At the meeting of the Basque Language Advisory Council, the Lehendakari stressed the need to continue reinforcing the Basque language offer in all areas

The Basque Language Advisory Council, chaired by Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu, met today to follow up on the annual plans and activities for the coming year. The meeting, held in Lehendakaritza, was also attended by the Minister of Culture and Language Policy, Bingen Zupiria, and the Deputy Minister of Language Policy, Miren Dobaran.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Lehendakari pointed out that the “effort to revitalise the Basque language is an essential complement to an advanced social action based on consensus and inclusive efficiency.” Iñigo Urkullu added that “today, as an absolute law, our society is experiencing a situation with constant change and there is a need for a permanent review of the processes that are carried out within it, even in the field of the revitalisation of the Basque language.”

In his speech, the Lehendakari recalled that the composition of Basque society is not the same as it was forty years ago, “especially with regard to the way of life of our youth, and what to say about the ways of communicating and relating to each other. We know that change will be a constant feature of social dynamics. The same can be said about the work of revitalising the Basque language.”

The Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, also referred to young people and said that “in the challenge of gaining spaces and opportunities for the use of the Basque language, it is essential to take into account the conditions, habits, capacities and possibilities of life of the people, at the time of offering proposals that make possible the habitual insertion of the Basque language in them. Especially with regard to youth.” The Lehendakari stressed that “consensus, efficiency and an inclusive vision are the most solid pillars of the path that launched the Basque Law and in a multilingual society it is essential to take into account the synthesis between these three pillars.”

Before concluding, the Lehendakari pointed out that living in the Basque language must also be “comfortable” and the capacity to respond adequately to the needs of citizens must be progressively guaranteed: “The universe of the Basque language offers increasingly solid opportunities to continue advancing along this path. The Basque language must continue to be fully reinforced in all spheres, whether in the cultural and leisure sphere, in the workplace or in the systems of citizen participation.”

Basque Advisory Board

The objective of the Basque Advisory Board is to unite and coordinate efforts and projects for the normalisation of the Basque language. The Basque Advisory Board is currently composed of 26 members and is made up of four committees: The special committee for the renewal of the Action Plan for the Promotion of the Basque Language (ESEP); the digital environment committee; the language and gender committee; and the private socioeconomic committee. These committees include a broad representation of society, made up of experts in each of the areas.

At today’s meeting, each of the committees explained their activities and outlined the main challenges for the future. Among other aspects, they analysed the framework within which the new Action Plan for the Promotion of the Basque Language is being developed.