Status of the Young People from the Indigenous National Minority Groups - as a Phenomenon and Its Exemplification in the Visegrad Group Countries Within the Integration Processes with the European Union

Abstract

The present article tackles the topic of the status of young people in the multicultural environment. The status of the young people from the indigenous minority determined by them is compared with the evaluation of the minority status by the young people from the majority living in the same environment. This topic is considered relevant for the quality of "intercultural milieu" and the identity of the society living in the particular environment. The objective of the article is to show the changes of the minority status by comparing the opinions in that matter recorded in the years before joining the EU and those expressed in 2010. We consider consequences of the changes in "intercultural approaches" in the particular environment within the integration processes in the EU. The way of presenting the topic is based on the theory of "groups of mutual reference". The results of the study presented in the article refer to the dimensions of valued resources and opportunities, and in particular opinions of young people considering their availability for the minority, which illustrates the position of group members and their status and prestige. Further, there is a comparison of opinions of young people from minority and majority groups concerning access to resources and opportunities for the indigenous minority group. This shows positioning of the minority, and at the same time establishes the position of majority in the particular environment. The opinions comprise a lot of information about relationships and ways of communication in the society, that is "interculturalism": "«Status» is a relative position of an individual and thus it depends on the fact who the others are" (Sowa, 1962, p. 59).