Projects archive - year 2007

RAXEN 8

FRA Network

Donor: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) 

Period: January 2007 - December 2007  

Racism and Xenophobia European Information Network (RAXEN) was established by the European Monitoring Center of Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) that later has been changed into the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in 2007. The main objective of the FRA is to offer broad audience in the EU-25 objective, reliable and comparable data on issues of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism in the territory of member states and to contribute to formulation of effective measures designed to fight racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. RAXEN Network consists of 25 national groups, one group operating in each member state. National groups are partners of FRA providing needed information and data on national level.

 

Center for Research of Ethnicity and Culture together with People Against Racism form national group for Slovakia. Particular national groups carry out different tasks specified by FRA, collect information and statistical data about various activities in the area of fight against racism and xenophobia, work out general (general situation in the country) as well as specific reports (employment, education, housing, etc.)

Outputs in 2007:

1. National Data Collection Report aimed at five main areas of discrimination (legislation, education, housing, employment, racial violence). This report as well includes a database of organizations, their activities and publications dealing with discrimination, racism and xenophobia. Annual report on situation in the area of racism and xenophobia in the Slovak Republic and further information material mapping respective area in 2007.

 

2. RAXEN Bulletin: Bi-monthly newsletter on crucial news in racism and discrimination in Slovakia.

Study on the social and labor market integration of ethnic minorities

EC Project VC/ 2006/ 0309

Partner: Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn

 

Period: January 2007 - December 2007

 

Project has been dealing with issues of discrimination, segregation, and marginalization of ethnic minorities that are in stark conflict with the cornerstone values of the EU as embedded in acquis communautaire. Yet, social and economic disintegration remains an everyday challenge to millions of members of ethnic minorities living in the EU today. Ethnic integration challenges appear in a variety of forms, from unequal access to health care and social services to unemployment, underemployment, and substandard remuneration of individuals belonging to different ethnic minorities.

 

Labor market segmentation is a particularly worrisome issue, since equal labor market opportunities are a cornerstone for achieving the key objectives of the European Employment Strategy, as defined by full employment, increased productivity and enhanced quality of work, and strengthened social cohesion and inclusion. Therefore, it is imperative for the European society to strengthen labor market integration of ethnic minorities. To this end, a large number of legislative acts, policies, and local actions have been implemented to date.

The overriding objective of the study on the social and labor market integration of ethnic minorities in Europe was to provide the High Level Group on the social and labor market integration of minorities (HLG) and the European Commission (EC) with
1. an expert analysis of the labor market situation for relevant ethnic minorities;
2. identification and description of the barriers relevant ethnic minorities face in the labor market and actual and potential policies aiming at overcoming these barriers;
3. policy evaluation including identification of best policy and business conduct practices;
4. policy recommendations concerning overcoming the barriers ethnic minorities face in European labor markets to support the High Level Group in formulating its recommendations to the EU Commission.

In the first part of the study the team provided the contextual framework describing the labor market situation of ethnic minorities in the EU member states. Experts documented to what extent, different ethnic minorities, such as Roma in Slovakia, Muslims in Western Europe, or the Russian speaking population in Latvia, experience discrimination and segregation in the labor market. An inclusive understanding of ethnic minority such that the relevant minorities in Europe are covered was adopted. At the same time, to facilitate cross-country comparability, more refined definitions of ethnic minorities has been investigated.

The second part of the report identified the external and, whenever possible, internal barriers that members of ethnic minorities face in the labor market. Experts utilized different datasets available through IZA’s own Data Service Centre and micro-econometric techniques. The key focus in this section was to identify labor market discrimination of ethnic minorities.

In the third part of the report different public policies and private initiatives on labor market integration of ethnic minorities were evaluated, distinguishing three levels of policy implementation: (i) the EU level, (ii) the country level, (iii) and the local level. In the comparative analytical framework, the key evaluation dimensions that are proposed to be employed include relevancy, efficacy, timing, fairness, and feasibility.
The last part concluded with policy implications and recommendations on how to improve labor market integration of ethnic minorities in the EU member states. This part was predominantly draw on the insights of the renowned international economic and policy experts in the IZA team.

