Last March, the Minister of Citizen Relations, Ana Ollo, and the managing director of Euskarabidea, Mikel Arrangi, presented the First Euskera Plan 2016-2020. The main conclusions drawn from the evaluation of the Strategic Plan were presented. It was then announced that the basic draft of this second plan would be finalized by the end of the year. Now the adaptation phase begins.

Siadeco is leading the participation process and the participants will work in six working groups with the following timetable: 26 January (social use of the Basque Country), 27 January (new Basque speakers), 28 January (Basque in public services), 1 February (prestige and attractiveness of the Basque Country), 2 February (Basque, economic agent) and 3 February (Basque in the capital). The second round of working groups will be held in mid-March.

Ollo and Arrangi put on the table some positive data from the assessment of the first strategic plan in March, including: “Between 2016 and 2019 there has been an increase in the number of navarros and Navarre over the age of 16 who know Basque well, from 69,000 in 2016 to 76,000 in 2019. In addition, the Navarros and the older Navarre who were learning Basque were 4,868 in the 2015-2016 academic year and 5,213 in the 2019 year. In addition, the Euskarabidea budget has increased from EUR 4.2 million to EUR 7.3 million in four years.”

Anyone who wants to see the summary of that March evaluation can do so at the next link of Euskalerria Irratia.