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The director of the Peace Institute receives grant for research on the Åland example
On the Autonomy Day the 9th of June the Director of the Åland Islands Peace Institute Sia Spiliopoulou-Åkermark will be receiving a €15,000 research grant from the Jubilee Fund of the Åland Autonomy. The grant is awarded annually, and is this year awarded to Docent Spiliopoulou-Åkermark for a research project concerning the viability and international significance of the Åland example in conflict solution.
Research aims to contribute to strengthening minority languages
Can small minority languages survive in a globalized world? The question is asked within the research project ELDIA (European Language Diversity for All) in which the Åland Islands Peace Institute is cooperating with researchers from seven different universities. Through studying and comparing 14 different language communities in eight European countries the research project will gather knowledge about how one may strengthen minority languages in Europé and globally. One aim of the project is to develop a European Language Vitality Barometer (the EuLaViBar) to assess the vitality of different languages.
Minority Education in Finland and Sweden
Collaborative project (2009-2010) between the Åland Islands Peace Institute and the Åbo Akademi University (in Åbo/Turku, Finland) comparing the experiences, strengths and weaknesses of minority education regimes in Finland and Sweden. Dr Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark and Dr Kristian Myntti are the two main researchers of the project funded by the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland. One academic article is already published ‘Minority Education in Sweden: problems and trends' in Europa Ethnica (Austria, Innsbruck University), No. 1-2 2009, pp. 23-30.
Migration and integration of migrants on the Åland Islands and Åland Identity
In the summer of 2007, the Åland Island Peace Institute started researching issues related to migration to Åland. A survey of the migrants' attitudes towards the Ålandic society resulted in the report "Immigrant Integration on Åland- an exploratory study" by Bogdan State (currently a PhD-student in sociology at Stanford University). A second survey, about the Ålanders' attitudes towards migrants, was undertaken on Åland. To supplement these studies, the legal framework for the integration of migrants on Åland is also researched by pol.mag. Petra Granholm. The research resulted in a report where the legal situation on Åland is compared with the situation in Finland. Finland has had an Act on the integration of migrants and the reception of asylum seekers since 1999. On Åland the work towards a plan or a law on integration has just started, for instance through the final report of the committee on integration in 2007. The project as a whole has until now resulted in three reports published within the report series of the Åland Islands Peace Institute (No 2-2007, No 2-2009 and No. 3-2009. Downloadable for free from www.peace.ax, under menu Report series.)
Multilevel Governance in the EU and the Role of Autonomous Regions
Sarah Stephan examines in her study the channels available for and the strategies used by regions with legislative competence in order to ensure participation in the EU. It questions both arguments of regional blindness as well as those concerning effective multilevel governance. The research is based in the examination of the underlying theories as well as on empirical data obtained through interviews mainly in Germany, in Brussels and on Åland.
Collective Rights to Administer Landed Property
Rhodri C. Williams, guest researcher at the Åland Islands Peace Institute was in January 2009 awarded a grant by the Åland Culture Foundation to undertake research on "Collective Rights to Administer Landed Property: From the League of Nations' Åland Agreement to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People." Mr. Williams' research will focus on the fact that rules like those on Åland allowing minorities in autonomous regions to restrict the sale of land to outsiders are relatively unusual. The research project will begin by looking at how such a rule was included in the original League of Nations autonomy decision and what models it was based on. Mr. Williams will also examine whether Åland's experience has been taken into account in the ongoing campaign of many indigenous and tribal groups worldwide to be recognized as having similar rights to exclude outsiders from their traditional lands.