V4 Summer School, 4 - 6th Edition (2007)

July 8 - 21, 2007

Partners: Villa Decius Krakow, Magyar Központ Kraków, Asociace pre mezinárodní otázky Praha, EuroRegio Ukraine, Kyiv 

 

Donor: International Visegrad Fund 

 

 

Period: July 8 - 21, 2007

The aim of the Visegrad Summer School has been to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and to create an alternative learning environment for young people from Central and Eastern Europe. The summer school has been organized to lower prejudice and stereotypes of particular ethnic groups. 50 young people from V4 countries and selected other countries of Eastern Europe were participating on the summer school.

 

Visegrad Summer School belongs to the group of prominent alternative forms of education and cooperation of young people in Central and Eastern Europe. In the course of previous years participants prepared their projects that continued after the Summer school.

 

Dr. Michal Vašečka lectured at the Summer school this year again and he lectured on "Virtual society".

  

Slovakia has been represented on the 6th edition of the Summer School by 8 participants:

Monika Bandúrová, FSES, Comenius University, Bratislava
Eva Kullová, Law Faculty, Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica
Zuzana Majbová, Faculty of Art, Charles University, Prague
Karol Margeta, Faculty of Law, Comenius University, Bratislava
Erika Okruhlicová, Faculty of Art, Comenius University, Bratislava
Alexandra Ormisová, Constantin Philosoph University, Nitra
Alžbeta Tóthová, Roosevelt Academy and Utrecht University, Utrecht 
Denisa Voskárová, Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica

 

Program of the Summer School here

 

Information prospect here

 

Photogalery from the Summer School here

Accelerating CSR Practices in the New EU Member States and Candidate Countries

Research on CSR

Donor: UNDP and Braun & Partners network, Budapest

 

Period: March 2007 - October 2007

 

The beginning of 2007 marks the start of a first regional project launched by UNDP to accelerate implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in 8 new EU Member States and in candidate countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Slovak Republic and Turkey. The Project aims at promoting and supporting the integration of sustainability principles into the business strategies. The Project is expected to contribute to regional cohesion among old and new EU Member States and candidate countries. The project is funded by the European Commission.

As a partner institution, CVEK realized the research in cooperation with international expert team. The main objective of the research was to investigate the actual level of CSR promotion in Slovakia and to bring recommendations from stakeholders. The research was based on qualitative interviews with various representatives of small and medium companies and stakeholders (NGO, media, academic institutions, associations, ministries.)

The output of the research consists of the Baseline Study on CSR Practices in the New EU Member States and the national report for Slovakia where all the results of the qualitative and quantitative research are included. The report as well formulates the recommendations for various actors active in the field of CSR promotion.

Elena Gallová Kriglerová presented results of the study on June 20, 2007 at the UNDP headquarters in Bratislava to representatives of firms, media, non-governmental organizations and governmental bodies. Results of the research were presented also on October 17 in Košice and on October 30 in Žilina.

Life in Motion: Shifting spaces, transcending times, crossing borders“

SSEES-UCL series conference

Main organizer: Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University 

Period: June 28-30, 2007

CVEK participated on preparation and organization of the 8th Postgraduate conference „Life in Motion: Shifting spaces, transcending times, crossing borders“, that took place on June 28-30, 2007 at the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University in Brno. Conference has been successful continuation of conference series at the SSEES-UCL in London, GSSR IFiS PAN in Warsaw and University of California in Berkeley.

Processes of Redefinition and Reconstruction of the Term Nation in Central Europe

International conference in Telč

Partner: Institute on Research of Reproduction and Integration of Society, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University Brno   

 

Donor: International Visegrad Fund 

 

Period: June 8-9, 2007

 

Objective of the conference has been to contribute to better understanding of the processes of redefinition of nation's identity. That in consequences would allow not only better conditions for handling of the minority and migrant issues, but also increased mutual understanding between nations in Central Europe. In Central European countries, the process of national self-determination since 19th century has been more on the ethnic and cultural side than on the civic and territorial one.

