The presentation of the Jakin Sessions, scheduled for June 18th and 19th, has been held in Usurbil. The event, which keeps the registration period open on the ueu.eus portal until the 16th, aims to foster reflection and debate on the expressiveness of Basque. Aitor Bengoetxea Alkorta, director of UEU, highlighted that the sessions have become a space for reflection and sharing over the past four years, emphasizing that "the institutions gathered here are united by Basque, and this year we will analyze the expressiveness of Basque: it will surely be fruitful."
Agurtzane Solaberrieta Mesa, the mayor of Usurbil, described this event as "essential because it makes us think together: it is indispensable for community work and nation-building." She expressed concern regarding this year's theme, stating, "In the face of these liquid and unstable times, of hegemonic surges and diglossia, it is crucial to enhance each individual's capacity for expression, to enrich the language, to consume it, spread it, and pass it on to future generations; otherwise, new speakers will soon see that we are not strong, and a somewhat slow language will hardly satisfy them."
Haritz Azurmendi Arrue, a member of Jakin, explained that this year's edition will be driven by "some questions and social concerns." Specifically, the focus will be on "whether Basque is losing its expressiveness, or at least if it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to gather the expressive capacity from Basque, to name social spheres and realities from Basque."
The sessions, titled "On the path to strengthening Basque: debates, keys, and choices for working on expressiveness in Basque," will take place on June 18th (09:00-17:30) and June 19th (09:30-14:30). Registration will be open from May 11th to June 16th, and the total duration will be 15 hours.
The program includes various talks and round tables. Among others, Miren Amuriza Plaza will address "How to give body to language. Literature and orality"; Amaia Alvarez Uria and June Fernandez Casete will analyze "What is the speech of the marginalized? Seeking words for sex-gender dissidents"; and Kike Amonarriz Gorria will give a talk on "Towards freedom of expression, overcoming the scarcity of expression." Additionally, language technologies as a tool and experiences for working on orality will be explored.
On Friday, Iratxe Retolaza Gutierrez will tackle the topic "Languages of cultures, cultures of languages: linguistic-ideological choices in cultural creation." Subsequently, there will be round tables on models and pathways for developing expressiveness in Basque, both in written form and in new audiovisual formats, with experts such as Garazi Arrula Ruiz, Gorka Bereziartua Mitxelena, Danele Sarriugarte Mochales, Lander Arretxea Bereziartua, Ana Sarria Muxika, and Martin Ziarrusta Sanz.
The organizers of the sessions are Usurbil City Council, Jakin, and UEU. Further information and registration can be found on the ueu.eus website.
