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For
a culture to survive it must be transmitted from generation to
generation. If effective means of doing this are not found,
then a culture dissipates and soon disappears. The GUREA ("It's Ours") Basque Cultural
Literacy Project is aimed at developing and implementing some effective
methods to sustain "Basqueness:" Basque culture and identity.
"You cannot give what you
do not have." Many of us want to give to younger generations a
sense of Basqueness (Basque culture & identity) because we want
to share what we have and what we have appreciated. What we have
in relation to Basque culture we'll refer to as GUREA: "That which is
ours." The problem--and don't take this personal--is that many of
us don't have much depth or breadth of knowledge about Basqueness.
This is the proposed definition of the problem and solution: we have to
learn (ikasi) more to be able to teach (irakatsi) more. If we
commit ourselves to this Basque Cultural Literacy Project, we stand a
better chance of seeing Basqueness not only endure but flourish.
What do you think? Is this worthwhile for NABO to pursue in
relation to our motto of
Recreate + Educate = Perpetuate
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In general, culture is made up of three distinct yet integrated
layers:
> Thinking: language, symbols & artifacts
> Behaving: customs, practices & interactional patterns
> Valuing: shared values, norms, beliefs & expectations
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One of
the challenges that confronts those who wish to see Basqueness endure is
the fact of the matter that most have only a limited understanding of
Basque culture and identity. There are various reasons for this,
including the fact that for many immigrant Basques, their initial
understanding of the Basque Country was generally limited to only an
area of about twenty miles from their birthplace. This was just
the way life was at that time. Meanwhile while today its much easier to
travel greater distances and to see many parts of the Basque Country,
oftentimes on the tour-package plan the knowledge we get
still remains limited.
Lot's more is possible ....
So what do you think? What should NABO be working on for this?
Send your comments to
info@nabasque.org |
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