One of the demands made by Serbs from Austria at the Vidovdan Diaspora Assembly in Belgrade was for the motherland to support the effort to officially recognize the Serbian language in Austria, so that our children no longer learn the artificial BCS (Bosniak-Croatian-Serbian). Aleksandar Stanković, president of the Austrian Association of Serbian Folklore (AASF), says that the assembly was excellently organized and highlighted the importance of the assistance and support that the diaspora provides and will continue to provide to its compatriots in Kosovo and Metohija.

– We tried to indicate the fields that require further improvement of the existing strategy, and additional potential was recognized there for activities, especially in the fields of culture, business and science. These are also fields in which the Serbian community in Austria is very active, but there is certainly room for improvement – says Stanković.

Looking at the Serbian diaspora around the world, Stanković believes that we need a multidisciplinary approach, as well as a diaspora ministry in order to achieve even better communication with all relevant ministries and sectors in the motherland.

– On the other hand, the Serbian diaspora in Austria specifically needs support in two directions, which can be indicated within official relations between Belgrade and Vienna. The first topic is the size of the Serbian community, which should be constantly pointed out, even though official Austria is aware of this fact. The second topic is the use and learning of the Serbian language in Austria. Regarding the use of Serbian, the Austrian institutions do not recognize it as independent, but as part of the artificial BCS (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian) language, as the language of the people from the territory of BiH, Croatia and Serbia is officially called. Serbian should be accepted as an independent language, because each of the three are separate languages and can in no way be presented as one – Stanković points out.

Elective Course

– Regarding learning of the Serbian language in Austria, given the size of our community, it should be possible to have Serbian as one of the optional languages in the state school system, rather than a language taught only in supplementary schools. In this context, it would certainly be necessary to provide additional educational professionals and learning literature – emphasized Stanković.

Political Inactivity

Stanković notes that the Serbian community is one of the most numerous ethnic groups in Austria, but not the most active.

– Although we are active in many fields, there is a lot of room for even more active participation in all segments of society. One might argue that we are quite active in culture and partially in sports, we also have a large successful Serbian business community, but we are almost totally inactive when it comes to political life, which requires particular effort. We live in Austria and all the laws and all the decisions that are made ultimately affect also each of us individually.

Source: VESTI online

Photo: R. Begović