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The International Day of the Basque Language will be celebrated next Thursday, and as every year since its inception in 1949, Basque clubs all over the world will join in the festivities.  The Basque communities in the Diaspora are the showcase of the Basque culture in many countries in the world, and once again, hundreds of men and women will dedicate time and effort to organizing activities to raise awareness and celebrate the Basque language. Following are some events in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Boise, Barcelona and Mexico, among others.

Donostia-San Sebastian.  The International Day of Euskera will be celebrated on December 3 as well as the days to follow.  In the Basque Country as the Diaspora, many Basques are motivated to participate in the various activities.

In the Basque Country the Basque Government will hold an official event at the Tabakalera Cultural Center in Donostia.  The Basque Parliament will also celebrate with special event, and the presentation of a new edition of Linguae Vasconum Primitiae by Bernat Etxepare, the first book written in Basque, translated to other six languages.

In Montevideo, with Mujica

In the Diaspora, there are several activities planned.  In Uruguay, for example, the Euskal Erria Basque club in Montevideo has organized a complete program over three days with the collaboration of the William Douglass Center for Basque Studies in Reno and the Etxepare Institute.  On December 3, 4, and 5, there will be talks, roundtables, book presentations and documentaries.

From Argentina, representatives of the Ekin and Lauburu publishers will travel to Montevideo to join in this activity.  The events will also be attended by a special guest, the former president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, who will attend the official event.

Madrid, Valencia, Buenos Aires...

In Buenos Aires the Day of Euskera has a very special protagonist: the 25th anniversary of Argentinan Euskaraz.  SManyl activities have been carried out in Buenos Aires to celebrate this pioneer project in Basque language instruction.  The event have been attended by the vice-minister of Linguistic Polity of the Basque Government, Patxi Baztarrika (complete information here). Here is the program for December 3.

Following Argentina there will also be events in many places like Arrecifes (program here) and Rio Cuarto (program, here). On Thursday will dedicate a  whole article to the many activities organized just in  Argentina.

In Valencia the Euskaltzaleok Basque club has invited everyone to make a club's group video this Thursday, while the Basque club in Madrid will have a dinner.  In Barcelona, on the same day the Basque club has organized a large festive program  with mintzodromo, dance, dinner and Euskeraoke.

Sydney, Boise, Berlín

In the US, the Basque Museum in Boise will celebrate Thursday with a special open house for Euskera Eguna (program).  In Germany, the Basque club in Berlin will present its multimedia project “Euskal Herria-Germany” on Friday, December 4, joining in the festivities.  In Australia, the Gure Txoko Basque club in Sydney has organized a meal for Saturday, December 5. 

In Brazil the Basque-Brazilian club in Sao Paulo  has already celebrated its event that were pushed up to November 25 to coincide with Kinku Zinkunegi’s visit, coordinator of the Euskara Munduan Program of HABE.  During the celebration the Basque classes room in the Tremembé Cultural Center was renamed “Espaço Euskaldun Berri” (Euskaldun Berri Place), in honor of the Basque students.  In addition, Zinkunegi gave a talk entitled, “Euskera in the World.”

Etxepare in 7 cities worlwide

The Etxepare Basque Institute is supporting seven cultural programs in seven different cities.  Some of these have been organized by lecturers in their Etxepare university network in Moscow (Russia), Birmingham (UK), Szeged (Hungary) and Poznan (Poland).  Celebrations will include conferences, concerts, workshops, contests and movie screenings.

At the FIL Fair in Guadalajara (Mexico) and in Mexico City and the institute have organized a series of initiatives to promote Basque literature. Writer Arantxa Urretabizkaia will be present as a representative of our literature.  In Montevideo (Uruguay), the Uruguayan Cinematech, Territories and Borders, Zinebi and Etxepare have organized a Basque film series that will show 8 feature-length films, and 8 shorts, the most distinguished over the last few years, as well as an exhibit and a roundtable.

[These are only some of the events planned to celebrate the International Day of Euskera.  If you know about anything else, please send the information to info@euskalkultura.com]