Peace and Minority Studies in the Border Region
On Monday (April 29), the European Committee of the Schleswig-Holstein State Parliament met at Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF). The agenda included discussions about the Interdisciplinary Centre for European Studies (ICES), the work of the European Wasatia Graduate School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, minority research in Flensburg and at EUF, the presentation of the Centre for Small and Regional Languages (KURS), EUF’s internationalization strategy, and the challenges and resource issues facing EUF.
Europa under pressure
University President Prof. Dr. Werner Reinhart welcomed the committee members and their chair, Malte Krüger from Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, pointing out the threat to the European Union posed by authoritarian movements.
10 years of Europa-Universität Flensburg
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Glassmann, Vice President for European and International Affairs at EUF, highlighted the achievements of the past ten years in honor of Europa-Universität Flensburg’s 10-year anniversary. The subject of Europe is embedded in the university’s curriculum through 19 European-focused professorships across seven degree programs with thematic links to Europe, and even within some subjects in teacher education. To further expand the university's European research focus, the Interdisciplinary Centre for European Studies (ICES) was established in 2018. Since its inception, ICES has secured nearly 10 million euros in third-party funding for 34 projects, as noted by ICES Director Prof. Dr. Monika Eigmüller. One focus of European research is the rise of anti-European movements, she explained. In its teacher education programs, as well, the university has also strengthened its focus on the importance of a democratic Europe.
European Wasatia Graduate School for Peace and Conflict Resolution
EUF's European Wasatia Graduate School for Peace and Conflict Resolution garnered significant interest from the parliamentarians. The Arabic word wasatia captures the core aim of this unique graduate school in Flensburg: reconciliation and balance. The goal of this trinational, multireligious, and interdisciplinary graduate school is to identify conditions for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East. Since 2019, the first cohort of ten students has been pursuing their doctorates, and a second cohort of 13 students will start at the end of May. The school is led by Managing Director Dr. Zeina Barakat, theologian Prof. Dr. Ralf Wüstenberg as Director, and Middle East expert Prof. Dr. Udo Steinbach from the Maecenata Foundation.
Empirical Minority Research in the Border Region
The Flensburg-based European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI) introduced its director, Prof. Dr. Vello Pettai. He expressed gratitude for the support from the state of Schleswig-Holstein, which has helped ECMI grow to 20 staff members in recent years. Prof. Dr. Martin Klatt, head of the "Danish-German Minority Issues" cluster at ECMI, outlined the three research goals for the German-Danish border region: analyzing the German-Danish minority model under the title "unpacking the model," examining the status of the Frisian and Sinti/Roma minorities, and empirically researching intergroup relations between minorities and majorities in the border region.
Small Languages from Regional, European, and International Perspectives
Since 2014, the Centre for Small and Regional Languages (KURS) at EUF has been documenting and researching small and regional languages. Its director, Prof. Dr. Karoline Kühl, presented KURS as a knowledge resource on small and regional/minority languages from regional, European, and international perspectives. Another topic under the "Minority Policy" agenda item was the need to offer Frisian as a supplementary subject at EUF.
Cross-Sectional Task of Internationalization
The visit concluded with a focus on internationalization. Vice President for European and International Affairs, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Glassmann, highlighted the close cooperation between EUF and its strategic partner university in Denmark, Syddansk Universitet/SDU (Campus Sønderborg). To sustain this collaboration regulatory hurdles, such as the regulations prohibiting Danish teachers from teaching in Germany, must be removed. Calling for a special status for such specific cooperative relationships, he then outlined the upcoming internationalization efforts as a cross-sectional task in research, teaching, and transfer.
In research, the goal will be to offer more intensive international training to early-stage academics. In teaching, EUF's well-established mobility programs should be further enhanced by attracting more international students to existing programs. Through its Third Mission or Transfer, EUF aims to contribute to social cohesion.
Investments in education and internationalization, Glassmann concluded, are crucial for regional development and will thus help reduce Euroscepticism in peripheral regions.
