A Commitment to Euskadi - Lehendakaritza · – Sports awards ceremony ... doa adierazi zuen biz-...

Issue 51, Year 2001

A Commitment to

Euskadi

A Commitment to

Euskadi

L a b u r p e n a S U M M A R Y

EUSKAL ETXEAKIssue no. 51 - Year 2001 URTEA

EGILEA AUTHOR

Eusko Jaurlaritza-Kanpo Harremanetarako Idazkaritza Nagusia

Basque Government Secretary Generalfor Foreign Action

C/ Navarra, 201007 VITORIA-GASTEIZPhone: +34 945 01 79 00

[email protected]

ZUZENDARIA DIRECTOR

JOSU LEGARRETA

KOORDINAKETA ETA IDAZKETA COORDINATION AND EDITORIAL OFFICE

SILVIA ARROYOBENAN OREGI

ARGAZKIAK PHOTOGRAPHS

MIKEL ARRAZOLA

JON BERNÁRDEZ

JOSÉ MARÍA AZARLOZA

WORLD OF SPORTS

ARGITARATZAILEA EDITOR

Eusko Jaurlaritzaren Argitalpen Zerbitzu NagusiaBasque Government Central Publication Service

DISEINUA DESIGN

BASSARAI EDICIONES

INPRIMATZAILEA PRINTING

GRAFO, S.A.

LEGAL DEPOSIT: BI-841-96

L a b u r p e n aS U M M A R Y

AURKEZPENA " PRESENTATION

– To Life, Peace, Respect for the Basque People and Solidarity ............................ 3

GAURKO GAIAK " CURRENT EVENTS

– A new opportunity to put an end to violence .............................................................. 4

– Renewed confidence........................................................................................................... 6

– The President of the Basque Parliament calls for a commitment to peace.............. 8

PERTSONALITATEAK " PERSONALITIES

– Euskadi Research Award 2001......................................................................................... 10

– Koldo Saratxaga, the best Basque entrepreneur ........................................................ 10

– Sports awards ceremony .................................................................................................. 11

– Euskadi will continue to support projects against drugs in Latin America........................................................................................................................ 11

ERREPORTAIAK " ARTICLES

– Euskadi, at the forefront of European economic growth......................................... 12

– Technological Parks from all over the world analyze the digital society in Bilbao............................................................................................... 14

– The century of women...................................................................................................... 17

– Quality products .................................................................................................................. 18

– An ecologically diverse nature reserve.......................................................................... 20

– A matter of awareness....................................................................................................... 22

– In search of ancestors ........................................................................................................ 23

EUSKAL ETXEAK " BASQUE CENTERS

– Gastronomy as a sign of identity .................................................................................... 24

– José Luis Madrazo's conference in Buenos Aires....................................................... 26

– Villa María holds a charitable San Ignacio Day celebration ..................................... 26

– A Basque priest's work is acknowledged in Caracas ................................................. 26

– A young Peruvian woman wins a trip to Euskadi with EITB.................................... 27

– Discovering one's roots through sports........................................................................ 28

– The Center in San Juan visits the Basque Country .................................................... 29

– Euskadi-American jai-alai championship ...................................................................... 29

– Salou celebrates Euskadi Day.......................................................................................... 29

– The University of Nevada publishes a book by Azkona ........................................... 30

– Posthumous publication of a work by Robert Laxalt................................................. 30

LABURRAK " NEWS BRIEFS

– News briefs ........................................................................................................................... 31

3

P R E S E N T A T I O N A u r k e z p e n a

On July 14, Lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe wassworn in under the Gernika tree to serve another term. Heintends to continue working towards an ethical commit-ment to life, achieving peace, respecting the decisions ofthe majority of the Basque people, and making Euskadi abetter place to live. The massive support shown at the pollson May 13 by Basques residing inside and outside ofEuskadi has allowed Ibarretxe to reaffirm these commit-ments, which he has defended numerous times over thelast two years.

