The Slavonic people of the Lusatian Sorbs / Wends as a starting point of European integration: Cross-border minorities as the connecting synapses of a new European bottom-up grassroots integration model kicking off from the German, Czech and Polish triangle in Lusatia.
On Tuesday 8 February 2022, a new European initiative has been officially launched in Brussels at the Press Club Brussels Europe, proposing an innovative solution to the European integration: LUSATIA GLOW (LG) as an EU Pilot Project candidate. Starting from the Lusatian triangle between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, the Brussels based SLAVONIC EUROPE (SE) Movement and its partners from SERBSKI SEJM – Elected Representation of the Lusatian Sorbs / Wends from Germany, ŁUŻYCKI ALIANS – Poland and LUŽICKÁ ALIANCE – Czech Republic, presented a brand-new approach to European integration through the activation of cross-border linguistic minorities across Europe as country connectors and democracy facilitators proposing systematically structured recurrent cross-border activities based on a proper supporting infrastructure with Lusatia as a model for whole Europe.
This new European initiative is supported by Sabine VERHEYEN MEP – Chairwoman of the Committee on Culture and Education in the European Parliament, Karl-Heinz LAMBERTZ – President of the Parliament of the German Community in Belgium and Former President of the EU Committee of the Regions and welcomed by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der LEYEN as well as by her colleagues Commissioners Mariya GABRIEL and Didier REYNDERS.
The Brussels press conference and workshop on 8 February in the Press Club Brussels Europe developed all the aspects of the LUSATIA GLOW (LG) project in all its details, depth and wide ranging ramifications from the Black Sea to the Atlantic, inaugurated by speeches from Chairwoman Sabine VERHEYEN MEP, who supports strongly the LUSATIA GLOW project as a candidate for an EU Pilot Project as of 2023, and President Karl-Heinz LAMBERTZ, a fervent advocate of the role of minorities within the EU integration process. A specific artistic note has been brought by Prof. Ion MARIN from the Mozarteum from Salzburg, Austria, the chief conductor of the future Slavonic Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (SYP) and one of the coordinators of the future Conductors Competition & Academy in Lusatia foreseen in the framework of the LG project.
In her keynote speech, Chairwoman VERHEYEN MEP pointed out: “The LUSATIA GLOW project comes at the right time. It aims at contributing to making bridges within the European Union crossing the borders between the cultures focusing not on governments, but on the civil society and on smaller languages, which are a crucial part of the European identity.” Speaking on Slavonic culture she added: ” Slavonic culture played an important role in the European history. Preserving Slavonic culture and arts within the European Union is an important goal, to which LUSATIA GLOW and the Slavonic minorities can strongly contribute through their bottom-up people oriented cross-border cooperation.” And she closed her speech underlining: “We are glad to have with LUSATIA GLOW a strong partner on our side!”
President LAMBERTZ emphasised the crucial importance of indigene ethnicities and cross-border minorities in the EU integration process by starting his opening statement: “You hit the nail on the head! The cross-border cooperation is the DNA of the European integration.” Mr. LAMBERTZ continued: “European cross-border languages and cultural families are places, where the EU encounters the reality. They are the places of gravitation in Europe.”
Professor MARIN took the musical approach: “Arts are crucial in the framework of the European integration. I want to congratulate the initiators: The LUSATIA GLOW project is like polyphony within an orchestra of many different players, which creates harmony. Music is a universal language and the Slavonic Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, we want to create, is an ambitious goal, to which I am looking forward”.
Beyond the keynote speakers and the presentations from the SLAVONIC EUROPE initiator and the three Lusatian country coordinators from the SERBSKI SEJM (DE), the ŁUŻYCKI ALIANS (PL) and the LUŽICKÁ ALIANCE ČR (CZ), the workshop consisted of detailed presentations from a number of the so called Applications Areas of the Lusatia model stemming from the Slovenian-Italian-Austrian Region – ALPE ADRIA GLOW (AAG), the Spanish-Portuguese Galician Region – ATLANTIC GLOW (AG) up to the South East Region of Europe at the triangle between North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia – SLAVONIC GLOW (SG).
The workshop closed with a musical recital given by the KARSKI QUARTET – a Polish-Belgian String Quartet based in Brussels and representing personally as well as at the level of its repertoire a sounding collaboration between East & West (https://www.karskiquartet.com), which interpreted the 1st movement from the String Quartet No. 4 from the Polish composer Grażyna BACEWICZ (1909-1969).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The SLAVONIC EUROPE (SE) Movement, founded in Brussels in spring 2016, presents an alternative approach to the European integration: Based on its SLAVONIC NEW WAVE (SNW) Framework Programme, it aims at presenting and highlighting in a bottom-up approach through a wide scale of projects and activities the unity of Mind & Emotion which lies at the hearth of the Slavonic culture and at showing its full variety. Without geographic or political borders, the SLAVONIC EUROPE movement strives to emphasize the peaceful power of the Slavonic culture as well as its sense for community – the very basis of each successful integrational undertaking. It endeavours to give back to the Slavs – and hence to whole Europe – their full identity trough a comprehensive programme, which links in a holistic and translational approach culture and arts to science, politics and economy.
For more information:
For the recording of the entire event: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFWBDOElTrmVotVrnlsI5fw?view_as=subscriber
CONTACT
Louis GILLET
Spokesperson
SLAVONIC EUROPE
+32 475 44 49 65
louis.gillet@slavonic-europe.org