguarding and regenerating European indigenous minority languages. Event and Reception. Brussels.
17.30 – 20.30 CET.
Office of the Northern Ireland Executive, Chaussée d’Etterbeek 180 – 1040 Brussels
The Office of the Northern Ireland Executive Brussels, Channel Islands Brussels Office, Scottish Government, Welsh Government Brussels Office and Isle of Man Government will be holding an evening panel discussion, with music and local food and drink.
Expert panellists, moderated by Dr. Davyth Hicks, Secretary-General of the European Language Equality Network (ELEN), will draw from their experiences to discuss the benefits indigenous minority languages can bring to communities and the role that government policy can play in supporting effective language recovery.
The panel discussion will be followed by a reception featuring food and drink from our countries, and accompanied by music from Channel Islands band, Lihou, who will perform in both Jèrriais and Guernésiais.
Panel One: Why is regeneration of indigenous minority languages important/ what benefits can this bring?

Professor Mererid Hopwood, Aberystwyth University (Wales)
Dr. Niall Comer, Ulster University (Northern Ireland)
Dr. Frank Ferguson, Ulster University (Northern Ireland)
Ms Ealasaid MacDonald, CEO Bòrd na Gàidhlig (Scotland)
Professor Julia Sallabank, SOAS University of London (Guernsey)

Panel Two: How can government policy and initiatives support language regeneration?

Professor Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, ELEN President and Director of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (Cymru)
Mr Ben Spink, Head of Office du Jèrriais (Jersey)
Mr Rob Teare, Manx Language Officer, Isle of Man Government (Isle of Man)
Sir Richard Collas, Guernsey Language Commission (Guernsey)

Attendance at the event is by invite only.
T

PROMOTING THE LEARNING AND USE OF INDIGENOUS LESSER-USED LANGUAGES, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE BRITISH IRISH COUNCIL.
2023-10-19 | Hautlieu School, Saint Helier, United Kingdom

ELEN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2023 CASTEDDU, SARDINIA.
2023-10-06 14:00 - 2023-10-09 18:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Palazzo Regio, Casteddu/Cagliari, Sardinia.

Babel Film Festival
2023-10-02 10:00 - 2023-10-07 22:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Casteddu/Cagliari, Sardinia.
International film contest for movies in minoritised languages.

Press Conference: EU Official Status for Catalan, Basque and Galician.
2023-09-18 16:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Brussels) | European Parliament, Rue Wiertz 60,, Brussels, 1047, Belgium
The European Language Equality Network (ELEN) and its member organisations that represent Catalan, Basque and Galician, will be holding a press conference on Monday 18th September at 16.00 in the press centre of the European Parliament, Brussels.
The organisations will discuss the ongoing campaign for EU official status, the benefits it will bring to their languages and to Europe, and all the other advantages of inclusion as a full EU official language.
In July the Spanish Government issued a proposal calling on the EU Council to make Catalan, Basque and Galician EU official languages. On the 19th September the proposal will be discussed by the EU Council.
Organisations at the press conference:
Òmnium Cultural and Plataforma per la Llengua from Catalonia
A Mesa pola Normalización Lingüística from Galicia
Kontseilua from the Basque Country
Obra Cultura Balear (OCB) from the Balearic Islands
European Language Equality Network (ELEN), the international NGO that works for the protection and promotion of European territorial languages.
Further details will be published on www.elen.ngo
The event can be followed live online at: https://ep.interactio.eu/66e2-hy1p-1w4u
Event Hashtag #EusCatGalEUOfficial
Further details to follow.

Premio Ostana 2023
2023-06-23 09:00 - 2023-06-25 20:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Ostana
Scritture in lingua madre/ Writings in the mother language.

XIX International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML)
2023-06-20 09:00 - 2023-06-24 18:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Caerfyrddin
Cynhelir XIX Cynhadledd Ryngwladol ar Ieithoedd Lleiafrifol yng Nghymru rhwng 20 a 24 Mehefin 2023.

