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The 6^th World Congress of Basque Communities Abroad will begin tomorrow in Vitoria-Gasteiz.  Representatives from some the 25 countries that have Basque clubs have been invited under the slogan “Diasporizatu” (Diasporize).  The Basque Government’s Secretary General of Foreign Affairs, Marian Elorza, will welcome the participants tomorrow with Lehendakari Urkullu formally open the Congress. Kingsley Aikins, Irish expert will give the keynote speech.  The event will conclude on Friday and will take place at the Palacio Monhermoso in Araba’s capital.  

Vitoria-Gasteiz. Today, as a preparatory day for the Congress and with some of the delegates still arriving from their respective countries, has been a day to visit Gernika and Bilbao, and the Basque Parliament in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The oficial program of the Congress will begin tomorrow, following this program:

Wednesday, October 7

08:15 Accreditation of Congress attendees
09:00 Welcome by the Secretary General for Foreign Affairs, Marian Elorza
09:10 Opening of the Congress by the Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu
09:20 Keynote speech by Kingsley Aikins, CEO of “Diaspora Matters”
10:00 Coffee break
10:30 Report on emigration of Basque youth (Itsaso Andueza, president of the Basque Youth Council)
10:50 Today’s Basque emigration as seen by young university students (Rosa Arburua, Donostia teaching college, UPV/EHU)
11:10 Debate on generational change-over
12:10 Presentation of the “eLiburutegia” project (Imanol Agote, director for cultural heritage in the Basque government)
12:30 Trans-oceanic relations from the 15th century to the present day (Xabier Agote, president of the “Albaola” foundation for Basque maritime heritage)
12:50 Round table on the future of the Euskal Etxeak: cultural and education programs and their dissemination

14:00 Lunch

15:30 Round table on opening up the Euskal Etxeak: cooperation with other diasporas and opening up to society

RESEARCH IN PROGRESS:
16:30 Basque congresses in Argentina (Magdalena Mignaburu, Josu Legarreta)
17:00 “Ekin” publishers of Buenos Aires and “Euskal Erria” publishers of Montevideo (María Elena Etcheverry de Irujo, Xabier Irujo, Alberto Irigoyen)
17:30 Research project on the Basque center in Caracas and Basque exile in Venezuela (Xabier Irujo, Alberto Irigoyen)
18:00 40th anniversary of the first Boise-Oñati exchange (Iñaki Galdos)

Thursday, October 8

09:00 Euskara Munduan (Joseba Erkizia, director of HABE)
09:30 Presentation of the Mintzanet project (Ritxi Lizartza, “Mara-Mara”)
09:45 Debate
11:00 Coffee break
11:30 “Memoria Bizia” program to collect oral testimonies of Basque emigrants (Pedro Oiarzabal, University of Deusto)
12:00 Debate 12:30 “Leadership for Equality” (Maitane Urbieta, Eraberria Aholkularitza)
13:00 Debate on the role of women in Basque centers

14:00 Lunch

15:30 Election of representatives to the Advisory Council

BOOK PRESENTATIONS:
16:30 Enciclopedia biográfica de los vascos en el oeste americano / Biographical Encyclopedia of Basques in the American West (Koldo San Sebastián)
17:00 Ponencias del seminario sobre la emigración vasca a Cuba / Proceedings of the Seminar on Basque Emigration to Cuba (William Douglass)
17:30 Los vascos en Antioquia durante el reinado de los Austrias 1510-1700 / The Basques in Antioquia During the Reign of the Habsburgs 1510-1700 (John Ricaurte)
18:00 Identidad y estructura de la emigración vasca y navarra hacia Iberoamérica, siglos XVI-XXI / Identity and Structure of Basque and Navarrese Emigration to Latin America in the 16th-21st Centuries (José Manuel Azcona)

Friday, October 9

09:00 Assessment of the 2012-2015 four-year plan
09:30 Creation and approval of the proposed four-year plan for 2016-2019
12:00 End of the Congress

13:15 Reception at the Lehendakaritza for the participating official delegations 
14:00 Closing remarks by William A. Douglass, emeritus professor of the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno
14:20 Closing of the Congress by the Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu