1. Pursuant to the federal structure of the Federal Republic of Germany, responsibility for the implementation of this provision lies, in particular, with the Länder. Fostering knowledge of the culture, history, language and religion of the groups protected under the Framework Convention and of the respective majority population is, as regards the educational system in the Länder, part of the curricula for schools, both publicly maintained and private, and of the mandate of the Land Centres and the Federal Centre for Political Education.

2. Education

A provision implementing the educational mandate stipulated under para. 1 of the Convention is to be found, for instance, in Section 2 of the Schools Act of Lower Saxony, according to which pupils are to be enabled to "develop and expand their faculty of perception, their sensitivity and their ability of expressing themselves, with the inclusion of the major regional variants of Low German and of Frisian ..."; in Section 4 of the Brandenburg Schools Act which provides that the pupils' ability and readiness shall be enhanced to understand their own culture as well as other cultures, with particular reference to the Sorbian (Wendish) culture; and in Section 2 of the Saxon Schools Act, under which all schools in the Free State of Saxony shall impart basic knowledge of the history and culture of the Sorbs. In this context, it must be noted that, as part of school education, knowledge of the culture and language of these minorities in Germany is passed on to a much greater extent in the respective traditional settlement area than in other parts of the national territory. It is especially in the schools of the protected groups (private schools of the Danish minority and publicly maintained schools for the Sorbian people) as described in the comments to Article 13 below - that the language, literature, culture, traditions and folklore, and history of the respective groups are dealt with in class in a particularly intensive way.

As regards imparting of knowledge of the history and culture of the German Sinti and Roma, who are dispersed more or less throughout the national territory of the FRG, the following measures may be given as examples: - In Hesse, under an amendment to the school framework plans, the history and culture of the Sinti and Roma are part of school education. On behalf of the Hessian Ministry of Culture and in co-operation with Fritz-Bauer-Intitut, the Hessian Land Institute for Pedagogy has developed pertinent educational materials. In 1998, the Hessian Ministry of Culture established the Pädagogisches Büro Nationale Minderheiten: Sinti und Roma [Educational Bureau for National Minorities: Sinti and Roma] and integrated it within the Hessian Land Institute for Pedagogy. With the establishment of this agency, the Land of Hesse wishes to further pursue the course chosen for the implementation of the tasks resulting from the Framework Convention.

The educational offers by the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia are primarily aimed at imparting the history and culture of the Sinti and Roma. Thus, for instance, materials for class instruction and regional follow-up training - which provide information on the culture group and history of the Sinti and Roma - are, with the participation of the local Sinti and Roma, being developed in the cities of Hamm and Cologne. The involvement of Sinti and Roma in parental work – in connection with adult literacy programmes – helps to enhance the confidence-building process between schools and families.

In Baden-Wurttemberg, the following measures have been agreed in co-operation by the Ministry of Culture and the Baden-Wurttemberg Land Association of German Sinti and Roma: At the Land Institute for Education and Instruction in Stuttgart, a Working Group Sinti und Roma in Deutschland [Sinti and Roma in Germany] will be established, which co-operates with the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg. Teachers and educators, representatives of the "Union of German Sinti and Roma - Baden-Wurttemberg Land Association", and of the Heidelberg-based Documentation and Cultural Centre are represented on this Working Group. The Working Group is to give new impulses for the inclusion of the history, culture, and suffering of German Sinti and Roma in school education. The Documentation and Cultural Centre will be included in the number of non-school educational institutions, e.g. to prepare school trips to Heidelberg. The Land Institute for Education is preparing a brochure to be used in class for analyzing, and attempting to come to terms with, the history of the Sinti and Roma. In addition, the Land Government endeavours to induce educational publishing companies to take increased account of the Sinti and Roma in textbooks and other educational media.

As regards the educational mandate of schools, reference is made to the comments under Article 6, para. 1, no. 2.1.2, above.

