FAQ - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Eurominority
and www.eurominority.eu
• What is Eurominority?
• What information is found on www.eurominority.eu?
• What connections are there between Eurominority and European
institutions?
• How is Eurominority financed?
Stateless
Nations and National minorities
• What is the definition
of "Stateless Nation" and "national
minority"?
• How is the list of the minorities on www.eurominority.eu
compiled?
• Why don't areas of Europe which can be
regarded as Stateless Nations or national minorities appear on www.eurominority.eu?
• Why don't non-native minorities (or minorities resulting
from immigration) appear on www.eurominority.eu?
• What
are the borders of Europe according to Eurominority?
Languages
on www.eurominority.eu
• How is the list of the languages
on www.eurominority.eu compiled?
• Why isn't www.eurominority.eu
translated into my language? • Why is
it obligatory to write e-mails in German, English,
Breton or French?
Other
questions and members
• I wish to go on a training
course or to submit an application to Eurominority.
• I am searching for information which is not available on www.eurominority.eu.
• I wish to propose a link to my website.
• I wish
to order a book described on www.eurominority.eu.
• What connections does Eurominority have to separatist political parties?
•
What is Eurominority? [top of the page]
Eurominority represents the initials of the Organization for the European
Minorities. The aim of this association is the promotion of the Stateless Nations
and national minorities of Europe. Its activities involve research and information.
Eurominority is a lightly-structured body whose organization comprises a network
of correspondents using the Internet as a medium for communication.
•
What information is found on www.eurominority.eu? [top
of the page]
www.eurominority.eu is the website of Eurominority.
Information available consists of a brief presentation of all the European minorities
and various resources.
• What connections are there
between Eurominority and European institutions? [top
of the page]
Eurominority does not have any connections with
European institutions, such as the European Union, the Council of Europe or any
other organization financed by public funds. Eurominority is based on the work
of many associations promoting minority languages and rights of the minorities.
• How is Eurominority financed? [top
of the page]
Eurominority is financed exclusively by private
funds and does not profit from any government aid. That allows for complete editorial
independence within legal boundaries.
• What
is the definition of "Stateless Nations" and "national minorities"? [top of the page]
A "Stateless nation" is synonymous with a nation which does not have
the benefit of real official structures. It is thus generally in a minority situation
and can be defined as a "national minority". The expression "national
minority" corresponds to a group of people which meets the following minimum
criteria:
- cultural factors (language, religion, history, use...),
-
space structures (territory),
- a social identity (feeling of membership).
• How is the list of the minorities on www.eurominority.eu
compiled? [top of the page]
Eurominority drew up the list of the minorities with reference to the definition
that it gives some [See the definition]. On the other hand regions
of the European States are not included (e.g. Cantabria, Normandy, Lombardy...),
subsets of the national minorities (e.g. Provence in Occitania, Valencian Communauty
in Catalan Countries...), minority languages speakers not having specific areas
(e.g. alemanic, francic...). Due to the frequency of this question, we cannot
answer it by e-mail.
• Why don't areas of
Europe which can be regarded as Stateless Nations or national minorities appear
on www.eurominority.eu? [top
of the page]
We receive a lot of requests from Net surfers
regarding their areas being a Stateless Nation or a national minority. Eurominority
is limited to those minorities which have always been regarded as such by the
scientific community (linguists, ethnologists, sociologists...). It is undeniable
that each area of Europe has its own history, habits and traditions.... That does
not mean that it is a Stateless Nation or a national minority. Due to the frequency
of this question, we cannot answer it by e-mail.
•
Why don't non-native minorities (or minorities resulting from immigration) appear
on www.eurominority.eu? [top of the
page]
Eurominority only studies national minorities (or minorities
known as native people). We do not study the situation of non-native minorities
(or minorities resulting from immigration) (Maghrebians in France, Turks in Germany
or Indians and Pakistanis in the United Kingdom...). We do not study the subject
of religious minorities (Moslems, Jews...) or other types of minorities (homosexuals,
lesbians...). There is a French site which pertains to these
(www.minorites.org).
• What are the borders of Europe according to
Eurominority? [top of the page]
Eurominority carries out its research on the area of geographical Europe (and
beyond), also encompassing the Urals (the European part of Russia), the Caucasus
(Armenia, Azerbaidjan, Georgia included) and including Turkey.
•
How is the list of languages on www.eurominority.eu compiled? [top of the page]
Eurominority drew up the list
of languages with reference the work of the scientific community (linguists, ethnologists,
sociologists...). Its list of minority languages is compiled from the work of
the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages.
[www.eblul.org]
• Why isn't www.eurominority.eu translated into
my language? [top of the page]
Eurominority is based on a network of translators. If you would like our website
to be translated into your language as well and feel able to undertake the work,
contact us.
•
Why is it obligatory to write e-mails in Breton, English, French or German? [top
of the page]
These are the only four languages understood by
the administrator of the website. Thank you for your understanding.
•
I wish to go on a training course or to submit an application to Eurominority. [top of the page]
Eurominority is a lightly-structured body and does not have permanent staff and
office space, and thus is not able to receive trainees or collaborators.
•
I am searching for information which is not available on www.eurominority.eu. [top of the page]
Unfortunately we are unable to answer requests for
information on national minorities other than that available
on our website, due to lack of time and means. [Please
visit our links' portal to find other websites relating
to minorities issues]
• I wish to propose a link to my website. [top
of the page]
We do not answer requests for exchanges of links,
due to lack of time. We invite you however to use our
links' portal to add your website. In order to do so,
you will need to create your own account. [Click
here to access to our links' portal]
•
I wish to order a book described on www.eurominority.eu. [top
of the page]
Eurominority itself does not sell the books introduced
on this website. We provide you with the necessary information to find books related
to minority issues on the Internet. We recommend that you consult sales websites
such as Amazon.com or conduct
a search using Google.com engine.
• What connections does Eurominority
have to separatist political parties? [top
of the page]
Eurominority is an apolitical association, based
on regard for humans rights, and works in a humanistic spirit. We haven't direct
relationships with any political parties.
|