On Friday 20 September 2024 Aberystwyth University held a specialist workshop featuring academics and experts from the Basque Country invited to discuss their work in the field of language planning in workplaces.
The workshop is one of a series of events and conferences organised by Dr Elin Royles and Dr Huw Lewis from the university as part of their work with Wavehill on the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning workstream of the ARFOR II programme. It’s now possible to stream the contributions of Dr Auxkin Galarraga, Pablo Superbiola, Leire Okaranza and Galder Lausen discussing different aspects of language planning in workplaces, and the ways in which institutions, including social enterprises and businesses, in the Basque Country are global innovators in using the workplace as a space to promote a minority language. The presentation are a valuable resource for anyone interested in the field of language policy in Wales and beyond, particularly those that are interested in how to encourage work practices that promote Welsh in the workplace.
Dr Elin Royles from Aberystwyth University said:
‘The value of the Basque Country case is illustrating a range of initiatives over more than two decades seeking to promote the Basque language in the workplace based on recognising the signficance of workplaces to minority language use. Among the examples of good practice are initiatives providing a framework for the language plans of organisations and companies to develop language use both as a service language and as a workplace language, and accreditation processes to recognise the quality of internal processes to promote the Basque language within companies led by an institution promoting advanced level management. In both large and small social enterprises, we see examples of various plans to support the Basque language, and there are a range of initiatives to promote language planning development in workplaces, including through professional consultancy services with expertise in language planning in workplaces. The aim of the workshop was to reflect elements of this richness that is so relevant to Wales.’
A background paper for the workshop is available here.
You can also watch individual presentations by following the links below.
Dr Auxkin Galarraga, University of the Basque Country: The Corporate Linguistic Responsibility model
Pablo Suberbiola, Soziolinguistika Klusterra: Aldahitz and the Eusle Methodology
Galder Lasuen, Euskalit: Good practice on language management in the Basque Country
Leire Okaranza, FAGOR – The FAGOR experience