In imparting knowledge of the culture of the majority population and of national minorities and ethnic groups in schools and in the extra-curricular sector, an important role is played by the public institutions for political education, i.e. the Federal Centre and the Land Centres [for Political Education] (cf. also the comments under Article 6, para. 1, no. 2.1.1, above). The materials compiled by the Centres with regard to issues of the co-existence of the various cultures represented in Germany are used as instruction material both in schools and in adult education.

Information about the culture of the Danish minority, of the ethnic group of Frisians and of the minority of German Sinti and Roma is provided by the Government of the Land of Schleswig-Holstein especially in the Minority Report, already mentioned above under section I.7, which is published as a brochure. In addition, the Land of Schleswig-Holstein Centre for Political Education publishes a brochure entitled "Minorities in the German-Danish Border Region".

A report on the situation of the Sorbian people in the Free State of Saxony is submitted pursuant to Section 7 of the Saxon Sorbs Act by the Saxon State Government to the Saxon Landtag [Land Diet] at least once per legislative period. The report is also published for release to the general public. Additional activities by the Saxon Land Centre for Political Education include, for instance, publication - in co-operation with the Domowina Publishing Company - of a "Short History of the Sorbs" appearing in the series of publications covering the history, geography and political system of the country. This History closes with the following words: "The Sorbs' future lies in their bilingualism. Thus they will, on the one hand, face up to the economic needs and requirements and, on the other hand, preserve and further develop the Sorbian culture which has a rich tradition. This, in turn, fulfils an important function as a mediator between Germans and Slavs and contributes towards understanding, friendship and good-neighbourly relations among peoples."

Information on the culture and history of the German Sinti and Roma is provided, for instance, in the brochures "Nationalsozialismus - Band III" ["National Socialism - Volume III"] and "KZ Dachau" ["Dachau Concentration Camp"] published by the Bavarian Land Centre for Political Education. Also, the Land Centre plans to publish a general survey of the culture, history, language and religion of the German Sinti and Roma. In the Land of Hamburg, public relations about the history and identity of this minority who have traditionally been living also in Germany, has been stepped up as part of political education. Thus in Hamburg, a number of books and brochures have been published on the subject of the living together of different cultures and nations; among these is the publication entitled "Wir sprechen viele Sprachen" ["We speak many languages"] (a reading book with picture writing, which is also used as a first reader in classes attended by Roma). In addition, the Hamburg Senate Commissioner for Matters Relating to Aliens has published a brochure entitled "Roma and Sinti in Hamburg" which is designed to foster understanding of the culture and history of the Roma and Sinti in Hamburg. The Lower Saxon Land Centre for Political Education, within the framework of activities related to memorial sites, deals with the history of the persecution of the Sinti and Roma during the Nazi era. It holds meetings on this subject, and carries out research on the fate suffered by the Sinti and Roma in the concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen. Discrimination against the Sinti and Roma in post-war Germany was the subject of several meetings which also dealt with matters related to indemnification for wrongs suffered during the Nazi era. In the Land of Baden-Wurttemberg, a brochure entitled "Zwischen Romantisierung und Rassismus: Sinti and Roma 600 Jahre in Deutschland" ["Between romanticizing and racism: 600 years of Sinti and Roma living in Germany"] was published in November 1998 jointly by the Baden-Wurttemberg Land Centre for Political Education and the Union of German Sinti and Roma - Baden-Wurttemberg Land Association. It contains contributions from writers and scholars, and is first of all intended for teachers in general and for professionals in adult education. It is to impart the basic and background knowledge that helps to counter the development of prejudices and to develop and raise public awareness. The Rhineland-Palatinate Land Centre for Political Education has, together with the Pedagogical Centre, developed educational materials on the subject of "Sinti and Roma - Eine deutsche Minderheit" ["Sinti and Roma - A German minority"]. A key feature of these materials is that, rather than developing a "minority science" [a body of knowledge about minorities] as seen from the perspective of the majority population, the perspectives of both the majority and the minority are represented to the same extent.

The Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (BpB - Federal Centre for Political Education) also has intensively dealt with this subject-matter, especially in various publications of the series "Informationen zur politischen Bildung" ["Information on Political Education] which reach a large number of teachers/educators and other multipliers.

