NPLD Steering Committee/Seminar

SC0114-02

NPLD Steering Committee/Seminar

Many of our languages are in danger! How do we get more support from the EU?

Thursday and Friday,13th and 14thFebruary2014,

Location: Dutch Province House, Huis van de NederlandseProvincies (HNP)

Trierstraat 59-61 B-1040 Brussels

Click here to see map

Seminar to start with lunch at 13:00 Thursday and end at 13:30 Friday

13.45-18.30 Thursday Afternoon Agenda

No. / Time / Item / Paper No / Sponsor
13.45 / Setting the context and purpose of the Steering Committee Meeting in Brussels.
A short note is attached as an introduction to this item / Chair
14.00 / A roundtable discussion on the motion passed by the European Parliament on Endangered and Minority Languages and the response of the EU Commission. The roundtable will include MEPs and EU Commission Officials
CEO will start this session with the short introduction to the journey taken by Francoise Alfonsi’s motion through the European Parliament and also the support provided over the past decades by the European Commission and Parliament for regional and minority languages. The question which will need to be asked and discussed is ‘where do we go now following the passing of Alfonsi’s motion’ and ‘the response of the European Commission’. Each one of the members of the roundtable will be asked to make a short presentation on what the future holds for CRSS languages in the European context and what should NPLD’s priorities be. We will also provide a list of issues and questions which you may wish to draw to the attention of the members of the roundtable. / Response of the EU Commission / CEO
15:20 / Discussion by members of the SC on CRSS and minority and endangered languages and how NPLD could promote further discussion and calls for support
Members of the roundtable will depart and the SC of NPLD will discuss what should our response be and what steps the network would wish to take in response to the observations made by the representatives of the EU Commission and Parliament. / SC0114-03
SC0114-04 / CEO
15.50 / Break
16.00 / Closed meeting of the Steering Committee
16.00 / Draft Programme for the General Assembly of NPLD in Leeuwarden, Friesland
It is proposed that the theme of the GA of NPLD this year should be Young People and their use of CRSS languages. We will discuss this proposal during this item. If it is agreed, members will be asked to suggest possible presentations for the GA / N/A
Discussion only / Chair
16:15 / Update on the European Roadmap for Linguistic Diversity
A short leaflet or flyer has been produced to be presented to candidates standing for election as MEP’s in the European Parliament elections. Members will be asked to agree the text and the format. A discussion will also be held on the timetable for the agreement on the final draft version of the Roadmap and when and where and how it will be launched. / Oral / CEO / VCF
16.25 / Advocacy in Brussels
A short report produced by VCF on his work in Brussels between Oct 2013 and Feb 2014. / SC0114-05 / VCF
16.40 / Quality Plan – self assessment
Feedback and discussion
Following the filling in of questionnaires about the work of NPLD at our last meeting in Dublin, some issues have identified which need some further discussion. Our Vice Chair, Dori Lopez Jurio will provide feedback on the self assessment undertaken and will discuss some of the issues raised. / SC0114-06 / DLJ
16.55 / EU Grant related issues

Tasks related to work packages
Roundtable meetings in Brussels

As part of our grant contract with the European Commission, we have agreed a list of tasks which we have to undertake. SEJ will take you quickly through the list and will indicate at which particular points we will need you support with some specific tasks. / Oral Presentation
Calendar of Events 2014 / SEJ / VCF
17.10 / Finance and Management

Financial report on 2013 and Budget for 2014

The end of financial yearreport for 2013 will be presented. Both the end of year report for 2013 and the proposed budget for 2014 can appear to be rather difficult to understand as they have to deal with issues that do not correspond to a 12 month period. For example, the EU grant funding is paid in one sum for an 18 monthperiod; some of our funding is in a bank account with the Government of Friesland, but must be accounted for, and also that in order to deal with issues of cash flow, some members pay their fees in advance! If you require some additional detailed information or more explanations on the budget, please feel free to contact us in advance of the meeting if that’s possible. If not, we’ll try our best to explain the figures during the meeting.

Second Bank Guarantee for period 2014- 2015

The Government of Friesland have indicated that they are willing to provide a bank guarantee for the European Commission for the second period of the grant which is from July 2014 to December 2015. The financial guarantee provided by NPLD for the Government of Friesland will therefore be retained until the end of the grant funded period and the final payment is made by the EU Commission. We are very grateful to the Government of Friesland for making this provision.

Overdraft facility

The Government of Friesland will consider the possibility of providing this service for NPLD. Discussions around this issue were held with NPLD’s bank but the conditions required by the bank were considered to be inappropriate.

Staffing and Office related issues

NPLD’s Office in Cardiff will be relocated to 8 Cathedral Road, Cardiff. The secretariat will be based in accommodation which is leased to the ColegCymraegCenedlaethol which is member of NPLD. We are grateful to the CCC for making it possible, based on a fair financial agreement, for us to share some of their very pleasant office accommodation.
Following the final agreement on the grant funding from the EU Commission, and according to the firm directive of the conditions of the grant, the CEO of NPLD is now required to be employed directly, for grant related work, by NPLD. CEO will now be employed by NPLD for 119 days a year and this condition has been back dated to April 2013. / SC0114-07 (Report)
SC0114-08 (Budget)
17.40 / Discussion on Membership structures and fees
A draft proposal for initial discussion will be circulated prior to the meeting which outlines some revisions to membership fees and structures and also to how the network should deal with applications for membership. / SC0114-09 / Chair
18:10 / Minutes of the Steering Committee meeting held in Dublin in October 2013 / SC0114-10 / Chair
18.30 / Any Other Business

Friday Morning Agenda

09:30-13:00 with lunch to follow

No. / Time / Item / Paper No. / Sponsor
09.30 / Review of Thursday’s roundtable and an overview of the Friday morning / Chair/CEO
09.45 / Europe 2020 A brief overview of programmes
VCF will give a short overview of the new Europe 2020 and Creative Europe programmes. This will lead us into a discussion on the new Erasmus plus programme / VCF
10.00 / Erasmus+ A presentation by Annemarie Bruggink EU Commission. Directorate-General for Education and Culture.
Annemarie Bruggink is the new official in the EUDirectorate-General for Education and Culture who has responsibility for Multilingualism. She is also the contact person for NPLD within the Commission. She will present the new programme and there will be an opportunity to discuss the potential of Erasmus plus in the context of the work that NPLD undertakes. / SC0114-11
10.45 / Europe 2020 -the potential funding opportunities
This will be an initial brain storming opportunity for members of NPLD to discuss creatively how we could take advantage of the funding provided through Erasmus plus. / VCF
11.15 / Refreshments
11.30 / The European Parliamentary elections
What will happen during the next four years? Looking into the Crystal Ball!
Following the European Parliament elections, what will be the nature and composition of the new EU Parliament! What will it mean for the politics of Europe and what will it mean for our countries, regions and communities? This will be a though provoking session for us all! / TBC
12.00 / Report on the seminar ‘Unlocking the potential of Technology to promote CRSS languages’ held in Cardiff, Wales, 23-24 January 2014. Discussion on next steps.
A short report on a seminar held in Cardiff in a partnership between the Welsh Government, NPLD and other organisations in Wales which considered the potential of technology in promoting our languages and also the dangers of not being part of new technological developments. META-NET played a leading role in our discussion and this report will make suggestions on what steps we should take soon if we are to ensure that our languages are included as part of new European initiative in the context of language and technology. / SC0114-12 / CEO
12.30 / What have we learnt and how do we use this knowledge?
Looking back at the past two days and drawing together all our ideas and considering how we move them forward. / CEO
13.00 / End of seminar and lunch