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Tandil, Argentina.  Basque teachers at various Basque clubs in Latin America found themselves in Tandil participating in the summer Barnetegi organized by Euskara Munduan.  The Barnetegi, organized by HABE and FEVA with the collaboration of the Tandil Basque club, gathered 32 teachers, who became regular presential students for a week in order to practice the lessons learned during the year in HABE’s training course.  The Barnetgi is being also an opportunity to practice more conversational Basque.

This is the 8th edition of the Barnetegi, in which participants were split into three groups, depending on their Basque level.  Two of these groups will complete their training with this course, but the third that consists of 18 teachers, will continue their study.  Their goal is to acquire HABE’s certificate, and continue studying until July. 

“It’s worth seeing the level achieved by the majority of them.”  It’s exciting, really, to see how, thanks to their efforts and motivation, they have achieved such a level of Basque despite their distance from the Basque Country.  It isn’t always easy to advance a project like this, but, in spite of the difficulties that we’ve sometimes had, what is left is a sense of pride,” Kinku Zinkunegi confessed to EuskalKultura.com.

Thanks to the Basque club

Tandil’s Basque club gave up its clubhouse, and the meals for the participants were provided by the club's Sukalde restaurant.  “They worked hard to organize all of this and we felt very comfortable thanks to all of their effort.  I would especially like to thank the president Esteban Kain, and the board of directors, for having made all of the club’s resources available to us,” Zinkunegi added.

The club welcomed the participants with a welcome dinner that was attended by the president Esteban Kain, with his wife and Isidro Legarreta, former president with his wife Mari Carmen among others.

Meeting with FEVA

Today Friday morning, Zinkunegi will meet in Tandil with FEVA representatives, to go over the next phase of the program.  In 2012, Basque classes will be taught in 35 Basque clubs in Argentina, with more than 700 adult students.  According to the agreement signed in November in Donostia by Lourdes Auzmendi, Vice-minister of Linguistic Policy of the Basque Government, and Ricardo Basterra, FEVA president, HABE will provide FEVA with funding for 6,278 teaching hours during the 2011/12 course year. 

The Barnetegi will conclude on Saturday with a closing dinner organized by the Basque club that will be attended, among others, Ricardo Basterra (FEVA), and Elvira Cortajarena, delegate of Euskadi in Argentina.