The Federal Government and the Länder endeavour to further improve the education and information currently offered, outside the traditional settlement areas, on the subject of national minorities and ethnic groups. The national minorities and ethnic groups regard the education/information activities outside the central settlement areas as insufficient and, in particular, find a nation-wide survey concerning the four groups concerned lacking.

3. Research and university education

In the field of research, state-run research institutions have already been established in several Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany with the pertinent terms of reference, while private research institutions of the minorities are continuously supported. On the subject of promotional policy, cf. the comments on Article 5, para. 1, above.

3.1 Regarding the Danish minority

Kiel University has a professorship for Nordic philology, which provides for a course of studies in the Danish language and literature. Kiel University also has a professorship for comparative literature, covering the Scandinavian region and Germany. The focus is on familiarisation with the respective culture. At Flensburg University the Danish-language seminar offers a course of studies for the teaching profession. In addition, the Dansk Centralbibliotek for Sydslesvig (Dänische Zentralbibliothek für Südschleswig - Central Library for South Schleswig) in Flensburg has a research unit which prepares scholarly articles/essays on the Danish minority. The general public in the German-Danish border region, and the Danish minority in particular, also make use of the research findings of Danish institutions, e.g. of the Danish universities and especially of the Institut für Grenzregionsforschung [Institute for Border Region Research] in Aabenraa/Apenrade in Denmark.

3.2 Regarding the Sorbian people

Leipzig University offers a course of Sorbian Studies (Sorabistics) for a Master's degree or for the teaching profession.

In the Free State of Saxony and in the Land of Brandenburg, the study of Sorbian language and culture is also in the hands of the Sorbisches Institut. The research priorities of the Sorbian Institute are linguistics, empirical cultural research, and the cultural and social history of the Sorbian people. At present, the Institute has a staff of 36, of whom 22 are academics. The Institute is financed with public funds provided through Stiftung für das sorbische Volk (Foundation for the Sorbian People).

In the field of linguistics, the Institute, after having completed the work on the 15-volume "Sorbian Linguistic Atlas", focuses its research on subjects related to dialects. It also contributes to the multinational Slav linguistic atlas. Those involved in the related practical work have a great demand for manuals and textbooks which the Institute develops on a periodic basis. The Sorbisches Institut also has at its disposal the Sorbische Zentralbibliothek (Sorbian Central Library) with some 75,000 volumes (books and journals), and Sorbisches Kulturarchiv (Sorbian Cultural Archives) with about 300 running metres of records and files. Like a National Library, the Sorbian Central Library collects all Sorbian and Sorabistic editions and continuously publishes a "Sorbian Bibliography". The Archives preserve and explore the essential documents of Sorbian cultural development from more than four centuries. The Sorbisches Institut combines its scholarly studies with the support of specific projects in the field of cultural and language promotion. On the basis of sociolinguistic studies, concepts are developed for focused promotion of the Lower Sorbian language.

Other scholarly studies carried out by the Institute deal with everyday life and the living conditions of the Sorbs in the course of their history and at present, their religiousness, their family relations, the significance of the [geographical] area for the shaping of one's life, and bilingual and bicultural ways of life. Studies on literature, music, sculpture and graphic arts, theatre and cultural relations with other civilisations and cultural areas elucidate further central aspects of Sorbian life. The head office of the Sorbian Institute is in Bautzen in Saxony, with a branch in Cottbus (Brandenburg). This branch is the first scholarly institution to deal specifically with the Sorbs of Lower Lusatia.

3.3 Regarding the Frisians

Since 1950, Kiel University has had the Nordfriesische Wörterbuchstelle [North Frisian Dictionary Institute], and since 1978, the professorial chair for Frisian philology.

Of great importance to the cultivation and promotion of, and research on, the Frisian language, culture and history is the Nordfriisk Instituut [North Frisian Institute] in Bredstedt as a central scholarly institution in North Friesland. Its scholarly and journalistic activities cover the areas of the languages, history and study of the geography and civilisation of North Friesland. The Institute operates a specialised library and archives and offers seminars, courses, workshops and lectures. Its providing body is the Verein Nordfriesisches Institut [Association for the North Frisian Institute], with a membership of about 850, and is funded, in particular, with subsidies provided by the Land and by local authorities.

