Political representatives of city councils and gangs, together with members of the Álava Provincial Council, have participated today in the act of adhesion to the social initiative in favor of the Basque Euskaraldia, aimed at promoting the use and transformation of language habits in Basque.

At the meeting, the mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz and president of EUDEL, Gorka Urtaran; the president of the Cuadrilla de Ayala, Encina Castresana; and the deputy general of Álava, Ramiro González; They have read an adhesion document on behalf of the entire institutional spectrum of Alava.

In it, the Mayor of Gasteiz, representing all the municipalities of Álava, recalled that in Alava society “Basque and Spanish coexist and we know that doing it in Basque is a particularly social exercise, it is not only a decision that the individual makes for himself “in a clear call so that in this second edition of Euskaraldia, people from Alava and Alava voluntarily regain the roles of” ahobizi “, who are willing to always speak their first word in Basque, or “belarriprest”, which are those willing to listen to Basque, whether they know how to speak it or not.

The second edition of the initiative that aims to promote the use and transformation of the linguistic habits of citizens, will be held this year from November 20 to December 4 and will have the launch of “arigune” (groups where its members they will act collectively in the form of “ahobizi” and “belarriprest” during the 15 days that Euskaraldia will last), their main novelty.

An edition, where Alava and Alava will have a new opportunity to prove that in the Historical Territory, communication in Basque is also possible. The data provided by the understanding map of Álava attest that 48.2% of the population is capable of understanding Basque, while among the 0-14 years, the majority of the youth are bilingual (86%).

In this sense, Encina Castresana, president of the Cuadrilla de Ayala, on behalf of the rest of the Cuadrillas, recalled that Alava society continues to advance on the path of normalization of Basque, thus laying “solid foundations to advance in the use of Basque : the individual wins, the group wins, in the end society wins. “

Ramiro González, deputy general of Álava has been in charge of closing the event, recalling that Euskaraldia shares objectives with the Strategic Plan for the Promotion of Euskera in Álava (2019-2022) such as “the activation of speakers and networks of speakers, or continue creating the conditions to guarantee the possibilities of living in Basque in the Territory “. An objective for which collaboration is fundamental and where the council shows its willingness to continue taking firm steps, “under the leadership of the Provincial Council of Álava, in collaboration with the Basque language services, as well as with the Basque language sector and the rest of the social agents “.