That same day, the Lehendakari informed theBasques of the composition of his new government,which we will cover in this issue. Euskadi's projection andpresence beyond its borders will also be reinforced inorder to defend our interests, promote a positive imageof our values and let the world know that Euskadi is defi-nitely a country of the future, with its own personalityand identity.

From these pages, we would like to reiterate thatthe Secretary General for Foreign Action remains at theservice of all Basque men and women residing outside ofEuskadi, as well as anyone receiving this magazine. I amconvinced that now, more than ever, Euskadi needs to beseen by the world as a peaceful and pacifist country,whose men and women have historically been charac-terized by their democratic, solidary attitudes, both athome and abroad. I believe that your presence anywhereon this Planet is of great transcendence. Thanks to you,we will continue to be characterized by these samevirtues.

As for us, we will continue working towards thisgoal. Starting in September, we will be making evengreater efforts to establish closer relationships with all ofyou, and with anyone interested in knowing more aboutlife in Euskadi today. For this purpose, we will start publi-shing a weekly electronic version of this magazine, whichyou can receive by e-mail. To subscribe, just send us youre-mail address, and the addresses of any friends who shareyour interest, to: [email protected]

We would also like to remind our readers that thismagazine is open to outside collaborators, and that every-one is welcome to express their opinions on its pages.

Bihotz-bihotzez eskerrik asko eta besarkada handibat guztioi.

IÑAKI AGUIRRE ARIZMENDI

Secretary General for Foreign Action,Basque Government

Uztailaren 14anJuan José Ibarretxe Le-hendakariak bere kar-guaren zina egin zuenberriro Gernikako Arbo-laren azpian eta laneanjarraitzeko asmo sen-doa adierazi zuen biz-itzaren aldeko konpro-miso etikoa, bakea, Eus-kal Herriko biztanle ge-hienen erabakiak errespetatzea eta Euskadiko gizarteareneraikuntza lortzeko. Maiatzaren 13ko hauteskundeetankanpoko nahiz bertako euskaldun ugarik emandakobabesak berretsi egin du azken bi urteetan behin etaberriz erakutsitako asmo sendo hori.

Egun horretan bertan jakinarazi zion Lehendakariakgizarteari Jaurlaritza berriaren osaketa eta guk horriburuzko informazio gehiago jaso dugu aldizkari honetan.Euskadiren kanpoko presentzia indartu egingo da, berriz,gure interesak defendatzeko, gure baloreen irudi positi-boa sustatzeko eta Euskadik nortasuna eta etorkizunadituela zabaltzeko munduan.

Orrialde hauen bitartez, berretsi egin nahi dugu Euska-ditik kanpo bizi diren euskaldun guztien nahiz aldizkari haujasotzen duzuen guztion esanetara jarraitzen duela KanpoHarremanetarako Idazkaritza Nagusiko lantalde osoak.Euskadik inoiz baino beharrezkoago du munduan jaki-naraztea Euskadi herri baketsua eta bakezalea dela etabertako gizon eta emakumeen ezaugarri nagusienak joka-bide demokratikoak eta solidarioak izan direla betidanik.Horretarako, ezaugarri horiei eutsi behar diezue Planetakoedozein lekutan zaudetenok.

Guk bide horretan jarraituko dugu eta irailetikaurrera ahalegin handiagoa egingo dugu zuekin guz-tiokin eta Euskadiren gaur egungo bizitza hobetoezagutzeko gogoa erakutsi duten guztiekin harremanestuagoa izateko. Horretarako, aldizkari honen argi-talpen birtuala egingo dugu astero zuek posta elektro-nikoz jaso dezazuen. Eskaintzen dizuegun aukera horre-taz baliatzeko, zuen posta elektronikoaren helbidea etaaldizkari hori jaso nahi duten lagunena bidali behardiguzue honako honetara: [email protected].

Gogoratu nahi dizuet, halaber, aldizkari honen irakurlezareten guztioi aldizkaria irekita duzuela zuen kolaborazioakbidaltzeko eta edozein iritzi bertan azaltzeko.