Research work on the Frisian culture of East Friesland is undertaken sporadically by various institutions, also including corporations under public law.

Research on the Saterland Frisian history, culture and language is of a more recent date. Saterland Frisian has not been handed down as a written language. A collection of Saterland Frisian proverbs, dating from the year 1901, is known. It was only after World War II that the first spelling rules were laid down for this language. In 1980, a "Saterland Frisian Dictionary" was published; a revised and significantly enlarged edition is in preparation. Further publications are compilations of texts, such as "Saterfriesisches Volksleben" and "Saterfriesische Stimmen". The Zentralstelle für die sprachliche Landesforschung [Central Office for Linguistic Regional Research] of Göttingen University, with the support of Saterland Gemeinde, carried out a poll among 10 per cent of the inhabitants of the Saterland region. The project is to provide findings regarding the awareness of the members of the ethnic group in respect of their own history and culture. The study of the Saterland Frisian language lies, in particular, in the hands of a Germanist at Oldenburg University.

3.4 Regarding the German Sinti and Roma

Research projects by outsiders on the language, history and culture of the German Sinti and Roma are strictly rejected by the members of this minority. Such rejection is based on the experience with the pseudo-scientific race-related research undertaken by the National Socialists (Nazis). While at that time the Sinti and Roma at first were open to scientists who researched their language and culture, and in many instances supported these researchers, they later realised that this research was used as an instrument for racist purposes and was followed by the Nazi genocide of the Sinti and Roma. Against the background of this experience, the organisations of the German Sinti and Roma take the view that the language and culture of the minority should not be a subject of research by non-Sinti or non-Roma. Therefore, the study of the history and culture of this minority is mainly carried out by the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma which is under the minority's own administration (in this regard, cf. the comments under Article 5, para. 1, no. 4.4, above). Universities and other scientific/scholarly institutions deal with research subjects concerning the persecution of the Sinti and Roma under the Nazi rule of force.

In addition, however, other institutions have developed. In Marburg (Hesse), "Pädagogisches Büro Nationale Minderheiten: Sinti and Roma" [Educational Bureau for National Minorities: Sinti and Roma] was established at Pädagogisches Institut Mittelhessen. This Bureau closely co-operates with the (Hessian) Land Association of Sinti and Roma. The target group is the majority population. Through imparting of knowledge of the history and culture of the Sinti and Roma, acceptance of the minority is to be promoted within society. One example of a larger-scale project is the "Zeitzeugenprojekt" ["Contemporary Witness Project"] referring to events during the Nazi era, which is carried out jointly by the newly founded Gesellschaft für Antiziganismusforschung [Society for the Study of Anti-Gypsy Attitudes] and institutions of the Netherlands and of Israel.

The Gesellschaft für Antiziganismusforschung was founded in Marburg in July 1998. It is to provide scholarly support for the work of the Educational Bureau. The members of this Society are scholars from various special-subject fields, who study anti-Gypsy attitudes in the past and at present and the outflow of such attitudes, especially the holocaustal destruction of Sinti and Roma. The Society organises meetings and carries out other projects on this subject.

Article 12, para. 2 [teacher training; textbooks]

1. In the Federal Republic of Germany, there are no governmental impediments whatsoever as regards contacts among pupils and teachers from different communities; instead, various efforts are made to intensify such contacts. Governmental measures for teacher training, and government-supported promotion of such measures taken by other parties, are adjusted to the respective requirements of the various minorities, and thus are different for the various languages of the groups protected under the Framework Convention. It should also be noted that a long tradition of school training exists for some of these languages while others have been gradually integrated into school instruction for only a number of years, and on-the-job training of teachers in this respect and the pertinent educational material are still in the experimental stage.

2. Teacher training and development of appropriate educational materials are important prerequisites for information on the history and culture of the groups protected under the Framework Convention. As regards educational materials, cf. also the comments under para. 1 of Article 12, above.

