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GUREA IKASTAROAK:
Visiting Basque cultural
workshops |
WORKSHOP MENU
SELECTIONS. Your club can select which of these they would
like, mixing and matching, and the preferred time of day, etc.
Activity: Introduction to the Basque Country Nowadays (I)
(40-50min speech. PowerPoint available)
The workshop would consist on a brief presentation of the Basque
Country, where the main topic would be to focus on the culture &
history of the three different legal and political entities.
>Source: “The Basque Country” Insight into its culture, history, society
and institutions. Published by Eusko Jaurlaritzaren Argitalpen Zerbitzu
Nagusia, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Euskadi (2009)
Activity: Introduction to the Basque Country Nowadays (II)
(40-50min speech. PowerPoint available)
The workshop would consist on a brief presentation of the Basque
Country, where the main topic would be to focus on the Society &
institutions of the three different legal and political
entities.
>Source: “The Basque Country” Insight into its culture, history, society
and institutions. Published by Eusko Jaurlaritzaren Argitalpen Zerbitzu
Nagusia, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Euskadi (2009)
Activity: Curiosities of Bizkaia, Araba and Gipuzkoa
(10-15 min speech each territory. PowerPoint available)
This workshop is focus on the curiosities of Bizkaia, Araba and Gipuzkoa.
The aim is to consider and tell things that did not appear on the
tourist guides.
>Source: each grant-holder is from one territory, so we could be able to
tell some things about our country, and piqued the curiosity of the
people.
Activity: Basque Film festival (Kids session)
(3-4 days long, 120 min pass approximate)
This workshop is focus on the screening of some films, related to the
Basque Country. After the screening, playful activities will be
available for kids, around the topic of the film.
…Need to fill out film list…
Activity: Basque Film festival (Adult session)
(3-4 days long, 120 min pass approximate)
This workshop is focus on the screening of some films, related to the
Basque Country. After the screening, we can performance a round table to
chat about the topic of the film.
1. Aupa Etxebeste
2. …Need to fill out film list…
3. …Need to fill out film list…
Activity: Euskadi's Government programs for Basque Diaspora
(30 min speech. PowerPoint available)
This workshop is focus on the programmes of the Basque Government for
the Basque Centres. The aim of this activity is to make an institutional
introduction and memory about the activities and programmes of the
Government for the Basque Centres, such us “Gaztemundu”, “subsidizes”,
etc…
Activity: Transmitting the Basque heritage through games and play (for
kids)
(3-4 days long, 1-2h. sessions)
This workshop is focus on Children’s Games, Games for sharing, Euskal
pilota, Herrik kirolak (sports activities which specifically contribute
to the promotion and enjoyment of the emotion of sports), etc…
Activity: Basque Workshop (for kids)
(3-4 days long, 1-2h. sessions)
This workshop is focus on painting, Basque handicrafts, etc…
Activity: Euskal Kondairak (for kids)
(50 min session, PowerPoint available)
This workshop is focus on Basque mythology, and would consist on a short
presentation of Basque magic warlocks, fairies, etc…
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This Basque film from 2005
is a great comedy. When money runs out for the family,
there will be no usual vacation trip to the sea but what about
the shame? So they sneak back into their apartment and
hide there all the while pretending they are on vacation.
It's very clever. |
Why these visiting workshops?
In some of our
clubs we are finding some success in drawing youth participation; in
some of our clubs we are getting families together on a fairly
regular basis for an opportunity to not only celebrate but to educate
about Basque culture.
If that is what you have going in your local
community, we'd love to hear about it so that we can make this idea
available to other clubs. Most of our clubs, however, are up
against it with various challenges in keeping Basque things going.
That is why NABO in conjunction with the Autonomous Basque
Government of Euskadi, is organizing a series of visiting workshops that
would come to your town for a few days.
It would entail hosting (room & board) 2 or 3 young adult instructors from the Basque
country, and they would present workshops on
various aspects of Basque culture--for young and old--in an
effort to get families together in your community to learn a few
more things about Basque culture.
"If Mohammad
can't go to the mountain, let the mountain come to Mohammad."
As the above
saying states, it makes sense for us too. If people are not able to
attend NABO events, then we have to develop initiatives where we
bring the action closer to them. If we can't find viable ways
of keeping things active and engaging in our local Basque
communities, then larger regional or national Basque events will not
likely appeal to them because they have long-since not been
connected.
Basque clubs regularly receive inquiries from European
Basques that go along the lines of: "would like to meet
Basque-Americans" and "prepared to work at whatever to cover
expenses while there" and "want to help teach about Basque
culture." In practice, very few of these inquiries ever
meet with much success. Meanwhile, Basque clubs are always
in search of ways of communicating information about "Basqueness"
(Basque culture & identity) to their local membership. The proposal is to meld these
two elements.
Once again, the key is to create some events where families can get
together because of the main things that Basque culture has to
offer--what we have to "sell" sort of speak--is that we do things
across the generations. In our society, that is not usually the
case. Teenagers hang around their own age group, senior citizens
with their own etc. So the more we do things like this, the better
chance we have of showing what special things Basque culture
possesses.
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For Basque culture to
endure we'll need to find a viable balance between the fun of
being Basque (e.g., festivals) and knowing something more about
what being Basque is about. That is why NABO is following
the motto Celebrate + Educate = Perpetuate.
The educate part of the equation is being developed in our
GUREA Cultural Literacy program.
Gurea is Basque for "it's ours." |
TEAM TRAINING.
The
Directorate of Relations with Basque Communities of the Basque
Government prepares the team. This preparation will
enable them to
present various workshops for
both children and adults.
ROTATION.
This team (probably a pair) would spend a few days in a host
community then move to the next town, covering from 3-4 communities
during the course of a summer.
HOSTING REQUIREMENTS. Room and board while they are with you (either a
hotel room or staying with a family).
Each club would have to make the necessary arrangements to secure a
large room of sorts for the meetings.
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It's not
largely automatic being Basque. Not anymore.
Those of us
who identify with being Basque do so mostly because we were
raised that way. So if parents today don't make an effort
to teach their kids about being Basque, then it will all be
ending soon for one of the world's oldest of cultures.
This
initiative is about developing ways of bringing families
together to recreate and educate about being Basque. |
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