40 Years of the Center of Austrian Nationalities

The Center of Austrian Nationalities – abbreviated as CAN – celebrated its 40th anniversary on Tuesday in the Grand Hall of the University of Vienna. It is an umbrella organization that is independent of political parties.

In the presence of a large number of guests, participants, and visitors, and accompanied by a rich cultural and artistic program at the University of Vienna, the 40th anniversary of the Center of Austrian Nationalities was solemnly marked. CAN is an umbrella organization that represents the interests of national minorities in the Republic of Austria, including the Croatian national minority. Within the Center, which operates at both the Austrian and European levels to systematically improve the status and position of national minorities, the interests of the Burgenland Croats are represented by the Croatian Cultural Association in Burgenland and the Croatian Center Vienna, while Mag. Joži Buranić serves as the Secretary-General.

Alongside the Center's leadership, high-ranking officials from the Republic of Austria and the Republic of Slovenia addressed the ceremony. Speaking on behalf of the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, Dr. Milan Bošnjak reflected on the significance and work of the Center. He thanked the institutions of the Republic of Austria for their great contribution to preserving the language, culture, and tradition of the Croatian national minority in the federal state of Burgenland, expressing hope that their minority rights will be implemented with even higher quality in Vienna, primarily the right to education.

On the occasion of the Center's 40th anniversary, Joži Buranić emphasized the need to modernize the institution. He noted that they have developed a new website and are becoming increasingly visible on social media—which Buranić states is essential today for reaching the public and the media.

One of the main tasks of the Center is the preparation of new legal solutions. Back in the summer of 2009, in cooperation with experts, CAN drafted amendments to the Minority Act. That draft is currently awaiting further action. Recently, during a debate on minorities in the Austrian Parliament, legal expert Dieter Kolonović brought this draft forward again, emphasizing that the existing document would be applicable even under today's circumstances.

"This is precisely the task of the CAN organization: to prepare drafts, analyze topics in depth, and provide well-argued support to associations—from the issue of the new law all the way to bilingual education in Vienna," Buranić pointed out. Currently, there are positive developments regarding the new Minority Act, which should definitely be capitalized on. As long as a plan exists, work on it must continue so that it can ultimately be realized, he added. Establishing bilingual education in Vienna requires legal foundations, which have been lacking until now.

During their stay in the Republic of Austria, representatives of the Central State Office visited the Komensky School in Vienna and the Minority House in Borta.

The model of the Komensky School—a bilingual school run by the Czech minority since 1872—serves as the primary role model for establishing a new bilingual (Croatian-German) school spanning from kindergarten to graduation, which is being prepared by the Croatian School Association Rešetarić. The first classes are planned to launch on September 6, 2027, initially on the premises of this school.

Source: HRT