2.1 The situation regarding the Danish language

The teachers of the private schools of the Danish minority have been trained either in Denmark or in Germany. Their in-service (follow-up) training is either in the hands of institutions of the Danish minority or is provided by Danish institutions. In Schleswig-Holstein, a course of studies in Danish is offered (for details, cf. the comments under para. 1, no. 3.1, above). The Danish private schools primarily use textbooks published by Danish educational publishing companies, but also educational materials developed by these schools themselves to take specific account of the situation and the history of the Danish minority, as well as German textbooks. The development, entailed by the Bonn/Copenhagen Declarations of 1955, of transfrontier promotion of minorities on the basis of the reciprocity principle has ensured that for the minorities on both sides of the border - Danes in Germany, and Germans in Denmark - adequate opportunities exist for teacher training and for access to textbooks.

With the specific aim of ensuring recruitment of teachers belonging to the Danish minority who are able to teach all subjects included in the curriculum, Section 5, para. 3, of the Federal Educational Grants Act (BAFöG) grants members of the Danish minority unlimited subsidised educational advancement for attending a training institution located in Denmark if such training cannot be undergone in Germany. This applies, for instance, to teacher training since, in the Federal Republic of Germany, the subjects included in the curriculum are, as a rule, taught in the German - but not in the Danish - language.

2.2 The situation regarding the Sorbian language

In the settlement area of the Sorbs (Free State of Saxony and the Land of Brandenburg), language courses in the Sorbian languages (i.e. Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian) and Sorbian-language teaching of other subjects are offered at publicly maintained schools. The opportunity for basic training of Sorbian teachers in Sorbian Studies - course of studies for the teaching profession - exists at Leipzig University (in Saxony). This University trains the most part of Sorbian-language teachers. The Ministry for Education, Youth and Sports of the Land of Brandenburg has, jointly with Potsdam University (Institute for the Study of Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Centre for Further Education), prepared an extension course of studies regarding Sorbian (Wendish) for lower secondary grades (i.e. secondary education stage I of German schools), which started on 1 April 1998. The aim is to qualify some 20 teachers for teaching Sorbian (Wendish) at schools. A continuation course of studies for acquiring teaching qualification for secondary education stage II is in preparation. For the subject of Sorbian (Wendish), framework plans have been developed for primary education, for secondary education stage I, and for the upper secondary grades of a Gymnasium [grammar school]. These plans were established by teachers from the Land of Brandenburg in co-operation with a linguist from Magdeburg University. The Commission's work was co-ordinated by the Land Institute for Pedagogy and by Arbeitsstelle Bildungsentwicklung of Cottbus (ABC).

The offers regarding central and regional follow-up/in-service training of Sorbian teachers are essentially demand-oriented at present. The Saxon Akademie für Lehrerfortbildung [teacher follow-up training college], for instance, during the study course period September 1998 - February 1999, offered a course on the subject "Methodische Anregung zur Textarbeit im Sorbischunterricht" ["Methodology for Working with Texts in Sorbian Classes"] for teaching posts at Realschulen [secondary schools, with lower secondary grades (i.e. secondary education stage I)] and Gymnasien [grammar schools; schools with upper secondary grades], and a course entitled "Unterwegs nach Europa - Mehrsprachigkeit statt Einsprachigkeit" ["On our way to Europe – Multilingualism instead of unilingualism"]. In addition, regional training offers exist for teachers who teach Sorbian as a foreign language or as the native language. Teachers who teach other subjects in the Sorbian language can take part in centrally or regionally organised follow-up training in subject-specific and multi-disciplinary studies. The regional training activities offered so far also comprise follow-up training which is advertised and carried out in the Sorbian language. The catalogue of training offered by the Bautzen Regional Education Office covers two courses for teachers of Sorbian primary schools and one course for teachers of Sorbian secondary technical schools, which are also advertised and carried out in the Sorbian language. An offer for the entire spectrum of school types is a training course on the subject of "Sorbian: Reactivation of the Language / In-Class Educational Materials / Textbooks".