Europadagene 2023: The importance of identity, cultural heritage and languages.
2023-05-09 | Falstadsenteret, Norway
Europadagene 2023. Panel on the importance of identity, cultural heritage and languages.
1510-1520: Peter Chin – Associate Dean of Teacher Education at Queen’s University, Canada
1520-1530: Davyth Hicks – Sec. General of the European Language Equality Network (ELEN)
1530-1620: Panel discussion:

Wenche Rønning (Associate Professor at Nord University)
Marja Mortensson (South Saami musician)
Peter Chin (Associate Dean of Teacher Education at Queen’s University, Canada)
Davyth Hicks (Secretary General of the European Language Equality Network)
Moderator: Heidi Anett Øvergård Beistad – Director Museene Arven

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 25th anniversary of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
2023-04-27 08:30 - 10:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Council of Europe, Strasbourg
PACE Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, Sub Committee on the Rights of Minorities.

25th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Introductory remarks by Mr Tiny Kox, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe.
Hearing with the participation of:
Ms Maria Ruotanen, Director-General, Council of Europe Directorate General of Democracy and
Human Rights Dignity (DGII);
Mr Jarmo Lainio, 1st Vice-Chair of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages;
Mr Davyth Hicks, Secretary General, European Language Equality Network (ELEN).

UN Forum on Minority Issues, 15th Session.
2022-12-01 - 2022-12-02
REVIEW. RETHINK. REFORM. 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UN DECLARATION ON MINORITY RIGHTS.

SUNS Europe, Gurize/ Gorizia and Udin/ Udine, Friuli.
2022-11-25 - 2022-11-27
The European Festival of Performing Arts in Minoritised and Endangered Languages.

ELEN Secretary-General Davyth Hicks and Paul Bilbao Sarria (Euskalgintzaren Kontseilua, ELEN VP) will be speaking at the opening of SUNS Europe, the European festival of performing arts in minoritized languages, on Nov. 25th in Gurize (Gorizia) #Friuli, with Marco Stolfo, University of Udin.

CYNULLIAD CYFFREDINOL - ELEN 2022 - GENERAL ASSEMBLY. CAERDYDD, CYMRU.
2022-10-28 - 2022-10-30

European Parliament Conference on Territorial Language Rights in the EU.
2022-09-07 15:00 - 18:00 (Europe/London) | European Parliament, Rue Wiertz 60,, Brussels, 1047, Belgium
CONFERENCE 7 september-POSTER
CONFERENCE 7 september-PROGRAM

University of Valencia - ELEN Summer School: "Minority Languages: Rights and Practices” 18-22nd July, Gandia, País Valencià.
2022-07-18 - 2022-07-22 | Carrer Tossal, 8, 46702 Gandia, Carrer Tossal, 8,, Gandia, Valencia, 46702, Spain
The Summer School “Minority Languages: Rights and Language Practices” will be held in the University of Valencia campus in Gandia, Pais Valencia, from Monday 18th July to Friday 22nd July.

It features a packed programme opening with UN Special Rapporteur for Minorities, Dr. Fernand de Varennes, on Monday 18th July, and ending with the Listen Project multiplier event on language assertiveness on Friday 22nd.

Registration for the summer school commences in May, contact Prof. Vicenta Tasa by email cadrelin@uv.es or phone: (+34) 96 162 51 94.

For details about the programme see: https://www.uv.es/catedra-derechos-linguisticos/es/novedades-1286091114467/Novetat.html?id=1286258279871

The summer school is hosted by the University of Valencia Chair of Language Rights in collaboration with ELEN and the FORTHEM University Network.

Premio Ostana – Escrituras en Lenga Maire
2022-06-24 - 2022-06-26
The Premio Ostana Escrituras en Lenga Maire festival will be held in Ostana, an Occitan-speaking village near Cuneo, Italy, from June 24th-26th.

The Ostana Prize is the long running annual meet-up with the mother tongues of the world that brings together indigenous language authors from around the world for a festival of linguistic biodiversity.

