2021 Summer School on National Minorities in Border Regions

Minorities and the New Digital Paradigm

Events / Sun 22 Aug 2021 16:00

The notion of a “new digital paradigm” (NDP) has been with us for more than two decades. Digital spaces and online identities have become a pervasive part of our social reality. In 2020, this trend was turbo-charged by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only has society’s online presence grown exponentially but social activism has also been forced to move largely online.

The communities present in online spaces are extremely diverse and minorities are part of them. Minorities use online platforms not only for running minority language media or promoting their culture, but also for digital activism. For some marginalised groups, having an online voice and a digital platform sometimes can be the only way to talk about the challenges and mistreatment they face. Minorities can find it easier to mobilise via online channels, where there are less administrative barriers. However, the NDP also has a flip side – often minorities become targets of online hate speech and harmful actions, given the rise of right-wing populist politics and loose and fragmented legislation at regulating online space.

In 2021, the 11th Annual Summer School on  National Minorities in Border Regions, organised jointly by the Coppieters Foundation and the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), will focus on online presence and the activism of minorities, the interlink between “offline” and “digital” identities and provide a platform to analyse the challenges minorities face in a digital space.

Note that the programme below is still subject to change.

Program

22 August - Orientation

16:00-18:00
Welcome

Icebreakers and introduction to the programme, conducted by the Summer School Team

23 August - Minorities: Conceptual Foundations

9:00-9:30
Official opening

Speeches by:

  • Vello Pettai, Director of the ECMI
  • Antonia Luciani, Secretary-General of Coppieters Foundation
9:30-11:00
Opening Lecture

Ethnicity, Nationalism and Ethnopolitics. Vello Pettai, Director of the ECMI

11:30-13:00
Workshop

Moderated by Vello Pettai, Director of the ECMI.

14:00-15:30
Lecture

New Digital Paradigm and Minorities, by Kyriaki Topidi, Head of the research cluster on “Culture & Diversity” at the ECMI

16:00-17:30
Workshop

Modertaed by by Kyriaki Topidi, Head of the research cluster on “Culture & Diversity” at the ECMI

24 August - Minority Languages, Culture and Media Online

9:00-10:30
Lecture

North Frisian in the Digital age: the case of a very small minority language. Hauke Heyen, from Europa-Universität Flensburg

11:00-12:30
Lecture

Raising Awareness about Culture and Languages via VirtuLApp project. By Ydwine Scarse.

13:30-15:00
Poster Session

Managed by the Summer School team.

16:30-18:00
Field trip

Post-colonial tour of Flensburg.

25 August - Field trip to Denmark

09:30-11:00
Study visit to Nordschleswiger Newspaper
11:40 - 13:00
Visit to Deutsches Museum
15:00 - 17:00
Visit to Sønderborg Castle and museum

26 August - Digital Authoritarianism

9:00-10:30
Lecture (remote)

The Yin and Yang of Digital Identity and AI for Minorities: a Technological Perspective, by Silvio Ranise, Full professor at the University of Trento

11:00-12:30
(Online) lectures
  • Minority languages in Russian ethnic Republics: Social Media, Grassroots activities and the politics of fear. By Guzel Yusupova, Social Researcher on Nationalism, Diversity & Inequality, Authoritarianism, Memory politics and Russia/post-Soviet space

 

  • Digital responses to the human rights crisis in Xinjiang. The efficency of local, regional and global strategies of engagement. By Sergiusz Bober, Senior Researcher at the ECMI and leader of the Politics & Civil Society cluster & Aziz Berdiqulov, Researcher with the Minority Map and Timeline of Europe (MMTE) project at the ECMI.
13:30-16:30
Science Slam
18:00
Documentary: Last chance for Justice (By Marina Shupac).

27 August - Digital Minority Activism

9:00-10:30
Panel Discussion

Minorities’ Online Activism: Tools, Challenges, Trends. Panel discussion with:

  • Erika Casajoana, European Citizens’ Initiative on National Regions
  • Elöd Balaszi-Pal, Public Relations and Communications Manager of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN)
  • Nelli Gishyan, Chair of the International Board of the No Hate Speech Network and Local consultant from Armenia at the Council of Europe
  • Iman Atta Obe, Director of Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks)

Moderated by Viktoria Aygül, Researcher at the ECMI

11:00-12:30
Living Library

With:

  • Erika Casajoana, European Citizens’ Initiative on National Regions
  • Elöd Balaszi-Pal, Public Relations and Communications Manager of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN)
  • Nelli Gishyan, Chair of the International Board of the No Hate Speech Network and Local consultant from Armenia at the Council of Europe
  • Iman Atta Obe, Director of Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks)

Moderated by:

  • Polina Sulima, Project Research Associate at the ECMI
  • Viktoria Aygül, Researcher at the ECMI
13:30-15:00
Lecture

Media landscapes and minority languages. How Media can “make or break” linguistic vitality.

  • Elin haf Gruffydd Jones.

Modertaed by

15:30-17:30
Language and Workshop on Minority Language Media

The Debate aroud “indigenous” for indigenous language Media and the limits of the cybertarian utopia. By Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed.

28 August - Ethnic Data and E-governance

9:00-10:30
Lecture

E-governance and minorities, by Vello Pettai, Director of the ECMI.

11:00-12:30
Lecture

Securisation of Minorities during the Covid 19  pandemic. By Marika Djolai Head of the ECMI’s Conflict and Security Cluster .

13:30-15:00
Lecture

Processing of ethnic data: Juggling between Data protection and diversity management. Ljubica Djordjevic (ECMI).

15:30-17:00
Workshop

Debate Simulations, by the Summer School Team

29 August - Wrap-up

10:30-13:00
Wrap-up

Discussion, feedback and evaluation, certificates and coffee, by the Summer School Team

You can download the programme of the event in pdf format HERE

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we are developing contingency plans which will allow us to proceed with the Summer School programme should disruptions occur due to travel restrictions for lecturers. These contingencies include some flexibility in the teaching and activities of the programme, including interactive online teaching options and sourcing locally-based lecturers to step in. Additionally, if confirmed participants are unable to attend the Summer School due to travel restrictions relating to the crisis, they will be fully refunded for any fees paid up to that point. In the event that the programme is cancelled entirely, any fees paid will be refunded in full.

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Registration for this summer school is now closed.

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Eligibility and application procedures

The Summer School team aims to select a total number of 24 junior scholars, researchers or practitioners, having the following professional background:

  • Students from relevant fields of studies (MA and PhD students);
  • Practitioners from the public sector, NGOs or mass-media.

Applicants are required to submit a completed online application form which includes questions on general information (contact details, affiliation, practical and logistical information).

To finalise the submission of an application, applicants must also submit their detailed CV and a letter of motivation via email to summerschool@ecmi.de no later than 14 May 2021. Please state “NMBR SuS21 Application” in the subject line.

The letter of motivation should:

  • explain the reason for the applicant’s interest in participation in the Summer School;
  • assess how they will utilise and benefit from this experience in the future;
  • explain how they would be an asset to this Summer School;
  • and provide at least two references (name, position, affiliation, email and phone number).

The application will not be considered for the selection process unless the required documents are submitted via email.

The selection will be performed on the basis of academic and professional achievements, as well as expressed interest in the topic. Diversity of the group in terms of professional background, gender and country of origin will be an important factor in the selection process.

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This event is a joint initiative of the Coppieters Foundation and the European Centre for Minority Issues. It is financially supported by the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not liable for the content of the summer school or the opinions of the speakers.

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