In May 1992, the independently managed Arbeitsstelle Bildungsentwicklung Cottbus (ABC) [Cottbus Workshop for Educational Development] was established at Niedersorbisches Gymnasium [Lower Sorbian grammar school] in Cottbus (Brandenburg). As regards follow-up training of Sorbian (Wendish) language teachers and of educators teaching other subjects at Niedersorbisches Gymnasium, ABC has the following tasks:

For follow-up training of teachers, funds are available to Arbeitsstelle Bildungsentwicklung Cottbus (ABC). In addition, a teachers' instructor specially qualified for giving follow-up training is employed for the follow-up training of teachers. ABC and the teachers' instructor, in co-ordination with the Land of Brandenburg Institute for Pedagogy, independently develop the pertinent follow-up training offers. The courses are usually held once or twice per month and, in compact form, at the start of the summer holidays and occasionally during the spring vacation. In addition, training is offered for teachers for other school subjects in co-operation with the Schule für Niedersorbische Sprache und Kultur [School for Lower Sorbian Language and Culture] which is part of the Cottbus Adult Education Centre.

2.3 The situation regarding the Frisian languages

As part of the study courses for teachers of Realschulen, primary schools and secondary modern schools, Frisian is offered as a subject at Bildungswissenschaftliche Hochschule Flensburg, Universität (BWHU) [Flensburg College of Education, University]. Teaching is provided by a part-time (volunteer) lecturer and by teaching assignments for 15 hours per week per semester.

Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel (Kiel University) offers a Master's degree in Frisian as a major or minor subject, and Frisian as a course of studies for which an extension exam can be taken for becoming a teacher at the Gymnasium. The University has a grade C3 professorate covering eight hours per week per semester.

At the Frisian Seminar of the BWHU in Flensburg, 13 students are at present enrolled for Frisian studies. It may be assumed that in the years to come, one or two Frisian-language teachers per year will conclude their First and Second State Examinations for teachers and be available. Junior teachers for the subject of Frisian are to be taken on as teachers in training at schools with Frisian instruction so that they will be available without delay for this particular instruction. At Kiel University, 44 students are at present enrolled for Frisian studies.

In addition, the Nordfriesische Wörterbuchstelle [North Frisian Dictionary Institute] at Kiel University has been in existence since 1950 and, since 1978, with "Frisian philology" as a study subject, has been the only university institution for scholarly research on Frisian in the Federal Republic of Germany. The professor for Frisian at Kiel University is also the Director of Nordfriesische Wörterbuchstelle. This Institute has regular contacts with the Frisian Academy of Leeuwarden [Netherlands Province of Friesland], with Mertens Instituut of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, with the professorial chairs for Frisian in Groningen and at the two Amsterdam universities, and with Nordfriisk Instituut [North Frisian Institute] in Bredstedt (Germany).

There are no additional training programmes for Frisian-language teachers in Lower Saxony. The educational materials which are developed by the Saterland Frisian teachers themselves are used mainly in elementary schools. These materials are patterned on existing materials for English lessons in elementary schools, on materials forming part of the teaching and learning system and developed under the pilot project "Plattdeutsch in der Schule" ["Low German in School"], and on materials from the North and West Frisian speech areas. A concept for learning the Saterland Frisian language in institutions of primary education is to be developed within the framework of follow-up training activities. The Saterland Frisians expect the state to increase follow-up training activities and governmental funding for the development of educational materials.

2.4 The situation regarding the Romany language

The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and other associations of German Sinti are against the introduction of the Romany language in publicly maintained schools and, in particular, against development of a written form of this language. This is in line with centuries-old Sinti traditions and moreover is based on the experience of Nazi language researchers. Therefore, the Central Council and other associations take the view that, out of regard for the experience undergone by the survivors of the genocide as well, Romany should neither be taught by non-Sinti/non-Roma nor learned within the public educational system. A different position is taken by Roma associations which argue in favour of the inclusion of Romany in school education and wish to support measures, like those taken in European neighbouring countries, for the development of a written form of this language. Thus, going by those German Sinti and Roma as represented by their relevant organisations, the vast majority of German Sinti and Roma are against inclusion of their Romany language in the state-run education system, and emphasise their right to cultivate their language exclusively within the family and family clans and to pass it on to future generations. These organisations also object to occasional initiatives by organisations to have teachers trained in Romany, because they object to outsiders being introduced to their language.

