More than a hundred people take part in a conference organized by Mondragon University on how to combine immigration and the use of the Basque Language in Basque municipalities

A total of 110 people participated in the second annual conference on Basque and interculturality in educational communities organized by Mondragon University’s Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences. At the conference, which was held on the Eskoriatza campus, the participants shared experiences and good practices that have been implemented in the last two years in the educational communities of various municipalities that belong to the Commonwealth of Basque-Speaking Municipalities (Udalerri Euskaldunen Mankomunitatea, UEMA).

The initiative to combine Basque and interculturality was launched in 2021 in Zaldibia, and last year Zestoa, Aizarnazabal, Ondarroa, Ibarra and Leitza also joined, in collaboration with UEMA. This year, the initiative has been extended to 14 additional municipalities: Azpeitia, Markina-Xemein, Oñati, Orio, Bera, Alegia, Legorreta, Arbizu, Lizartza, Areatza, Asteasu, Itsasondo, Mutriku and Ereñotzu. Representatives of the schools of these towns and of different municipalities of the Basque Country participated in the conference.

The conference was opened by Nagore Ipiña, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences. “Basque and interculturality are two important focuses in the Faculty,” said Ipiña, introducing the aim of the conference: “to contribute from the university to the educational community that lives in Basque.”

Next, Faculty professor and researcher Karmele Perez took the floor and presented the theme of the conference: “the goal is to focus on Basque and at the same time communicate in a friendly way with school parents who do not know Basque.” She also presented efforts made to share the linguistic framework with new families and non-Basque speakers, and the formats used to try to respond to communication situations, such as reorganizing meetings at the beginning of the school year, triptych explanations, simultaneous translation, and the use of recordings or instant messaging to provide explanations.

Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences professor and researcher Amelia Barquín and Eider Amundarain, Director of the Lardizabal School in Zaldibia, explained the steps taken in Zaldibia to encourage parents of all origins to attend school meetings. Said Barquín, “among other actions, we suggested that they give up those outdated meetings at the beginning of the school year and instead try the format of two-step meetings.” In Amundarain’s words, “it was hard for us to accept that the meetings we held at the beginning of the school year were outdated, but we accepted the proposal from Mondragon University and started holding the meetings in two phases. The first meeting is a very general explanation, and the second is held in small groups. They have a nicer atmosphere this way since coffee and pastries are provided, the group dynamic is prepared, the meetings are better prepared in advance, we know who’s coming, we arrange who will sit where, there’s a nod to different languages at the end...”

UEMA representative Maialen Zuazo Aurrekoetxea then took part. In her talk, Zuazo reviewed the situation in Basque-speaking municipalities and warned of the change in the profile of speakers that is also taking place in these towns. For the UEMA representative, this plan is strategic because “we have realized that even in the most Basque-speaking municipalities, there is no guarantee that it will always be like that, and for UEMA, the key is to create more bilinguals.” Along the same lines, Nora Palmitano Rossi, a Basque technician from Zestoa explained that immigration is not dealt with in language policies and Basque is not dealt with in immigration policies, adding, “thanks to this project, both are combined.”

When it was the parents’ turn to speak, the audience heard from Zineb El ghaouti El gharrad from Lardizabal School in Zaldibia, Josu Egiguren from Zaldupe School in Ondarroa and Amaia Mendizabal from Ikasberri School in Azpeitia. All three highlighted the positive contribution the project has made in schools and towns, and its importance in influencing the awareness of Basque speakers and non-Basque speakers. Said Amaia Mendizabal, “in Azpeitia, relationships have improved and this can be seen in little things, for example, now that we use Telegram, parents who had no relationship before now greet each other every morning.” Looking to the future, and in order to keep the project alive, Zineb El ghaouti El gharrad mentioned that the key is “to continue communicating the importance of the project. We as parents must be aware of what Basque means in our towns and in the future of our children.”

The conference on Basque and interculturality in educational communities has received support from the Department of Equality, Justice and Social Policies of the Basque Government.