 

Central European reality can be characterized by the notion "Kulturnation" (broad cultural community), rather than "Staatsnation" (self-determining political nation). The salience of ethnic component in constructing nationhood among CEE is likely the critical factor why these states are not ready to fully accept the cultural other as equal members - the other may be national minorities or new immigrant groups. Most societies, entering the era of post-industrial times and cross-country migration are not ready for full acceptance otherness - either autochtonous minorities, migrants, or even people with multilayer identities. Confusion is visible mostly in radically different manner in which citizenship in particular countries of the Central Europe - ius soli (birthright citizenship) and ius sanguini principles (right of blood) are used to determinate of the state citizenship in most of EU countries.

Participants from 10 countries took part on the conference (see the Program)

„Top 10“ conclusions of the conference:

1. There is no consensus about the term nation in Europe (double meanings, difficulties of translation, different contents).

2. Ethnic and civic dichotomy brings conceptual problems to researchers while studying issues connected with a term nation.

3. Term nation should be studied by using a functionalist paradigm.

4. Functionalist paradigm does not exclude thinking about demands of minorities in terms of justice.

5. Issues of banal nationalism, symbolic exclusion, and tribal thinking is more important to conceptualize than to study open nationalism.

6. Researchers should avoid „fetishization“ of legal definitions of the term nation.

7. Language of conceptualization of the term nation is often primordial.

8. Modern national states create a „cocktail“ of civic and ethnic traditions.

9. The role of researchers is a deconstruction and falsification of policies and practices that are rooted unconsciously in nationalized legal norms.

10. Chance of moving forward: redefinition of the core solidarity based on ethnicity to core solidarity based on modern citizenship.

CVEK published a peer-reviewed publication out of selected contributions in English: Nation Uber Alles. Processes of redefinition and reconstitution of the Term Nation in Central European countries. Introduction by editor Michal Vašečka can be downloaded here.

 

Photo gallery from the conference here

Co-organization of the project Visegrad Essay Competition 2007

Student Competition

Partner: Global Politics 

 

Period: March 2007 - May 2007

 

CVEK participated on the project of the Global Politics web magazine (www.globalpolitics.cz) in which students from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia took part in the 2007 Visegrad Essay Competition and thus they contributed to the ongoing scholarly discourse over Central European political developments.

 

To participate, student authors submitted an authentic, unpublished English essay of no more than 3500 words on one of the following topics:

1. Hitherto V4 cooperation and its perspectives after EU entry;

2. Shared political and social identities in the V4;

3. Populism and nationalism in V4 countries.

Digital broadcast server - digimedia.sk

www.digimedia.sk

Donor: Ministry of Transportation, Posts, and Telecommunications of the Slovak Republic 

 

Period: December 2006 - May 2009 

 

The Server, www.digimedia.sk, launched on December 2006, provided critical information, news, articles, and interviews about digital broadcasting in Slovakia and elsewhere. The purpose of this server has been to facilitate transformation of Slovak broadcasting through well considered communication campaign targeted at professionals, working in the area of broadcasting and telecommunications as well as the general public.

The www.digimedia.sk server has been part of a larger project, The Study of Legislative and Socio-Economic Aspects of Transition from Analogous to Digital TV broadcasting, sponsored by the Slovak Ministry of Transports, posts and telecommunications.

Minorities and Migrants in Media

Media research

Partners:

Kurt Lewin Foundation, Budapest

Institut für Publizistik und Kommunikations wissenschaft, Wien

Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno 

 

Period: November 2006 - January 2007

 

The objective of the project was to provide the press with relevant feedback on the manner and extent of their communication about national and ethnic minorities and immigrants.

 

The research encompasses Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia; it lasted for one month and researchers monitored three different daily newspapers, two weeklies, one country paper, three internet news portals, and the evening news and a magazine program of a TV channel every day. In Slovakia, media monitoring was realized in November 2006 and focused on several types of Slovak media:

 

a) Dailies: Sme, Pravda, Nový čas, Prešovský Korzár

b) Weekly: Plus 7 dní

c) TV channels: Markíza (TV News and daily magazine Reflex)

d) Websites: Atlas, Aktualne, Aktuality

Researchers in each country have published a country reports that describes situation of media coverage of migrant and minority issues. Slovak report pointed out on how Slovak media produce and reproduce stereotypes and prejudices against ethnic and national minorities and migrants and on how strongly they contribute to creation of negative perception of migrants and minorities in Slovakia.