Bihotz-bihotzez eskerrik asko eta besarkada handi batguztioi.

IÑAKI AGUIRRE ARIZMENDI

Eusko Jaurlaritzaren Kanpo Harremanetarako Idazkari Nagusia

TO LIFE, PEACE, RESPECT FOR THE BASQUEPEOPLE AND SOLIDARITY

4

G a u r k o g a i a k C U R R E N T E V E N T S

A N EW OPPORTU N ITY TO PUT AN E N DTO VIOLE NC E

Juan Jose Ibarretxek Lehendakari karguaz zin eginez jabetu zen egunean bertan ETAk bi atentatu egin zituen. Zazpigarren legegintzaldi honetan, Eusko Jaurlaritzaren helburu nagusiapakea lortzea da, eta gizarte integratu bat lortu ahal izateko alderdi politiko guztien laguntzaeskatu du. Baina helburu nagusi hau lortzeko ahaleginekin batera, Eusko Jaurlaritza berriak

ba ditu gizarte eta ekonomi politikak aurrera eramateko egitarauak Euskadi Europako nazioaurreratuen parean jartzeko.

On July 14, Juan José Ibarretxe was sworn in foranother term as Lehendakari under the Gernika tree ona day marked by violence perpetrated by ETA. In onlyten hours, this group assassinated José Javier Múgica,Union of the People of Navarre councilman for the cityof Leitza, and Ertzaina (Basque policeman) Mikel Uribe.The first acts by a visibly upset Lehendakari were to con-demn these attacks and share in the pain of the victims'families. For this seventh Basque legislature, he hasestablished achieving peace in Euskadi as his priorityobjective. Ibarretxe himself made this statement during aspeech at his investiture before the Basque Parliament,where he was elected chief executive of the newgovernment in the second round of voting, with thesupport of the Basque Nationalist Party, Eusko Alkarta-suna and the United Left.

During the ceremony, Juan José Ibarretxe called forthe collaboration of all political forces in order to find afinal solution to this violence and thus respond positivelyto the commitment to the Basque people acquiredduring the May 13 election. "A new era is openingbefore us, a new opportunity, a door to hope. The mes-sage from the vast majority of the Basques has beenclear. They want Peace. They want political normaliza-tion. They want to live together", said the Lehendakariduring his speech, in which he called for an ethical com-mitment to the defense of life: "At stake is the future ofEuskadi. In the design of this future, there is room foreveryone. We are all called upon to work hard". In orderto promote such dialog, Ibarretxe referred to Parliamentas the "center of operations" for debates on achievingpeace, and called for a monographic plenary session inSeptember to discuss the pacification and political nor-malization of Euskadi.

However, efforts to achieve peace will not cause usto neglect other issues on the program established forthis term "because ETA is not going to set the politicalpace of Euskadi". Thus, said Ibarretxe, we will spendthese four years working towards self-governmentthrough the creation of a commission to negotiate fullcompliance with the Gernika Statute and study thepossibilities of updating and modifying this law.

Another of the Lehendakari's main proposals is to

achieve a greater projection for Euskadi beyond itsborders, through the opening of new headquarters forthe Basque Government and direct presence in Euro-pean Union forums. He also committed to continue pro-moting Euskera at every level, and announced the crea-tion of the Euskadi Institute "to promote our culture andfamiliarize Basque groups all over the world with thereality of our country".

The Basque Government will maintain andstrengthen the policies it has been developing in socialand economic matters, which have been so successfulover the last few years, and have placed the BasqueCountry quite close to convergence with Europe.

