Parliament of the Sorbs in the German Bundestag

The Serbski Sejm, the people's representation of the Sorbs in Lusatia resulting from free, equal and direct elections, met today in the German Bundestag in Berlin with the Brandenburg Member of the Bundestag Knut Abraham MdB, who is a deputy member of the Parliamentary Advisory Council of the Foundation for the Sorbian People. The Serbski Sejm is the first and so far only democratically elected representative body in the history of the Sorbs in the Lusatian border triangle region and sees itself, among other things, as a natural mediator with the neighbouring countries.

Topics of discussion were priority projects of the Serbski Sejm such as the AKTIS Media Project - a media pilot project for the whole of Europe with a cross-border network for young people, which is to be launched from 2024. The IANUA school project initiated in Nebelschütz and the ETULIS three-country university project for cross-border German-Czech-Polish cooperation in education were also discussed. The added value of the Sorbian language and the self-confidence of the Sorbian fellow citizens, which has grown over the decades, were emphasised by Thomas Zschornak, who was mayor of the "grandchild-friendly municipality" for over 30 years.

The projects were presented as integral parts of the framework programme LUSATIA GLOW (Lusatian Glow), which was launched last year by Serbski Sejm as a strategic partner under the auspices of the Brussels-based movement SLAVONIC EUROPE (SE) in Brussels, Dresden, Bautzen and Prague and is supported by EU institutions and EU member states. The Sorbian perspective of the so-called "Lusatian Model", under which pan-European projects are to be launched across borders, is new. With currently about 20,000 speaking Sorbs, differentiated language tools are included in the multilingual programme.

A special focus of the discussion with Knut Abraham MdB was the youth work of the Serbski Sejm, which is cultivated in a special way by the Sorbian people's representation as work for the future and on which young representatives of the new Sorbian generation of the Serbski Sejm, who were present, spoke personally. Another burning issue was the dialogue between the Sorbian parliament of 24 elected representatives, 12 each from Lower Lusatia and 12 from Upper Lusatia, and the Sorbian association Domowina - Bund Lausitzer Sorben e.V. on parliamentary structural change in Lusatia, as well as on tourism and economic issues. "You are preaching to the choir," emphasised Knut Abraham, Member of the German Bundestag. Further talks by the Serbski Sejm at European level are to follow.