AREAS OF ACTIVITY
the SVI works, despite (or because) of its relatively small organizational structure, with a high degree of flexibility and efficiency.
Compared to other institutions, which are also active in the area of ethnic group research in Europe, the SVI is characterized by his particular content-based approach with a strong South Tyrolean reference, which is not perceived in any similar way
by any other institution.
The matter of ethnic minorities has been neglected in scholarly research for decades. Since the great changes in Europe, it has become a human rights and security matter of the first degree and the need for catching up is enormous. For that reason, since 1990 the Institute has expanded its 30 years of research in South Tyrol to a Europe-wide scale. In the intervening period, some results have already become part of the common scholarly literature. In this way, the Institute has gained international recognition.
Compared with many other areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, South Tyrol has something of a head start with experience. The benefits of this may be reaped on a Europe-wide scale. The Institute thus endeavors to impart the potential of the South Tyrolean experience to similar cases of conflict in Europe. This takes place especially through the creation of specific programs for information-gathering visits to South Tyrol by representatives of minorities, by politicians, and/or by holders of high office from minority regions. In particular, the publication and editing of the journal "European Journal on Minority Studies EJM" / European Journal of Minority Studies (until 2012 Springer Verlag, Vienna / New York, then Verlag Österreich, Vienna and now Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag) is part of our International Ethnic Group Information Exchange activities.
The Europäisches Journal für Minderheitenfragen EJM / European Journal of Minority Studies is an international, interdisciplinary quarterly journal on issues of European minorities, which is published by the Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag and whose articles are all subject to a peer review process according to the guidelines ISSAI 5600 e ISSAI 30 of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (www.intosai.org).
The articles from the years 1 (2008) to 5 (2012) are available for a fee on the homepage of the Springer publishing house: realtime.springer.com/journal/1865-1097
The editors are Christoph Pan (Bolzano), Franz Matscher (Salzburg), Manfred Kittel (Berlin), Matthias Theodor Vogt (Görlitz) and Paul Videsott (Bolzano, managing editor).
The Scientific Advisory Board consists of Anna Gamper (University of Innsbruck), Stefan Garsztecki (Chemnitz University of Technology), Hans Goebl (University of Salzburg), Esther Happacher (University of Innsbruck), Peter Jordan (Austrian Academy of Sciences Vienna), Klaus-Jürgen Nagel (Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona), Walter Obwexer (University of Innsbruck), Günther Rautz (EURAC, Bolzano), Oliver Reisner (Ilia State University Tbilisi / Tbilisi), Eduard Werner (University of Leipzig).
The protection of minorities is a complex matter, the political processing of which requires scientific lighting and underpinning. Against this background, the EJM thematically addresses the issues related to the preservation and development of the linguistic-cultural existence and identity of the autochthonous or traditional minorities or ethnic groups in Europe. The contents of the journal are interdisciplinary in order to provide basic and up-to-date information to the target groups from science and politics, theoreticians as well as practitioners and all those interested, thereby contributing to public discussion and decision-making.
A particular main emphasis lies in cooperation with international organizations for the development of a European system of minority protection. In this regard, the Institute has made a constructive contribution to the discussion with, among others, the Bolzano Draft Convention (1992 and 1994; authors: Felix Ermacora and Christoph Pan, published in 1993 and 1995 by Braumüller Wien, Ethnos vol. 42 and vol. 46).
The Institute mainly cooperates with competent bodies of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament (Intergroup for Traditional Minorities). The SVI’s partners include the Society for the Promotion of National Minorities in Europe (SENCE) in Zurich and the International Institute for Nationality Law and Regionalism (INTEREG) in Munich, with which the SVI has been operating a cross-border "ARGE Volksgruppen" since 2010, for the further deepening of the networking of the three organizations and for generating synergy effects. For specific projects, the SVI also cooperates the Haus des Deutschen Ostens (HDO) in Munich, the Committee of the historic German language islands in Italy in Lusérn, the CONFEMILI (Comitato federativo minoranze linguistiche d’Italia) in Rome, the Society for Threatened Peoples / Section South Tyrol or the Federation of Hungarian Organizations in Germany eV (BUOD).
The Institute has a rich collection of international minority protection documents. This collection is open for consultation after previous appointment. On this basis, the SVI also provides specialist information upon request.