Premio Ostana website: https://www.premioostana.it/
Press release: http://www.chambradoc.it/premioOstana-ScrittureInLinguaMadre/PREMIO-OSTANA-XIV-Scritture-in-Lingua-Madre-escrituras-en-le.page

Ar Redadeg
2022-05-20 - 2022-05-28
Sponsored run for the Breton language.
To support visit: https://www.ar-redadeg.bzh/br/keleier/

Full official status for Irish: a success story.
2022-04-06 10:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Espai Catalunya Europa, Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat, 227, Brussels, Belgium
Gaeilge or Irish is Ireland’s national and first official language. Ireland became part of the European Community back in 1973, but Irish has not gained full official and working status in the European Union until very recently. Which part of that path was easy, and how the breakthrough happened has to do with mobilisation. We will hear from campaigners who will describe the pathway leading to this success.
Mobilisation, though, is not always enough, as the campaign for the recognition of Catalan as a full EU official language continues to face challenges, and this despite sustained efforts over the past 40 years.
Join us in this event co-organised with the European Language Equality Network (ELEN) for the latest developments in the struggle for more diversity in this united Europe.
With the participation of:

Catalan Minister for Foreign Action and Open Government Victòria Alsina
Catalan Minister for Justice Lourdes Ciuró
Representative of the Government of Catalonia to the European Union Gorka Knörr
ELEN Secretary-General Davyth Hicks
Members of Conradh na Gaeilge, the democratic forum for the Irish-speaking community Peadar Mac Fhlannchadha and Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh
University of Barcelona professor Eva Pons Parera

The event will be held in English and can be followed in person at the Espai Catalunya Europa (Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 227, Brussels) or via YouTube.
Registrations to follow the event in person at Espai Catalunya Europa (Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 227, Brussels): events_eu@gencat.cat

UN Forum on Minority Issues 2021
2021-12-02 - 2021-12-03 | Palais de Nations, Geneva, 1211, Switzerland

ELEN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2021 Santiago de Compostela, Galiza.
2021-11-12 16:00 - 2021-11-14 15:00 (Europe/Madrid) | Museo do Pobo Galego, Museo do Pobo Galego, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, 15703, Spain

Demonstration for Breton, Kemper, Saturday March 13th. 13.13h. Plasenn Sant Kaorantin.
2021-03-13 13:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Luxembourg)

UN Forum for Minority Issues
2020-11-19 - 2020-11-20 | Palais de Nations, Geneva, 1211, Switzerland

ELEN General Assembly 2020, Santiago de Compestela, Galicia.
2020-10-23 16:00 - 2020-10-24 18:00 (Europe/Madrid) | Santiago de Compestela, Santiago de Compestela, Galicia

Pour Que Vivent Nos Langues: Manifestation, November 30, 11h Paris.
2019-11-30 11:00 - 17:00 (Europe/London)
RASSEMBLEMENT DEVANT LE MINISTÈRE DE L’ÉDUCATION NATIONALE
SAMEDI 30 NOVEMBRE 2019 À 11 HEURES
Nos langues autochtones (ou régionales) de France sont gravement menacées par la réforme du lycée et du baccalauréat ainsi que par la loi « Pour une école de la confiance » initiées et menées par le ministre de l’Éducation Nationale Jean-Michel Blanquer.
Nos langues, ce sont l’occitan-langue d’oc, le basque, le breton, le catalan, le corse, le flamand occidental, l’allemand standard et dialectal alsacien et mosellan, le savoyard (arpitan-francoprovençal), les langues d’Oïl dont le gallo, les créoles et les langues autochtones des territoires des Outre-Mer. Toutes résistent en France pour ne pas disparaître.
Pour s’opposer à cette dangereuse évolution et afin de défendre nos langues et nos droits, le collectif d’associations « Pour Que Vivent Nos Langues » a été lancé le 12 septembre 2019 avec le soutien du député européen François Alfonsi, auteur d’une résolution adoptée à une très large majorité au Parlement européen pour la sauvegarde des langues menacées, et du député Paul Molac, président du groupe d’études « Langues et cultures régionales » de l’Assemblée Nationale.
Pour Que Vivent Nos Langues

UN Forum for Minority Issues
2019-11-28 - 2019-11-29 | Palais de Nations, Geneva, 1211, Switzerland
Education, Language and the Human Rights of Minorities
Twelfth Session of the Forum on Minority Issues