However, the Central Council favours supplemental instruction for interested children of German Sinti and Roma, where teachers coming from the minority deal with school subjects in the Romany language so that the children's knowledge of Romany will be enhanced. Within the Länder, however, only limited numbers of teachers with sufficient language proficiency are available. The Central Council also favours language courses for members of the minority on a private basis and as part of adult education, to be carried out by teachers coming from the minority. Other Sinti organisations see imparting of their mother tongue Romany as the exclusive responsibility of the families and family clans of the Sinti community.

Use of the Romany language in the publicly maintained school system is confined, for the reasons already given, to pilot projects for German and foreign Roma children of whom larger numbers live close to each other. The organisations of German Sinti and Roma attach great importance to having the existing state-run and (state-)acknowledged system of schools and education used for the children of the German Sinti and Roma without any limitation as has been the case so far. The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and other organisations therefore object to separate schools or school classes for Sinti and Roma only. This is apparently also the parents' wish since the children of the German Sinti and Roma go to local regular and/or secondary schools.

Special possibilities, which are also designed to include the cultural traditions and the language of this group, exist for promoting the schooling progress of children of Sinti and Roma in some Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany, for instance in Baden-Wurttemberg, Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Schleswig-Holstein; in instances these activities are part of local projects. The related projects are carried out at primary, secondary modern and secondary technical schools. The experience gained in this context has shown that, on a long-term basis, only those initiatives will be successful which are launched locally with the consent, will and participation, including shared responsibility, of the persons concerned. In the field of teacher follow-up training, in particular, regional efforts increasingly focus on taking account of the concerns and interests of the pupils who come from Sinti and Roma families.

Various schools in Hamburg, with a larger share of Roma children, have Roma employed as teachers and/or school social workers. The culture of the Sinti and Roma and musical work are included in the education. In Hamm and Cologne, for instance, materials for instruction and regional follow-up training are, with the participation of locally resident Sinti and Roma, being developed which inform on the culture complex and history of the Sinti and Roma and which in the class environment are to provide closer links between the Sinti and Roma and the school.

In Hesse, the aforementioned Pädagogisches Büro Nationale Minderheiten: Sinti und Roma [Educational Bureau for National Minorities: Sinti and Roma] offers follow-up training for teachers and supports projects carried out by schools. As a first step, the subjects relating to the history and present-day life of the Sinti and Roma and to anti-Gypsy attitudes were incorporated in the framework plans for sociology, history and social studies, which were adopted in 1995; subsequently, under a 2-year project, educational materials were developed for history instruction which were made available to schools in the 1998/99 school year. The establishment of the Bureau, within the framework of the Hessian Schools Act of 1997, is the third step of the envisaged fundamental educational concept for the inclusion of the history and culture of the Sinti and Roma in school education.

The Educational Bureau is to provide the prerequisites for the introduction of the history and present-day life of the Sinti and Roma, of the history of anti-Gypsy attitudes, and of the culture of the Sinti and Roma in a form appropriate for the respective age-group classes and school subjects. It is to provide teachers with a basis of substantiated information about these issues which have scarcely been the subject of scholarly study and have been the subject of stereotyped judgments. These awareness-raising activities address the majority population so as to reduce deficits of information and the resultant prejudices on a long-term basis. Therefore, they are to have a Land-wide and regional impact. Follow-up training offered for teachers include lectures and seminars, literary research and supply of literary works, and the introduction to newly developed educational materials. Also, the Bureau advises schools and initiates and co-ordinates regional and local projects. It provides for transfer of the current research findings and works together with scientific institutions and its counterparts in other Länder and with institutions and organisations of the Sinti and Roma. Through organised events and meetings, a dialogue between the minority population and the majority population is being developed.

