The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), representing the Turkish community in Western Thrace, participated in the General Assembly of the European Language Equality Network (ELEN), of which it is a member, held in Barcelona, Spain, on 14-15 November 2025. Hosted by the Catalonia-based Escarré International Centre for the Ethnic Minorities and Nations (CIEMEN), the General Assembly brought together representatives of national and linguistic minorities from different European countries. ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu attended the Assembly, accompanied by Deniz Servantie from ABTTF Brussels Office.
As part of the General Assembly programme, the ABTTF President participated in a workshop on the first day before noon on the project titled ‘‘FOSTERLANG (Fostering Linguistic Capital)’’, which aims to protect, and support endangered and minority languages and is funded by the European Union (EU). At the workshop, which focused on intensive education and multilingual classes using the example of Catalonia, representatives from different countries shared their experiences on the preservation, revitalisation and digitisation of endangered and minority languages.
Following the workshop, the ELEN 2025 General Assembly started with the welcoming speeches by ELEN President Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, ELEN Secretary General Davyth Hicks, and host CIEMEN Director Jordi Garrell.
At the official reception held on the first evening, United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Nicolas Levrat delivered a presentation. Levrat emphasised the need for supranational organisations and states to work together to protect minority languages and strengthen minority rights. He noted that discrimination against minorities continues in Europe and around the world, with inequalities persisting particularly in areas such as gender and mother tongue. Levrat stipulated that international organisations such as the Council of Europe and the UN must strengthen their efforts to support the rights of minorities, adding that he himself was working towards this goal.
On the second day of the General Assembly, seven draft resolutions submitted by ELEN members were discussed and unanimously adopted. Subsequently, the new members of ELEN introduced themselves. ABTTF President Habip Oğlu introduced ABTTF, which became a member of ELEN this year, and its work, stating that as the representative of the Turkish community in Western Thrace living in Greece, ABTTF raises the issues of the Turkish community and the human rights violations it faces in international platforms. Habip Oğlu concluded his remarks by expressing ABTTF’s great pleasure at joining the ELEN family.
Within the framework of the General Assembly, ABTTF President Habip Oğlu met with UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Nicolas Levrat and Chair of the Committee of Experts on the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe Aleksandria Oszmianska-Pagett, informing them about the fundamental and current issues facing the Turkish community in Western Thrace. Habip Oğlu also met with representatives of ELEN member minority organisations attending the General Assembly and engaged in lobbying activities.
The ELEN 2025 General Assembly concluded with delegates emphasising the importance of working together and sharing ideas for the preservation and development of minority languages and decided that the 2026 ELEN General Assembly would be held in Belfast/Béal Feirste, the capital of Northern Ireland.
