The Badalab Linguistic Innovation Laboratory presented two of the fruits of the Etorkisuneku project this morning at its headquarters in Errenteria. The Etorkisuneku project is a line of work that aims to fuel the future imaginary of a society with Basque. Its objective is to ensure the use of Euskera in future interaction systems.

According to director Goiatz Oiartzabal: “Today’s world is global, digital or digitized, it goes at a very high speed, opening ever deeper cracks with what we know from changes or innovations. This directly influences language.”

1. PHASE: Fábula

Badalabe has started the Etorkisuneku project with the year. In the first phase, with the support of the Tipi cooperative and the collaboration of the creative space Azala, a fable was elaborated. To this end, they gathered a dozen young people from different backgrounds in the Basque Country and used speculative archaeological methodologies 2073.urteko to represent Basque society. Writer Nerea Arrien (Lekeitio, 1976), winner of several literary awards, received contributions and today presented the fable Right to Return, derived from the experiment. As Arrieta explained: “Language technologies will be of vital importance and their contribution to the same language will not be negligible.”

2. PHASE: Call for creativity

Badalabe has opened a call for scholarships for the creation and future of a society with Basque. In total, the Linguistic Innovation Laboratory will award four grants of €1,500 to finance the creative process. The subsidy is entirely open and any artistic discipline can participate. The objective may be future proposals, pieces, artifacts, devices or reflections related to language and/or with the intention of representing the language of the future and the speaking community. For example, literature, architecture, music, contemporary art, television, theater, technology… everything that has its origin in creativity can have its place.

Applications may be submitted individually or collectively and the delivery period shall end on 15 October 2023 at 12:00. The four winners will be announced on 26 October and until the end of the year, that is, they will have until 31 December to make the proposal and make the justification.

During this working time, Tipi and Badalabe will offer a support service, tools and resources.

The fable and the call badalab.eus are available on the web.