II Mercator International Symposium:
"Europe 2004: A new framework for
all
languages?"

Catalan
English
 

Images of the symposium

Linguapax
Awards

Papers

Presentation
Programme

 

FRIDAY, 27 February

9.00 - 9.30 am – Registration

9.30 - 10.00 am – Opening session and welcome

10.00 - 10.45 am – Opening plenary – Dr. Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (University of Roskilde, Denmark)
The right to mother tongue medium education - the hot potato in human
rights instruments
(in English)

Session 1 - European Constitution and Linguistic Diversity (part I)
Chaired by Dr. Antoni Milian Massana (Administrative Law, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

10.50 - 11.15 am – Dr. Bojan Brezigar (President of the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, EBLUL)
EBLUL’s policy in relation to the constitutional draft (in English)

11.15 - 11.45 am – Coffee break

11.45 am - 12.10 pm – Dr. Niamh Nic Shuibhne (School of Law, University of Edinburgh, Scotland)
Does the Draft EU Constitution contain a language policy? (in English)

12.15 - 12.40 pm – Dr. Miriam Aziz (Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence, Italy)
Language rights in the EU and the modesty of the constitutional moment: mainstreaming the duty of clarity and transparency (in English)

12.45 - 1.10 pm – Dr. Alessandro Pizzorusso (Dipartimento di Diritto Pubblico, Università di Pisa, Italy)
Linguistic groups as cultural subjects, as political subjects and as legal subjects (in Italian)

1.15 - 1.45 pm – Discussion

1.45 - 3.15 pm – Lunch

Session 2 - The role of European Institutions
Chaired by Neus Oliveras (Prof. of Constitutional Law, Universitat Rovira i Virgili)

3.15 - 3.40 pm – Regina Jensdottir (Secretariat of the Council of Europe’s Charter for Regional or Minority Languages)
The Council of Europe Language Charter - perspectives, impact and effectiveness? (in English)

3.45 - 4.10 pm – Dr. Snezana Trifunovska (Department of International and European Law of the Law Faculty, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands)
Efficiency of the European supervisory systems for protection of linguistic rights of minorities: A critical assessment (in English)

4.15 - 4.40 pm – Kristin Henrard (Department of Constitutional and International Law, University of Groningen, Netherlands)
An investigation into the desirable, appropriate and possible role of the Language Charter in expanding on Article 22 of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights (in English)

4.45 - 5.10 pm – Robert Dunbar, LL.M. (Senior Lecturer in Law, The School of Law, University of Glasgow, Scotland)
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages from the perspective of other norms in European Law: A fully appropriate basis for EU language policy? (in English)

5.10 - 5.30 am – Coffee break

5.30 - 5.55 pm – Teresa Condeço (DG Education and Culture, European Commission)
Linguistic Diversity: A framework for all languages (in English)

6.00 - 6.25 pm – Dr. Eduardo J. Ruíz Vieytez (Instituto de Derechos Humanos, Universidad de Deusto, Basque Country)
Official languages and minority languages: issues regarding their legal status through Comparative Law (in Spanish)

6.30 - 7.00 pm – Discussion

7.30 - 8.30 pm – Ceremony of the Linguapax Awards 2003
Introduced by Agustí Colomines (Director of UNESCO Centre of Catalonia)

Linguists awarded: Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (introduced by Miquel Strubell, Director of the Programme of Humanities, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya) and Aina Moll (introduced by Dr. Isidor Marí, Director of Humanities and Philology Studies, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya)


SATURDAY, 28 February
Session 3 - European Constitution and Linguistic Diversity (part II)
Chaired by Jordi Jaria (Prof. of Constitutional Law, Universitat Rovira i Virgili)

9.00 - 9.25 am – Dr. Robert Phillipson (Department of English, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark)
If language policy issues are explosive, how should they best be handled? (in English)

9.30 - 9.55 am – Prof. Íñigo Urrutia Libarona (Departamento de Derecho Constitucional y Administrativo, Universidad del País Vasco - UPV/EHU, Basque Country)
Perspectives of materialising European linguistic diversity (in Spanish)

10.00 - 10.25 am – Gabriel Von Toggenburg (European Academy Bolzano, South Tyrol)
'United in Diversity' - How much unity in what sort of diversity does the new constitutional ‘motto’ of the EU have in mind? (in English)

10.25 - 10.55 am – Coffee break

10.55 - 11.20 am – Prof. Alok Kumar Das (Independent expert, Germany)
Minority Language Laws in the EU: Process and Problem of Policy Implementation (in English)

11.25 - 11.50 am – Begoña Antxustegi & Amaia Agirre (Dirección de Coordinación de la Viceconsejería de Política Lingüística del Gobierno del País Vasco, Basque Country)
What are we talking about when we talk about linguistic diversity in Europe. The role of official authorities in the safeguard of the European cultural patrimony (in Spanish)

11.55 - 12.25 am - Discussion

Session 4 – Round Table - Minority Languages in new EU member states
Chaired by Dr. Bojan Brezigar (in English)
12.30 am - 2.00 pm

-Tsjerk Bottema (Mercator-Education, Friesland, Netherlands)
Minority languages and education in the new EU-member states (in English)

-Dr. Ina Druviete (MP, Head of Human Rights Commission at the Parliament of Latvia)
The impact of EU accession for language and minority legislation in Latvia (in English)

- Jean-Bernard Adrey (Centre for European Research Studies, University of Portsmouth, UK)
The Copenhagen Criteria: Can they be applied to current members in retrospect? (in English)

- Dr. Tomasz Wicherkiewicz (Department of Language Policy & Minority Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University / President of PoLBLUL, Poland)
The new minority languages in the new EU member states (in English)

2.00 - 3.30 pm – Lunch

Session 5 - Study cases: Monitoring and follow-up experiences regarding the implementation of legal measures

3.30 - 3.55 pm – Dr. Alex Riemersma (Director of Berie foar it Frysk – Language Advisory Board of Friesland, Netherlands)
How can NGOs contribute to the use of minority languages within local and regional authorities? (in English)

4.00 - 4.25 pm – Drs. Jaume Vernet & Santi Castellà (Universitat Rovira i Virgili / Observatori de la Llengua Catalana, Catalonia)
The implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by the Spanish State in regard with the Catalan language (in Catalan)

4.30 - 4.55 pm – Dr. Juan Inazio Hartsuaga (Director of Behatokia - Observatory of Linguistic Rights, Basque Country/Navarre)
Behatokia: an experience on social control of linguistic rights (in English)

5.00 - 5.25 pm – Prof. Jarmo Lainio (Centre for Finnish Studies, Mälardalen University, Sweden)
Finally, one step forward, without two steps backward? The case of Sweden Finnish after receiving a minority status (in English)

5.30 pm – End of the symposium