The University of Trento recognises and values the importance of the historical minority communities of Trentino - the Ladins, the Mòcheni and the Cimbri – as well as those of the Province of Bolzano/Südtirol. These communities represent a unique opportunity to align the University's activities with its strategic policies on equity, diversity and inclusion.

Through a cross-disciplinary approach, UniTrento acts as a bridge between minority and majority communities, promoting initiatives that raise awareness on cultural and linguistic diversity. These actions support inclusion not only within university life but also in the wider Trentino community, helping to create opportunities for dialogue and lasting social cohesion.

Some departments and centres of the University of Trento offer courses and modules that focus on the study of the linguistic minorities of Trentino, to make them known to the student community from a linguistic, legal, social and economic perspective. The courses also explore other national and European experiences from a comparative perspective. Some are also open to people who work in services dedicated to minority communities to help them in their day to day activities.

Courses

Internships

The University of Trento promotes internship projects in the areas of linguistic minorities, especially in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The purpose of the projects is to make students aware of these communities, to protect them and make them known, while helping to build a more inclusive society.

For civic and citizenship education

The University of Trento organizes educational activities and provides teaching materials on linguistic minorities for civic education and citizenship courses in secondary schools.

These include the book "Minoranze e società inclusiva" (Minorities and inclusive society) by Giorgia Decarli, a civic education path structured in 9 units, with a focus on discrimination, linguistic rights, self-government and indigenous peoples.

The text brings together historical, cultural, and socio-economic facts about the minorities of Trentino and other European areas with a comparative approach, and is available for download for free in full or in chapters.

UniTrento supports studies and projects on linguistic minorities in Trentino, and particularly in cross-cutting areas such as linguistics, law, economics, teaching and learning and the characteristics of the three communities of Cimbri, Ladini and Mocheni. Together with the three cultural istitutes of the local linguistic minorities, the University promotes interdisciplinary studies that combine linguistics and language contact, minority law, alpine history and anthropology, tourism economics and local development, as well as the teaching of minority languages.

Among the most frequent cross-cutting themes are autonomy, minority and diversity law, language rights, bilingualism and multilingualism, the intergenerational transmission of language, the relationship between school, family and community, and the use of languages in the media and digital communication. Particular attention is paid to the history of migrations from the Bavarian area, to linguistic contacts with Italian and Trentino dialects, and to the social and economic transformations of the valleys, which transitioned from agriculture and mining to today's tourism.