Organisation of an international symposium
Project promoter: SLORI-Slovene Research Institute
Project performer: SLORI-Slovene Research Institute
Project implementation period: 2003-2005
Last year the Institute has organised the 10th International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML). Minority languages in post-2004 Europe: problems and challenges. The conference was held on the 1st and the 2nd of July 2005 in Trieste, at the Advanced School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators (the former Slovene Narodni dom).
The Conference focussed on the following issues:
– unity and differences in European integration: experience sharing;
– comparative studies and researches about minority and majority languages in Central and Eastern Europe;
– studies and researches about linguistic and social interaction between minority and majority peoples;
– minority languages and objectives for the development of the territories, where they are spoken;
– majority languages, average education and socio-cultural integration;
– minorities and minority languages in contact and/or minorities and minority languages in mosaic situations;
– minorities, minority languages and legislation;
– drawing up of common programming guidelines and methods, objectives and research tools related to minority languages.
The plenary sessions, at which internationally renowned experts participated, were followed by workshops, studies and research presentations, round tables etc. The plenary sessions were also attended by the following university professors: Inka Štrukelj – Društvo za uporabno jezikoslovje Slovenije (Slovene Association of Applied Linguistics), Slovenia; Tullio De Mauro – Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Rome, Italy; Colin Williams – Cardiff University, Cardiff, Great Britain; Tomasz Wicherkiewicz – Uniwersytet Im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, Poznan, Poland; Peter Nelde – Katholieke Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Fernand de Varennes – School of Law Murdoch University, Perth, West Australia.
The thematic group sessions have been attended by experts, representing academic, scientific and research institutes of many different countries.
The conference scientific ground has been granted by the Scientific committee, composed by the following members: Lucija Čok, Univerza na Primorskem, Koper, Slovenia; Durk Gorter, Fryske Akademy/Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Marilyn Martin-Jones, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales, Great Britain; David Snelling, Università di Trieste, Trieste, Italy; Inka Štrukelj, Društvo za uporabno jezikoslovje Slovenije (Slovene Association of Applied Linguistics), Ljubljana, Slovenia; Colin Williams, Cardiff Univeristy/Prifysgol Caerddyd, Cardiff, Great Britain; Milan Bufon, Univerza na Primorskem, Koper, Slovenia; Emidio Sussi, Università di Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
The initiative has been chaired by prof. Milan Bufon, Professor and Vice-Rector of the University of Primorska in Koper, Slovenia, and President of the Slovene Research Institute.
In that occasion the special counsellor was Durk Gorter from Fryske Akademy/Universiteit van Amsterdam, being the scientific counsellor at all the previous conferences.
The Organising committee was composed by the Slori President and Director and by the Institute researchers and co-operators.
More information about the 10th International Conference on Minority Languages is available on the conference website http://www.slori.org/conference/index.php.