Buranits takes chair of Croatian minority council

Josef Buranits has been elected chair of Austria’s Croatian minority advisory council, with Harald Ladich as his deputy, ORF reported. The council was constituted for a new term last week at the Federal Chancellery in Vienna.

More than half of the council’s members are serving for the first time, according to a statement from Buranits. The 24 representatives come from Croatian associations and institutions, the Church and political parties. Buranits said the nominations had achieved gender parity and brought younger members onto the council.

Buranits said the council would continue work from the previous term, with education as a key priority. Its aims include securing and developing educational provision for the Croatian minority in Burgenland, as well as establishing and maintaining suitable provision in Vienna.

The council also wants to amend the Minorities Act, which dates from 1976. It welcomed Minister Claudia Bauer’s initiative to establish a minorities forum at the Federal Chancellery. Other priorities include raising the public visibility of minority groups and improving how they are viewed by society.

Ladich chaired the Croatian minority council during the previous term. In the Roma minority council, Emmerich Gärtner-Horvath was re-elected chair, with Martin Horvath as his deputy. The eight-member council aims to strengthen and further develop the concerns of Austria’s Roma, Gärtner-Horvath said.