Under the Gernika Tree, Juan José Ibarretxe sworeto diligently meet all of these challenges following theformula used by Lehendakari José Antonio Aguirre:"Jainkoaren aurrean apalik, Eusko Lur gainean sutunik,asaben gomutaz, Gernikako zuhaizpean, herri ordezka-rion aintzinean nere agindua ondo betetzea zin dagit.Humbled before God, standing on the Basque land, inmemory of our ancestors, under the Gernika Tree,before you, representatives of the people, I swear tofaithfully perform the duties of my office". "

5

C U R R E N T E V E N T S G a u r k o g a i a k

THE CHALLENGES OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT

VVice-Lehendakaritza and Interice-Lehendakaritza and Internal Revenuenal Revenue

During her investiture, the Vice-Lehendakari ofthe Basque Government stressed her commitment tothe development of self-government. She plans towork towards full compliance with Statutes. IdoiaZenarruzabeitia expressed her "frank willingness" tonegotiate with Madrid the renewal of the EconomicAgreement, which expires at the end of this year, anddefended unlimited continuation of this agreement.

IndustrIndustryy, Commer, Commerce and Tce and Tourismourism

This Department's priorities will be to increasethe level of technology and the internationalization ofBasque companies. The Secretary of this Department,Josu Jon Imaz, believes in innovation, and will there-fore implement the Science, Technology and Innova-tion Plan approved in March. The Department will alsopromote investment geared towards generatingemployment, as well as the development of the touristindustry.

HealthHealth

The two fundamental issues of this term, as faras health care is concerned, will be the approval of anew Health Plan for Euskadi and promoting the use ofEuskera and continuing Basque language educationamong Osakidetza personnel. Reduction of waitinglists and investment in new health care technologieswill be other initiatives undertaken by the Departmentdirected by Gabriel Inclán.

Education and ResearEducation and Researchch

The new Secretary of the Department of Educa-tion, Sabin Intxaurraga, defends education "based ontolerance, respect and human rights". Among hisobjectives are teaching multiple languages to Basquestudents (Spanish, Euskera and English), promotingFrench, giving Vocational Education a strategic pushand facilitating students' entry into the job market.

TTransporransportation and Public Wtation and Public Worksorks

The Department of Public Works will implementthe objectives set in 1999, which include the BasqueMeteorological Service and the Euskadi HydrologicalPlan. It will also push for improved planning and mod-ernization of the different means of transportation.

InteriorInterior

After his investiture, the Secretary of the Depart-ment of the Interior, Javier Balza, announced that hisDepartment will implement new measures in the fightagainst ETA, in collaboration with political forces.Coordination with State Security Forces will be main-tained for the defense and protection of threatenedgroups. The Department's first initiatives involveincreasing the staff of the Ertzaintza (Basque PoliceCorps), and having this organization participate incooperation forums with the French police.

CulturCulturee

The objective of the new Secretary of theDepartment of Culture, Miren Azkarate, is to achievea social consensus in the area of language policy. Thethree key goals of this Department will be culturaldevelopment, the Youth Plan and promoting theBasque language.

Housing and the EnvirHousing and the Environmentonment

One of Joseba Azkarraga's objectives will be adecisive push for rental policy to palliate the lack ofhousing. He believes in working over the terrain torespond to the current demand for flats, and plans toestablish a Housing Observatory in order to determineactual needs. As far as environmental issues are con-cerned, environmentally sustainable policies will bepromoted.

Justice, Labor and Social SecurityJustice, Labor and Social Security

The Department directed by Anjeles Iztueta willwork for the implementation of active measures tohelp the most disadvantaged to reenter society. Herother new projects will be to reduce the number oflabor-related accidents, improve the quality of laborcontracts and develop the Family Support Plan.

AgriculturAgriculture and Fishinge and Fishing

The Secretary of this Department, Iñaki Geren-abarrena, will continue with the Department's previ-ous policies, with greater emphasis on employingyoung people in agricultural operations. In the fishingsector, the Department will stress social issues relatedto safety on fishing vessels and the new budget policy.

6


RENEWED CONFIDENCE

Juan Jose Ibarretxe Jaunak aurreko legegintzaldian lagundu dioten Sailburuenganako konfiantza erakutsi zuen

eta izendatu dituenen artetik hiru bakarrik dira berriak: Kultura, Etxebizitza eta Justizia.

