Antzuola's 'Arigune' campaign encourages citizens to use Basque

Through video snippets, the initiative aims to foster reflection on language use among residents.

Generic image suggesting a campaign about language use among citizens.
IA

Generic image suggesting a campaign about language use among citizens.

A new campaign driven by the Antzuola Arigune project encourages citizens to use Basque, promoting comprehension and fostering bilingual dialogues.

The Antzuola Arigune project has released several video snippets aimed at stimulating reflection on Basque language use among residents. Initially, these included a training session by the Larrea brothers, a street encounter involving the Legorburu family, and a conversation between the mayor Olatz Lezeta and the director of the local school, Silvia Ezpeleta. Despite the dialogues being in Spanish, these videos were distributed through communication channels and social media to generate attention.
The campaign's objective was clear: "Activate the Basque speakers of Antzuola," and more specifically, "generate attention among citizens, promote reflection on language use, and open the door to discussion." The campaign has at least succeeded in drawing attention, as stated by Onintza Legorburu: "The video of the Larrea brothers caused people to get annoyed, in two ways. On one hand, it caused confusion: 'Why are they speaking Spanish?'. The suspicion spread that it might be a promotional video for a sports brand. When the second video was released, some realized that something was brewing around the Basque language. And by the time the third one came out, people were waiting for explanations, thinking it was some kind of campaign."
Now, they have published the final video to clarify the campaign's context. It opens with direct questions such as: "What is happening in Antzuola? Is this what we want?" and addresses those who have grown up and been educated in Basque, stating, "We Antzuolans hold the key to activation." It also conveys a message to those who have chosen Antzuola as their place of residence: to facilitate their approach to Basque and their falling in love with it. Therefore, Basque speakers are encouraged to use the language with residents who have achieved a level of comprehension.
This initiative is part of the Gipuzkoa Arigune project and is supported by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Taupa Euskaltzaleen Mugimendua, Badalab, the Sociolinguistics Cluster, and the Antzuola City Council. Antzuola, Aia, and Añorga were selected as pilot towns within the territory to generalize Basque comprehension and strengthen the culture supporting its use.
In this first academic year, seventeen residents of Antzuola have participated in the comprehension sessions, mostly elderly individuals, but also parents and workers from various sectors. For nine months, they have attended two-hour sessions once a week, employing an innovative methodology. The goal is to develop Basque comprehension quickly and practically, without participants needing to speak Basque, by receiving understandable Basque messages in a protected environment and relating them to everyday situations. The second academic year will commence next September.