Austrian minorities centre marks 40 years of advocacy

Austria’s National Minorities Centre celebrated its 40th anniversary at a ceremony in Vienna on Tuesday, ORF reported. The centre was founded to protect the rights of the country’s long-established minority groups.

A team led by Carinthian Slovene Karel Smolle founded the centre in 1985, and all six recognised groups were represented there by 1986: Burgenland Croats, Hungarians, Roma, Czechs, Slovaks, and Styrian and Carinthian Slovenes. The groups joined forces to strengthen their ability to advance their shared interests.

Among the centre’s political achievements, Smolle said, were the establishment of a bilingual commercial academy in Klagenfurt and the creation of ORF programmes for minority groups. He said the centre had also brought wider attention to the presence of these communities in Austria.

Centre president Marian Wakounig said the organisation provides a platform for the six groups, particularly for legal support and advice. Green Party MP Olga Voglauer described it as an important source of reliable information about developments affecting the groups and said it had helped shape Austrian legislation.

Austria’s Minorities Act, which protects the six groups, was passed 50 years ago. Current demands include strengthening bilingual education in schools and preschools in both Vienna and Carinthia, Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr said.