This is the start of a new political era for Euskadi,in which the presidency of the Basque Governmentintends to regain understanding between all parties,open up new paths to achieving peace, reach greaterlevels of self-government and continue prospering ineconomic and social matters. To work towards meetingthese objectives, the Lehendakari, Juan José Ibarretxe,has placed all of his trust in the main body of the teamthat was formed after the 1998 election. That govern-ment was unable to conclude its term due to the earlyelection, and will now have more time to work on theprojects they have brought forth over the last fewyears.

Six of the seven governmental department secre-taries belonging to the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party)who took office under Juan José Ibarretxe's presidencyhave kept their jobs. Only Mari Carmen Garmendia,head of the Department of Culture during the previousterm, has left office. This position is now occupied byanother woman, Miren Azkarate from San Sebastián,who has many years of experience in the study andteaching of Euskera.

Azkarate is one of the three new additions to the

Basque Government, along with Joseba Azkarraga andAnjeles Iztueta, members of the party Eusko Alkarta-suna. Azkarraga will be in charge of the Department ofRegional Planning, Housing and the Environment,where he will replace Patxi Ormazabal. Anjeles Iztueta,on the other hand, will occupy the position that SabinIntxaurraga left at the Department of Justice, Laborand Social Security to take charge of the Departmentof Education, where he will replace Inaxio Oliveri.

On July 17, the investiture ceremony was held forthe department secretaries who will form Juan JoséIbarretxe's second government. On that day, the out-going cabinet members actually left office, and theincoming members took possession of their depart-ments. Before that date, however, close contacts weremaintained to ensure a smooth transition for the fourDepartments undergoing leadership changes.

At this ceremony, the Lehendakari read thedecrees to appoint the secretaries of every department,as well as the Vice-Lehendakari, a position that willagain be occupied by Idoia Zenarruzabeitia. Josu JonImaz will also serve another term as GovernmentSpokesman. "

Idoia Zenarruzabeitia

Vice-Lehendakaritza, InternalRevenue and PublicAdministration

Born in Usansolo in 1959, Ms. Zenar-ruzabeitia holds a Law degree, spe-cializing in Legal-Economic issues. She

was a member of the Basque Parliament during the thirdand fourth legislatures. After the 1998 election, shebecame Vice-Lehendakari and Secretary of the InternalRevenue Department, offices that she still holds today.

Javier Balza

Interior

This lawyer from Bilbao will nowserve a second term as Secretary ofthe Department of the Interior.Balza has been a counselor to theBasque Government since 1981.Since January, 1995, he has servedas the Basque Government's Secretary General forAutonomous Development and the Legal Regime.

Anjeles Iztueta

Justice, Labor and SocialSecurity

This native of Tolosa is replacing SabinIntxaurraga as Secretary of the Depart-ment of Justice, where she was Vice-Secretary during the previous term.Since 1997, she represented Eustat at

the administrative level and for European issues, at theBasque Government's Secretary General for Foreign Action.

Miren Azkarate

Culture

Ms. Azkarate holds a degree in BasqueLanguage and is a member ofEuskaltzaindia, the Grammar Commis-sion and Euskera Batua. At the Universi-ty of the Basque Country, she served asVice-Rector of Euskera (1996-1997) and Faculty (1997-2000),and is now replacing Mari Carmen Garmendia, who served asSecretary of the Department of Culture for the last six years.

Joseba Azkarraga

Regional Development,Housing and the Environment

Azkarraga replaces Patxi Ormazabalas Secretary of this Department.Born in Agurain, he served as aMember of Congress in Madrid(1979-1982) and Senator for the

Basque Country (1982-1986). Since 1993, he has been amember of the Mondragón Group and Public SectorDirector for Caja Laboral.

Sabin Intxaurraga

Education, Universities and Research

This former Secretary of Justice willnow be our highest authority onEducation, where he is replacingInaxio Oliveri. Since 1995, Intxaurra-ga has been responsible for Eusko Alkartasuna's Area ofInstitutional Policy, and has represented Biscay at theBasque Parliament since 1984.

