ISCOMET institute

ISCOMET institute
Seat and structure
External collaborators
Fields of activities
History

ISCOMET institute

ISCOMET – Institute for Ethnic and Regional Studies is private non-profit making organisation. It is also a legal and organisation frame for the functioning of a non- governmental organisation ISCOMET – International Scientific Conference Minorities for Europe of Tomorrow. ISCOMET – Institute for Ethnic and Regional Studies has since its establishment – by itself or through the ISCOMET NGO – organised activities especially in the countries of South-Eastern Europe.

ISCOMET is coordinating international wide-scale Projects, organising international meetings and mutual information and views exchange, promotes research, and encourages activities launched by governmental and non-governmental institutions or organisations for the purpose of promoting the democratic development of issues, which are its concern.

ISCOMET and collaborators are dedicated to the activities for safeguarding peace, human rights and human dignity and friendly co-operation between peoples, states and regions of Europe, among other by strengthening mutual co-operation, promoting local development and by exchanging views and information.

Seat and structure

SEAT

ISCOMET – Institute for Ethnic and Regional Studies
Pupinova ulica 6, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Phone.:+386 2 25 00 440
E-mail: ISCOMET@siol.net

Management

Prof.Dr. Silvo Devetak, President
Jasmina Klojčnik, researcher and project manager
Mag. Franc Mlinar, researcher and project manager

External collaborators

Dr. Olesea Sirbu, Chisinau, Moldova
Prof.Dr. Stefan Dukiandjiev, Sofia, Bulgaria
Prof. Gerard Rowe, Frankfurt/O., Germany
Prof.Dr. Carmen Thiele, Frankfurt/O., Germany
Prof.Dr. Thomas Bremer, Münster, Germany
Prof. Ezio Benedetti, Gorizia, Italy
Dr. Antonietta Piacquadio, Trieste, Italy
Prof.Dr. Math Northmann, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Doc.Dr. Jasna Murgel,Maribor, Slovenia
Dr. Vera Klopčič, Maribor, Slovenia
Dr. Gregor Maučec, researcher and project manager
Bartolo Lampret, Maribor, Slovenia

Main fields of ISCOMET activities

  • mutual co-operation, integration in Europe, specially relations between neighbours;
  • human rights, protection of minorities, inter-ethnics relationships;
  • prevention and peaceful solution of inter-ethnic conflicts;
  • problems of ethnic identity of migrants;
  • regionalism and regional co-operation;
  • regional planning and development;
  • cross-border co-operation;
  • international regional societies;
  • protection of cultural heritage of ethnic and religious minorities, architectural monuments and monuments of traditional regional architecture;
  • preservation of regional characteristic

History

The Statutes of the International Scientific Conference Minorities for Europe of Tomorrow – ISCOMET (Document, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, June 27, 1989, OPL/BUR (24) 8) was adopted by the founding Conference on June 8-9, 1989 in Ljubljana. The conference was convened as a private initiative of a group of experts with the informal support by the Council of Europe. The final Declaration of the conference was distributed by the Council of Europe (see Council of Europe, CLRAE, CPL / BUR / 24 / 8, Strasbourg, 27 June 1989). The Declaration included between other two requests of the participants:
 – to transform the meeting in Ljubljana in the permanent scientific encounter  “The International Scientific Conference Minorities for Europe of Tomorrow – ISCOMET” and
 – to establish a research centre in order to study the issues of ethnic minorities and regionalism in the emerging European circumstances (later it was establish at the University of Maribor as the European Centre for Ethnic, Regional and Sociological Studies – ECERS). It is necessary to stress that the founding conference in Ljubljana was convened eight months before the crash down of the Berlin wall what symbolised the beginning of the new historical era in Europe. 

On behalf of the recommendation of Mrs. Catherine Lalumiere to the Committee of Ministers and to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 14 November 1991 in application of Resolution (72) 35 of the Committee of Ministers, ISCOMET was added, with the effect from 14 May 1992, to the list of international non-governmental organisations (NGO) enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe. On the 38. FUEN Federal Union of European Nationalities – Congress on 28 May 1992 in Branitz, Cottbus, ISCOMET has been accepted as a correspondent member of FUEN.

The Governmental Committee of the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe registered 1st July 1998 ISCOMET on the list of international NGOs (altogether 38 NGOs) entitled to submit collective complaints to the Committee of Independent Experts responsible for the supervision of the application of the Charter in the states that have ratified this instrument.