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The Picture at the Border
In the German - Danish border region four
legally recognized national minorities reside.
In Denmark near to the border you find
the German Volksgruppe, which numbers
15 - 20,000 members. In Schleswig - Holstein
the largest national minorities are the Danish
and North Friesian minorities.
The Danish minority in Germany represents
about 50,000 members and is concentrated
mainly in Schleswig and in the town of
Flensburg. The North Frisians also number
around 50,000, although only 10,000 are
Friesian speakers. The North Frisians live
mainly on the west coast of Schleswig - Holstein,
the largest concentration of which is in
the district of North Friesland on the border
to Denmark. The smallest minority is the Roma
community, which numbers 6000 and is
found primarily in the town of Neumünster.
Border Capital
The research team at the Institute of Minority of Rights
was recently called upon to perform a competency study
of the German - Danish border region to evaluate the
contributions of the minority groups living in the area.
This so - called Standortfaktor is showing that these
minorities are performing very well indeed.
Whereas minority research at the end of
the 20th century was largely the domain
of the legal field and focused primarily
on protecting members of national minorities
(especially in conflict zones), the
21st century has seen increased attention
by sociologists and economists to the empowerment
of minorities through socio
- economic participation. The Lisbon
Strategy goals set by the European Union
in 2000 (that intend to make Europe the
most economically competitive region in
the world by 2010) have resulted in numerous
programmes to improve and put
to use the human and social capital of Europeans.
Thus, as part of the intensified
attention being paid to the economic development
of peripheral and border regions,
the EU is seeking to mobilise networks
of regional and local actors to contribute
to better economic governance
and take ownership of the Lisbon Strategy
in terms of growth and jobs. National minorities
are important strategic partners
as they often live in these same regions.
However, there is more at stake for these
areas than the goals of the Lisbon Strategy
alone. For some time now, regions
have been competing amongst themselves
for a stronger position in the European
economy. A new type of regionalism
is thus emerging in the European
Union that forces these constituencies to
elaborate development strategies that involve
all sectors of society.
The German - Danish connection
In the German Land Schleswig - Holstein,
for example, these types of strategies has
been given high priority, mainly due to
its depressed economy, but also out of a
desire to profit from a strong economy
across the border in Denmark. Since Schleswig
- Holstein has one of the best practices
of minority governance in the European
Union, the participation of the national
minorities in the development of
the border region is considered natural.
For this reason, the Schleswig - Holstein
Landtag commissioned EURAC to do
a study of the value of the national minorities
as a standortfaktor of the border
region.
The study is a competency study that
aims to support the creation of a development
strategy for the German - Danish
border region to confirm the competencies
of local national minorities as a
standortfaktor, while making recommendations
for these communities to participate
and organise their competencies in
the implementation of this strategy. Since
no prior research exists that assesses minority
competencies as standortfaktor,
the research team of the Institute for Minority
Rights had to first develop a working
definition. Standortfaktor as a concept
is borrowed from the economic
sphere and is usually applied
in business strategies when
deciding whether to locate infrastructure
or financing in a certain
region. In this sense it was
clear to the research team that
for minorities to figure as a standortfaktor,
they would have to
represent not just competencies
but also some positive contribution
to society. In the best - case
scenario, the national minorities
could be determined as Mehrwert
(an ‘added value’) to society.
The research team therefore
set out first to assess the level of
competencies of national minorities
in the border region in or-
der to subsequently determine the degree
of their contribution.
Strength in diversity
The research team conducted a qualitative
mapping of the institutions and organizations
that these minorities own
and run in the border region (for a
breakdown of the populations and their
locations, see the inset ‘The Picture at the
Border’). Strong institutional competence
was found in most sectors, especially in
education, culture and sports. The minorities
entirely self - administrate these
institutions, and the two minorities with
kin - states (i.e., with mother countries on
the other side of the border) furthermore
represent considerable financial contributions
flowing from their kin - state gov-
In the agricultural field, the
German Volksgruppe in
Denmark have been pioneers
in the transformation of Danish
farming to ecological farming
and are now also pioneering
bio - energy in the border region
together with farmers in
Schleswig - Holstein.
Standortfaktor as a concept
is borrowed from the
econo mic sphere and is
usually applied in business
strategies when deciding
whether to locate infrastructure
or financing in a
certain region.
ernments. The three largest minorities also
run a number of museums independently,
and two daily minority newspapers
contribute to the shaping of the public
opinion in the border region. The newspapers
and political wings of the parties
have all shifted from addressing mainly
minority issues to covering all issues
pertaining to the region in local, national
and international perspectives. In the
agricultural field, the German Volksgruppe
in Denmark have been pioneers
in the transformation of Danish farming
to ecological farming and are now
also pioneering bio - energy in the border
region together with farmers in Schleswig
- Holstein. In general, the minorities
have become known as ‘midwives’ in
many cross - border initiatives, and at the
international level the German
Volksgruppe has acted as ad hoc
OSCE ambassadors and mediators
between minorities in Central
Europe.
These and many other aspects
of minority life in the border
region show a high level of minority
competence in terms of
social and human capital, and
since participation in the region
is strong, the minorities are furthermore
seen as contributors
to the development of the German
- Danish border region. The
final study will be published in
January 2008.
Tove Malloy / EURAC
Institute for Minority Rights
tove.malloy@eurac.edu
40 Dezember – Dicembre 2007 Dezember – Dicembre 2007 41