Josu Jon Imaz

Industry, Commerce and Tourism

Born in Zumarraga in 1963, Imazholds a Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences.He served on the European Parlia-ment since 1994, and will now serveanother term as Secretary of the Department of Industry,Commerce and Tourism, while also continuing to serve asSpokesman for the Basque Government.

Gabriel Inclán

Health

This will be Gabriel Inclán's secondconsecutive term as Secretary of theDepartment of Health. This Doctorof Medicine and Surgery fromBarakaldo served as General Man-ager of the Hospital de Galdakao

(1986-1988) and Medical Director of the Hospital deCruces (1991-1997), as well as Health Care Director ofOsakidetza since 1997.

Álvaro Amann

Transportation and PublicWorks

This architect born in Vitoria-Gasteizwill now serve another term at theDepartment he was appointed toafter the previous regional election.Álvaro Amann has been a Member of Parliament since1990 and is a full member of Eusko Ikaskuntza, Societyof Basque Studies.

Iñaki Gerenabarrena

Agriculture and Fishing

This native of Gasteiz and technicalforestry engineer has worked for dif-ferent institutions and companies,and participated in the secondBasque Country Forestry Inventory.After serving as a Member of Parlia-

ment during the last two legislatures, he will now servea second consecutive term as Secretary of Agricultureand Fishing.

7


THE PRESIDENT OF THE BASQUE PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR A COMMITMENT

TO PEACE

Maiatzaren 13ko hauteskundeetatik sortutato zazpigarren legegin-tzarako Eusko Legebiltzarraren eraketan garrantzizko aldaketak

dira: %40 legebiltzarkidego berriak dira. Juan Maria Atutxa auke-ratu dute berriro ere Presidente, eta bere izendapeneko hitzaldian

Legebiltzarrean diren alderdi politikoetako ordezkariei laguntzaeskatu zien erakunde honentzat helburu nagusi diren bi hauek

lortu ahal izateko: indarkaria bukatu eta pakea lortu.

Eusko LegebiltzarraBasque Parliament

8


On June 8, the seventh term of the Basque Parlia-ment started with Juan María Atutxa's reelection asPresident of that institution, and the votes to designatethe four members who will form the ParliamentaryBoard, the body governing the Parliament itself, for thenext four years.

The leader of EA, Gorka Knörr, was designatedFirst Chairman with the votes from the PNV-EA coalition,while PP candidate Carmelo Barrio became Second Vice-Chairman with the support of PSE-EE. The People's Party(PP) backed socialist Manuel Huertas as First Secretary ofthe Board, and part of the congressmen from thenationalist group and Eusko Alkartasuna voted to haveKontxi Bilbao, of the United Left (IU) become SecondSecretary. In this manner, all parliamentary groups, with

the exception of EH (who were only backed by theirown seven representatives) will be represented in theparliamentary governing body.

This first plenary session, which lasted two hours,concluded with a speech by the newly reelected JuanMaría Atutxa, who called for "courage and generosity"from the political parties in order to build peace togeth-er in Euskadi. During his address, he asked for "an effortby all members of Parliament to seek common ground inorder to facilitate this priority objective" and stressed theneed to set aside "sectarianism, discrediting and insults"and to defend "respect and dialog".

Juan María Atutxa paid homage to the victims ofviolence and those still threatened before referring to

9


the challenges that must be met in this seventh term. Headvocated resolving issues such as the expansion of theEuropean Union and its consequences for Euskadi,updating certain laws and recovering the Basque lan-guage.

Many new facesAfter the May 13th election, the composition of the

Basque Parliament has changed considerably withrespect to the previous term. New members occupy40% of the seats, as only 45 of the 75 members fromthe previous term have kept their positions.

Among those who have left their seats are threehistorical political figures, the only members who hadserved election after election ever since the Basque Par-liament was founded: Carlos Garaikoetxea, Patxi Ormaz-abal (both of EA) and José Antonio Maturana (PSE-EE),who are leaving the legislature after 21 years of service.That makes José Antonio Rubalcaba (of the PNV) theoldest member of Parliament. He has occupied his seatsince 1980, when he replaced former Lehendakari JesúsMaría de Leizaola.

