International Day of the Basque Language celebrated in 10 countries

Once again, the Etxepare Basque Institute will join in the International Day of the Basque Language, celebrated this year on 3 December. Various activities organised by Etxepare’s partner university lectureship programmes and Basque cultural centres around the world will offer. Basques in the diaspora and Basque language students a chance to learn about the Basque language and culture. A variety of events, courses and talks will reach different parts of Europe and the Americas through cultural programmes organised within Etxepare´s international network of lectureships. This year’s activities will take place in ten countries, with many of the events streamed live.

The activities to be held on Basque Day include conferences and film screenings in cities including Chicago, Santiago de Chile, Moscow, Prague, Bologna, Barcelona and Reno, among others. The full list can be consulted here.

The lecturers are teachers who offer Basque language and culture courses to undergraduate and/or postgraduate students at universities outside the Basque Country. It is a programme set up and coordinated by the Etxepare Basque Institute in collaboration with foreign universities. It is these instructors and all their students who make up the lectureship programme network. In addition to teaching Basque language and culture classes, the lecturers also raise awareness about Basque customs and traditions abroad. With support from the Etxepare Basque Institute, they plan activities related to Basque culture throughout the year to draw attention to special days, important figures or customs rooted in the Basque Country.

The International Day of the Basque Language was first declared in 1949 by Eusko Ikaskuntza. Officially, however, the celebrations, meetings and other activities around the International Day of the Basque Language began in 1995, when the Basque diaspora held its first worldwide congress. The Basque Government and Euskaltzaindia considered it appropriate to declare 3 December International Day of the Basque Language.