Dates: 28-29 November 2019
Venue: Room XX, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
The Twelfth Session of the Forum on Minority Issues is convened on 28 and 29 November 2019 pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/15 of 28 September 2007 and resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012. A Preparatory Meeting for all participants will be held on 27 November 2019 from 10 a.m. to 13:00 in Palais des Nations Room VII.
The Forum is convened on the theme “Education, Language and the Human Rights of Minorities”. The rights of linguistic minorities are human rights that must be respected, including in relation to the appropriate degree of use of minority languages. Education in minority languages is fundamental for the protection and promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity and of the human rights of persons belonging to minorities.
The Forum shall analyse practices, challenges, opportunities and initiatives in addressing education in, and teaching of, minority languages as a human rights issue, in line with the principles and rights enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and other relevant international instruments.
The Forum on Minority Issues meets annually for two working days allocated to thematic discussions. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues guides the work of the Forum, prepares its annual meetings and reports on the thematic recommendations of the Forum to the Human Rights Council. The recommendations of the Twelfth Session will be presented at the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council, in March 2020.
Information on the Twelfth session of the Forum

Provisional Agenda, ACEFRS
Concept Note
Factsheet
Practical Information

Registration: Opens 2 September 2019 and closes on 22 November 2019
Online registration for the list of speakers will open 22 November at 9:00 a.m. and will close 27 November at 4:00 p.m.
Please, register here for the list of speakers.
IMPORTANT: For additional information regarding the registration for the List of Speakers, please, consult theFactsheet or Practical Information.
General inquiries: minorityforum@ohchr.org
Registration inquiries: FMI-registration@ohchr.org
You can also follow the forum Live on UN Web TV at: webtv.un.org
Outcome Documents of Regional Forums

Europe
Asia-Pacific
Africa-Middle East

ELEN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2019 ROAZHON - RENNES, BREIZH.
2019-10-26 | Maison des Associations, 6 Cours des Alliés,, Rennes-Roazhon, Breizh, 35000
ELEN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2019 ROAZHON – RENNES, BREIZH, Saturday 26th October.
ELEN in partnership with Kevre Breizh, Rannvro Breizh- Conseil Régional de Bretagne and the UN Special Rapporteur for Minorities.

European Forum on Language Rights - Emgavioù Europa war ar Gwirioù Yezh
2019-10-25 | Hotel de Courcy, Rennes, Breizh, France
European Forum on Language Rights – Emgavioù Europa war ar Gwirioù Yezh – Rencontres Européennes sur les Droits Linguistiques – Assembllées Uropeyenes su les Drets Langaïjiers.
Roazhon-Rennes, Breizh, 25th October 2019.
ELEN in partnership with Kevre Breizh, Cultural Council of Brittany, and the Breton Regional Government.

Registration: www.tinyurl.com/y3otlk6u

Forum for Minorities (Europe), May 6-7th 2019, Brussels.
2019-05-06 09:00 - 2019-05-07 18:00 (Europe/Brussels) | European Parliament, Rue Wiertz 60,, Brussels, 1047, Belgium
EDUCATION, LANGUAGE AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF MINORITIES.
Date: 6th -7th May 2019.
Location: European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium.
“The rights of linguistic minorities are human rights that must be respected, including in relation to the appropriate degree of use of minority languages. Education deals with what is perhaps the central linguistic right of minorities, and is also fundamental to the maintenance of linguistic diversity. A language that is not taught is a language that will ultimately vanish. The benefits of education in the mother language are now fairly well established scientifically through studies of minority children in different parts of the world.”
This conference, organised by the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues and the Tom Lantos Institute, in partnership with ELEN, will provide regional insights for the development of a set of guidelines and recommendations focusing on education in, and teaching of, minority languages. Discussions at the conferences will also inform the recommendations of the 12th session of the UN Forum in 2019.
Conference details and registration: https://tom-lantos-institue.events.idloom.com/european-regional-forum-on-minority-issues-2019

Devezh-studi ha kendiviz "Ar yezhoù-rannvro: o stad han o dazont"
2019-04-08 09:00 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | Palais du Luxembourg, Paris, France
Devezh-studi ha kendiviz “Ar yezhoù-rannvro: o stad han o dazont” savet gant ELEN, Lo Congres & Kevre Breizh e Pales Luksembourg e #Pariz d’an 8 a viz Ebrel.

ELEN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2018, Baile Átha Cliath.
2018-11-02 09:00 - 2018-11-04 17:00 (Europe/London) | Mansion House, Baile Átha Cliath
