The campaign to have Slovakia recognize the Vietnamese community as the 14th ethnic minority in the country began early last year and went through many evaluation steps.
The decision to recognize the Vietnamese community as the 14th ethnic minority was made by the Slovakian government at a meeting on June 7, following the recommendation of the Slovakian Government Council on human rights , ethnic minorities and gender equality as well as expert opinions.
"I feel proud and honored that the government and people of Slovakia have appreciated the deep integration and contributions of the Vietnamese community to the social development of this country," Mr. Phuong Vo, chairman of the Association of Vietnamese in Slovakia, told VnExpress .
The Vietnamese Association in Slovakia has been lobbying the government for nearly a year and a half, starting with a petition for recognition sent to the Slovakian Ministry of Justice in February 2022.
Representatives of the Vietnamese community answer a press conference about the decision to be recognized as the 14th ethnic minority in Bratislava, Slovakia on June 7. Photo: TASR
After receiving the request, the Slovak Government Council on Human Rights, Minorities and Gender Equality requested the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences to provide a professional assessment of the Vietnamese community in the country.
The Vietnamese community in Slovakia has about 10,000 people, of which 3,000 have citizenship, the rest have permanent and temporary residence status. The largest concentration of Vietnamese people is in Bratislava province with more than 1,100 people and the second is Kosice province with nearly 600 people.
In July 2022, the Slovak Academy of Sciences presented an expert report with "completely positive" assessments, stating that the Vietnamese community fully met the criteria in terms of quantity, had lived in Slovakia for nearly 70 years, and the third generation had fully integrated into society.
The Government Council on Human Rights, Minorities and Gender Equality in December 2022 recommended that the Slovak government recognize the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority. At a meeting two months later, Slovak government ministries discussed and reached an agreement before deciding on recognition.
Mr. Phuong Vo, head of the advocacy group, said he was very happy with the results achieved, because the Vietnamese community now enjoys the same rights as other ethnic minorities in Slovakia.
"One of them is receiving budget from the Ethnic Minority Cultural Support Fund, to preserve and develop cultural identity, traditions, customs and mother tongue," he said.
The President of the Vietnamese Association in Slovakia said the community can use this budget for activities such as Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, Vietnamese cultural festivals or organizing Vietnamese language classes for children.
However, the right to use Vietnamese in offices and state agencies in Slovakia is not yet applied, because the community has not met the minimum population ratio of 15% in each locality.
"We must strengthen the integration of newly settled individuals and families, helping young children learn Slovak so they can participate in educational programs in the host country," said Mr. Phuong.
The Slovak Republic is an Eastern European country with a population of over 5 million and an area of approximately 49,000 km2. It shares borders with the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary.
Many members of the Vietnamese community in Slovakia expressed their joy at the government's decision and congratulated the campaign group on the results. "This will create a more solid foundation for the Vietnamese community here to live more confidently," wrote Facebook user Vui Východná Medicína, a Vietnamese living in Slovakia.
Thanh Tam
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