In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and other Länder, similar projects for teacher follow-up training are implemented. A project for follow-up training of teachers carried out in Hamm (in NRW) comprises both evaluation of the lessons learnt from projects and co-operation within various projects, and the exchange of experience with other projects (Hamburg, Bremen, and Denmark and the Netherlands). This documentation gives persons and agencies other than the project participants an opportunity for informing themselves and for having exchanges with others.

In Lower Saxony, as part of the follow-up training scheme "interkulturelles Lernen" [intercultural learning], regionally and centrally organised teacher follow-up training courses are offered which impart knowlege of cultural, social and historic aspects of the situation of the Sinti and Roma to teachers, and also offer didactic/methodological aids in view of promoting schooling progress and integration. The Lower Saxon Association of German Sinti, as well as local initiatives, are involved in designing and organizing these follow-up training courses.

3. In the view of the national minorities and ethnic groups, the activities carried out so far with regard to the follow-up training of teachers at publicly maintained schools require additions, especially as regards selective measures in individual fields (e.g. the Saterland Frisian culture) and nation-wide broadly-based activities in the field of follow-up training of teachers with regard to the culture and language of the minorities.

Article 12, para 3 [equal opportunities for access to education]

1. Equal opportunities for members of national minorities and ethnic groups as regards access to all levels of education are guaranteed under Article 3, para. 1, of the Basic Law [equality before the law] and are specified and detailed in the Schools Acts of the Länder (cf. Appendix: legislation of the Länder).

2. The Länder offer special promotional opportunities in cases where children of individual families of German Sinti and Roma do not fully meet the general attainment targets. The cause of such shortfalls is, on the one hand, the difficult transition from the traditional perception of the family being an all-embracing social community, to the concepts of modern society, with compulsory education and vocational training which mostly takes place outside the family. On the other hand, defensive reactions on the part of the parents or grandparents vis-à-vis the publicly maintained school system also come into play; such defensive reactions stem from the marginalisation of these persons and from their negative experience during their school days, and from subsequently being denied all educational opportunities during the persecution suffered under the Nazi régime. As regards governmental promotion measures, a number of examples are given below:

2.1 In Schleswig-Holstein, its capital Kiel runs a project which was developed jointly with Sinti and Roma and which has the primary objective of developing strategies for enhancing the school performance of Sinti children. Essential elements are the training of Sinti women as mediators and their work in schools. Their tasks include, among others, looking after Sinti children in elementary schools and in remedial classes; homework assistance; attending and supporting parent-teacher meetings; conflict mediation, conflict management; or counselling of parents with regard to their children's school career.

2.2 In the Land of Bremen, a "Modellversuch schulische Förderung von Sinti-Kindern" ["Model Test: Promoting Sinti Children at School"], developed for a four-year period and financed with EC funds, was established in 1986. The lessons learnt from this Model Test were analyzed and were incorporated in the present scheme for Sinti promotion which was introduced in 1990. Four teachers of the Model Test were assigned posts in the regular school system, for a total teaching assignment of 86 hours per week. On the basis of the experiences with the Sinti project, a similar project was developed in 1997 for Roma children. The 30 children included in this project are taught and guided by three teachers.

The state promotion programme is carried out in co-ordination with and with the approval of the parents concerned. This programme provides for three to four remedial lessons per week held at the schools, mostly in the subjects German and Mathematics. These measures are, on the one hand, designed to meet the needs of a given individual pupil; on the other hand, they are also carried out as part of interactive instruction involving other lower-attaining pupils. This is combined with close contacts with the parents who are encouraged to take care of the school affairs of their children themselves.

Together with the state promotion measures and the increased contacts with the parents, the efforts of the Bremen Sinti Association have helped to bring about that by now all school-age children of this group in Bremen regularly attend school. As a result of this overall trend, an increasing number of Sinti children successfully complete the given stages of education.

2.3 In Lower Saxony, those children of Sinti and Roma who still have insufficient proficiency in the German language, can - together with foreign children and with pupils of German minorities from the Russian Federation and Central Asia who resettled in Germany - take part in special promotion measures: