Elbira Zipitria Chair: Idoia Fernández, Miren Azkarate and Pablo Suberbiola

The inaugural colloquium of the Elbira Zipitria Chair in Basque Studies will be held on 9 September at McGill University in Montreal. The new chair, named after the Basque educator, pioneer and promoter of teaching in Basque, innovative schoolteacher and creator of the Basque language ‘ikastola’ system, will focus on Basque culture and cultural innovation. This will also be the focus of inaugural event. Participants, both online and in person, must register in order to attend.

The inaugural colloquium, held on 9 September, will be an all-day event  focusing on language from both a Basque and Quebecois perspective. The programme will examine the role of cultural innovation strategies in the development of non-hegemonic languages, divided into three sections: language teaching, language planning and language use. In addition to experts from Quebec, three speakers from the Basque Country will also take part: Idoia Fernández (University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU) will talk about the contributions of Elbira Zipitria; Miren Azkarate (UPV/EHU) will discuss the challenges of Basque language policy, and Paulo Suberbiola (Soziolinguistika Klusterra) will talk about the contributions of the Basque language initiative Euskaraldia.

Joining the Basque speakers re Quebeckers Roy Lyster (McGill), Richard Bourhis (UQAM), Marie-Cécile Guillot (UQAM) and Philippe Gagné (Vanier College). The primary goal is to bring together experts in the linguistic situation of Basque and Quebecois and engage in a debate with guests from other (non-academic) fields, including language associations, socio-economic stakeholders, etc., on the challenges of both sociolinguistic realities.

The Saison Quebec - Pays Basque cultural exchange programme, organised by the Etxepare Basque Institute, will offer a wide-ranging programme in its final stretch in autumn 2022. This is one of the programme’s highlights.