Invitation to discuss about the project idea „Sorbian/Wendish education system of the future“

For a long time, many actors and committed Sorbs/Wends have been thinking about how to improve Sorbian/Wendish school education. The main goal is to preserve the Sorbian/Wendish language in villages, families and wider circles where Sorbian/Wendish is still spoken on a daily basis, and to revive it where it has disappeared. The ideas range from selective proposals for improvement within the state school system to the association of Sorbian/Wendish schools and ideas for Sorbian/Wendish private schools to far-reaching public-legal educational autonomy with extensive creative freedom.

Initiators from the Serbski Sejm and its environment were among others in April of this year at the general meeting of the Domowina - Bund Lausitzer Sorben e.V. There the Domowina set itself the ambitious goal of wanting to reach 100,000 speakers by the end of the century. The initiators proposed a bold step towards the often discussed educational autonomy. The response was good and various ideas were concretized. In addition, teachers in particular asked the initiators how they should be involved. Finally, a project concept was prepared, which we would like to discuss together.

It is planned to have a scientific concept drawn up by a specialized institute, in which all questions and variants are to be discussed as to how the Sorbian/Wendish education system could best be structured. Different variants are to be collected first and discussed under different aspects, for example responsibility for the school network planning, responsibility for the employment of the teachers incl. conditions for their employment, conditions of the employees (private, state / own public service / civil service), necessary financial extent and financial models as well as legal and political aspects of the feasibility. In other words, it is about the options for taking over sovereign tasks in the field of education within the framework of national law, which were worked out with the Federal Ministry of the Interior in 2010. Advantages and problems as well as opportunities and risks must then be weighed up as a whole so that an extremely important decision for the future of our nation can finally be made.

The aforementioned scientific team should work closely with the project advisory board, in which as many stakeholders as possible should be represented. The excursion of the Serbski sejm at the invitation of Slavonic Europe to East Belgium, an autonomous German-speaking community in East Belgium, provided a good and conducive start to the project. Further inspiring excursions to best practice examples in Europe were to follow in the course of the project.

Financing for the project will also be discussed at our preparatory meeting. That's why we cordially invite all actors to join us

October 27, 2023, 6 p.m.

to Bautzen/Budyšin, Alte Post, Postplatz 3 (Entrance opposite Serbski dom, 2nd floor, „Schreiberplan“ seminar room)
or
participation via video conference: https://bbb.piratensommer.de/b/hag-0yp-bwj-snl (with the friendly support of the Pirate Party)

We look forward to your participation!