3rd Serbska debata „Indigeneity of the Sorbs/Wends“ / review of educational autonomy

On 20 March 2024 from 7 p.m., Hajko Kozel / Heiko Kosel, as a member of the Serbski Sejm, will take part in the 3rd Serbska debata „Who do we want to be? Indigenous, autochthonous or something else?“ The event is being organised by Serbske Nowiny, the Regional Centre for Political Education and the Foundation for the Sorbian People, whose website will also provide a livestream. „It is a question of the truthfulness of politics towards the Sorbian/Wendish people to finally recognise the facts that the legal definition of the ILO169 regarding the peoples addressed applies to us. This turns us from petitioners into rights holders when it comes to asserting our rights, especially in the field of education! The debate is therefore highly topical and particularly important. That is why we would like to help promote the Serbska debata“, says Hajko Kozel, member of the Legal Committee of the Serbski Sejm.

The Serbski Sejm draws a very positive conclusion from the 2nd Serbska debata on 13 March 2024 on Sorbian educational autonomy. There is a great commitment on the part of teachers, parents and pupils as well as many supporters in the institutions, which cannot be appreciated enough, not only to preserve the Sorbian language, culture and identity in the education system despite many difficulties, but also to strengthen and expand it. The panel discussion showed that it is necessary to engage in constructive dialogue in order to overcome the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities. The Serbski Sejm wants to promote this further. There was agreement that the Sorbian education system needs a special status and separate structures, clear framework conditions, sufficient staff and adequate resources. In addition, the very different needs of native and non-native pupils in the so-called core and peripheral areas of Sorbian Lusatia became clear. From the Serbski Sejm's point of view, all of this can be managed most effectively by the Sorbian people themselves. Not only the facts, but also the absence of the representatives of the State Office for Schools and Education and the Ministry of Culture invited to the debate are clear evidence that the state is not and cannot do justice to the challenges.