6th Meeting of Language & Culture Lecturers at Tabakalera

Twenty-three Basque language and culture lecturers at universities around the world met on 21 July at the Tabakalera building in Donostia. At the meeting, they evaluated the past academic year and discussed the challenges that lie ahead. 

On Friday, 21 July, 23 teachers of Basque language and culture at 31 universities in 15 countries through the Etxepare Basque Institute met in Tabakalera´s Sala K to discuss the Etxepare Basque Institute. Seventeen of them took part in person and six joined in online. Among them were five new lecturers who will start working next academic year. 

At the meeting, the participants assessed the 2022-2023 academic year and reflected on the challenges ahead. Attendees included the Basque Councillor for Culture and Language Policy, Bingen Zupiria; Etxepare Basque Institute Director Irene Larraza; the Institute’s head of Promotion and Dissemination of the Basque Language, Monika Madinabeitia, and lectureship network technicians Eneko Agirre and Xabier Etxeberria. 

The meeting, which is held annually, included talks and group dynamic activities. After the presentation of the meeting, the councillor for Culture and Language Policy and the Director of the Etxepare Basque Institute opened up a space for conversation with the lecturers and language assistants. 

Eneko Agirre and Xabier Etxeberria, technicians of the Institute´s lectureship network, led a group dynamics activity to share the experiences of the past academic year. They also took the lead in discussing the challenges for the upcoming academic year. 

Finally, the readers took the floor, asking questions, making proposals, and offering comments. To round off the day, actor Kepa Errasti offered a monologue that he had created expressly for the event. 

Etxepare Basque Institute network of lecturers and language assistants 
The lecturers and language assistants teach Basque language and culture at universities outside the Basque Country. They have the task of representing and promoting Basque culture in the academic sphere, organizing cultural and academic activities, and fostering spaces for intercultural encounters. Eight new lecturers will become part of the network in the coming academic year (2023-2024). 

This gathering of Basque language and culture lecturers has been held since 2018, with the aim of strengthening the Etxepare Basque Institute network of lecturers and language assistants. The Institute signs collaboration agreements with universities from around the world to offer Basque studies. Through this programme, the Institute fosters the global outreach of Basque culture and encourages the study of Basque in international settings, aiming to establish opportunities for engaging with diverse languages and communities. At present, the Institute’s network is made up of 28 lecturers and language assistants working in 34 universities outside the Basque Country. 

To enhance the network, it is crucial for the individuals involved to undergo relevant training. Therefore, the Institute organises various initiatives, among them ‘Bikaintasuna Euskal Ikasketan XIII’, the course that began today as part of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) summer courses; and a teacher training course Basque language and culture teachers working in foreign universities, which will begin in October. The latter will be held at the San Sebastian Campus of the UPV/EHU from October to November. The course is designed to provide further training for teachers already involved in the network and for future Basque language and culture teachers. Registration is now open.