43.1833°N -2.4786°WThe Basque Summer University (in Basque and officially: Udako Euskal Unibertsitatea, UEU) is a university institution created in 1973, which works to promote extensive use of Basque language at the university level. It promotes courses, book publications, Internet services, congresses, professional meetings and postgraduate degrees at university level and in Basque. It offers university courses in collaboration with the University of the Basque Country, Mondragon University, Public University of Navarra, the University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour in Bayonne, and Basque Wikipedia.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The UEU has its headquarters in the Palace of Markeskua (Eibar).[6] Although its name is the Basque Summer University (Udako Euskal Unibertsitatea, UEU), the institution offers university courses year-round, not just in the summer. It is currently a non-profit organisation and in 1990 it was recognised as a public utility organisation because it promotes general interest in the field of research, learning, and dissemination, mainly at university level, through the many pedagogical and cultural services it provides.[7]
After examining the continuing historical regression of the geographical environment where Basque was spoken, the linguist Wilhem von Humboldt predicted in 1809 that this language might disappear in less than a century from the list of living languages.
The social, economic, political and cultural processes set in motion by industrialisation and liberalism during the 19th century led to an even greater decline in Basque. As a fact, it suffices to say that Basque remained on the margin of the school, where even its use became forbidden.
Among the initiatives that emerged in the 20th century to deal with the risk of the disappearance of Basque are the creation of the Society of Basque Studies and the Royal Academy of the Basque Language (Euskaltzaindia) in 1919 and the creation of Ikastolas (schools in Basque), initially in the 1930s and later in the 1960s.
Basque, which has 7 main dialects, did not have a standard model of writing until 1968, when Euskaltzaindia laid the foundations of the unified Basque (in Basque batua). Historically, apart from specific and brief exceptions, until then there had never been any training in Basque at university level and in 1972 it was still impossible to study any university degree or even any subject in Basque.
In this context, the history of the UEU began in the Basque Weeks organised in Bayonne during the years 1970–1972. Seeing the success of these days and the discourse given by the mathematician Carlos Santamaría Ansa on the need to create a Basque University, the Euskaldunen Biltzarra, Ikas and Fededunak associations decided to organise summer courses in 1973 with the support of Euskaltzaindia. Similar initiatives that already existed for Catalan and Occitan served as antecedents and references; for example, the Universitat Catalana d'Estiu had been in operation since 1968. Joxe Azurmendi was one of the founders.[8]
The first two editions of the UEU (1973 and 1974) were held in St. Jean de Luz and the next two (1975 and 1976) in Ustaritz.
In 1977 the summer courses of the UEU moved to Pamplona, becoming year after year the meeting point that allowed the training of teachers and the creation of materials that were incorporated in the offer of new subjects of the official universities. Over the years, it offered between 40 and 50 summer courses each year. For example, in 1995 it offered 45 courses distributed in 26 departments; in total there were 750 teaching hours, in classes, practices, seminars and outings, with more than 650 participants. Annually, UEU published an average of 10 books. The number of teachers and students who worked in Basque at university level in that year would not exceed 4,000 people, and of all of them more than 650 participated in the UEU, this being proof of the success and contribution of these courses, in spite of the limited economic resources it had.[9]
Since 1999 these university level courses began to develop not only in summer and in Pamplona, but also throughout the year and in multiple locations. After almost 50 years, thanks to this social process promoted and led by the UEU, it has been possible to take some significant steps in the inclusion of Basque in the university. For example, in 2019 almost all university degrees can also be studied in Basque at one of the universities in the Basque Country; more than 400 books have been published in Basque on 27 university disciplines; congresses are regularly organised in Basque for professionals and academics... The UEU collaborates and offers university courses with the other universities in the Basque Country: the University of the Basque Country, the University of Mondragón, the University of Deusto, the Public University of Navarra, and the University of Pau and Pays de l'Adur.
The UEU is currently headquartered in the Markeskua Palace (Eibar) and has 1,200 members. It organises training in Basque at university level in different formats: postgraduate courses, specialised courses, seminars, professional congresses (e.g. Computer Science congresses, Informatikari Euskaldunen Bilkurak), training aimed at teachers and professionals, summer courses and research projects related to the above (master...); it also offers postgraduate studies.
The UEU offers studies in the Basque Autonomous Community, in Navarre and in the French Basque Country, with the UEU's objective being to promote a quality Basque-speaking university throughout the territory where Basque language is used. According to this approach, achieving a university that works in Basque would be a fundamental element so that the forecast made by Humboldt is not fulfilled and Basque continues for many years in the list of living languages. Furthermore, the experience gained with Basque could be a reference for the preservation of other minority languages.[10]
The Rectors of the UEU have been the following: Manex Goihenetxe (1973–1976), Martin Orbe (1976–1983), Baleren Bakaikoa (1983–1987), Inaki Irazabalbeitia (1987–1991), Kepa Altonaga (1991–1996), Mikel Aizpuru (1996–2000), Xabier Isasi (2000–2004), Aitzpea Leizaola (2004–2005), Lore Erriondo (2005–2010), Karmele Artetxe (2010–2014), Iñaki Alegría (2014–2018), Kepa Sarasola (2018–2023) and Aitor Bengoetxea (2023–).
The UEU published its first book in 1977, since then until 2018 it has published 419, more or less 10 books per year. In the field of book publishing, since its inception the UEU has pursued two objectives: on the one hand, to create a bibliographic infrastructure at university level, and on the other, to refine the terminology and syntax in Basque. The electronic version of most of the more than 400 books published by the UEU are publicly accessible in its digital library Buruxkak.
In addition to books, since 2003 it also publishes academic journals. In 2018 there were four journals: Uztaro, about social sciences and created in 1990; Aldiri, Arkitektura eta abar, about architecture and created in 2009; Osagaiz, about health sciences and created in 2017; and finally Kondaira, about history created in 2003.
Beginning in 2001 and in collaboration with the University of the Basque Country, the UEU has taught 14 own degrees or postgraduates, of which more than 240 students have graduated. For example, in 2018, two courses were given; one on "Translation and technology" and the other on "the use of new technologies in education".
Since its creation in 1973, the UEU has delivered more than 1,900 training courses at university level.[11] Online courses began to be delivered in 2003. The first MOOC course (Introduction to Android programming / Android programazioaren hastapenak) took place in 2013. The courses have always been organized from the thematic sections of the UEU, which are the following: Anthropology, Theater, Architecture, Art, Bertsolaritza, Economy, Philosophy, Physics, Glotodidactics, History of Linguistics, Informatics, Translation, Journalism, Chemistry, Climatology and Meteorology, Literature, Mathematics, Music, Natural Sciences, Health Sciences, Pedagogy, Psychology, Sexology, Sociolinguistics, Sociology, and Law.[12] [13] [14] [15]
The UEU has created several databases and Internet services associated with new technologies to respond to training needs and to serve to the university community in Basque:
Since 2012, the UEU has promoted the creation of a community of young researchers with the aim of promoting multidisciplinary knowledge and exchange. Three of its most relevant activities are the following:
The following entities are similar to the UEU in that they work to promote the extensive use of a minority language at the university level: