Visit from the ministry in the service office for the Sorbian language

19.01.2022

Pressrelease of Domowina:

Wednesday, January 19th, Dr. Jens Baumann, responsible for the Sorbian municipal program for the promotion of bilingualism in the Saxon State Ministry of the Interior, visits the service office for the Sorbian language in municipal affairs, which is financed from this programme. The office, which is sponsored by Domowina, is located in the Hoyerswerda building of the Sorbian umbrella organization. The employees of the office Franciska Grajcarekec/Franziska Grajcarek and Jan Kral/Johannes Krahl, the new Domowina managing director Judit Šołćina/Scholze and the Domowina regional spokeswoman Sonja Hrjehorjowa/Rehor also took part in the discussion.

Baumann, representative of the Free State of Saxony for expellees and late resettlers, also takes care of the interests of the Sorbian people. During the conversation, he expressed that it was not just a question of anchoring rights, but also of achieving linguistic and cultural equality for the national minority at the municipal level. It is therefore important that the program funds are also used in this way. This is also in the interest of the entire region, as the comparatively low migration from Sorbian villages shows that the Sorbs have particularly strong ties to their homeland. The Sorbian people contribute to all areas of society as a whole, from culture to sport.

Of course, further funding of the service office for the upcoming double budget of the Free State of Saxony has been applied for, because it is important to guarantee the financial basis of this institution in the long term. EUR 300,000 per year is currently available for the Sorbian municipal program, including a flat rate of EUR 5,000 for each municipality in the Sorbian settlement area of ​​Saxony and the financing of the staff of the service office. The Saxon state parliament decides on the state budget.

Domowina managing director Judit Šołćina/Scholze emphasized the role of the Sorbs as a unique selling point of Lusatia in the process of structural change. Especially in the period of structural change, many Sorbs outside of Lusatia wanted to return to their homeland. Whether this is possible depends on existing jobs. Šołćina/Scholze herself returned to Lusatia with her family after many years working in Berlin.

Photo: Jan Kral/Johannes Krahl (service office for the Sorbian language in municipal affairs), Dr. Jens Baumann (Saxon State Ministry of the Interior), Franciska Grajcarekec/Franziska Grajcarek (Service Office), Sonja Hrjehorjowa/Rehor (Regional Domowina Spokesperson for the territory of the Hoyerswerda Regional Association), Judit Šołćina/Scholze (Domowina Managing Director). Photo: Domowina.