Many familiar faces from the Basque political scenewill occupy a parliamentary seat for the first time duringthis seventh term. This is the case of Josu Jon Imaz andJavier Balza (PNV), Javier Rojo (PSE-EE) and María San Gil

(PP). Others, such as Vice-Lehendakari Idoia Zenarruz-abeitia, are returning after several years away from theBasque Parliament. Ms. Zenarruzabeitia is one of the 25women serving in Parliament, making up one third ofthe total, a far cry from the four female members whoserved in the first Basque Legislature in 1980. One of thenew female members, Araitz Zubimendi (EH), 24, is theyoungest of the 75 members of the Basque Parliament.

As far as the professions of the members of Parlia-ment, the majority (24) are lawyers, followed by eighteconomists and fivephysicians. "

HirHirururogeita hamabostogeita hamabostlegebiltzarkidetatik 25legebiltzarkidetatik 25emakumeak dira. Ez daemakumeak dira. Ez dainoiz haibeste andrazkoinoiz haibeste andrazkoizan Legebiltzarizan Legebiltzarrrean.ean.

COMPOSITION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY BOARDName Position Parliamentary Group

Juan María Atutxa Chairman Basque Nationalist

Gorka Knörr First Vice-Chairman Eusko Alkartasuna

Carmelo Barrio Second Vice-Chairman Basque People's

Manuel Huertas First Secretary Basque Socialist

Kontxi Bilbao Second Secretary Mixed/United Left

SPOKESMENParliamentary Group Name

Basque Socialist (13 seats) Rodolfo Ares

Basque People's (19 seats) Leopoldo Barreda

Basque Nationalist (25 seats) Joseba Egibar

Eusko Alkartasuna (8 seats) Rafael Larreina

Euskal Herritarrok (7 seats) Arnaldo Otegi

Mixed/United Left (3 seats) Javier Madrazo

Juan María Atutxa.

The five members of the Parliamentary Board.

10

P e r t s o n a l i t a t e a k P E R S O N A L I T I E S

EUSKADI RESEARCHAWARD 2001The award went to Juan Uriagereka, one of thepromoters of the biological perspective in lan-guage studies

The linguist Juan Uriagereka, one of the promot-ers of the biological perspective in language studies,was chosen to receive the Euskadi Research Award2001, granted by the Basque Government. This year,the judges of this sixth annual award chose a man whowas studying to be an economist, but ended up leavingnumbers behind to travel to the U.S. state of Connecti-cut to study letters with a scholarship from the BasqueGovernment.

Son of a Biscayan seaman who married a girl fromGalicia, Uriagereka came to Euskadi for the first time atthe age of 15. He studied at the Universidad de Deusto,where he graduated in Anglo-Germanic Languages in1983, before embarking on his American adventure. Injust a few years, he went from receiving education toteaching in universities in Catalonia, Madrid, Euskadi,Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Puerto Rico and the UnitedStates, where he is currently a professor at the Universi-ty of Maryland.

Juan Uriagereka has supervised the doctoral the-ses of people who are now teaching at colleges all overthe world. He also serves as an editor for specializedjournals and is an excellent writer. "If we don't do awaywith the languages that exist now, in this century we'llbe much more capable of understanding the humanmind", said the recipient of the award, who consideredthe honor an acknowledgement of Linguistics and thegroup of young people who, like himself, were trainedbased on the work of Mitxelena, the driving forcebehind a dozen world-class researchers. #

The managing director of the Guipuzcoan coach-maker Irizar, Koldo Saratxaga, was chosen as the BestBasque Entrepreneurfor the year 2000 atthe tenth annual"Basque CompanyNight", sponsored byCaja Laboral, EITB andEmpresa XXI. Saratxa-ga was the drivingforce behind theexpansion of Irizar,which was almostbankrupt when hearrived in 1991. Thecompany now exportsluxury bus bodies to65 countries and hascreated mixed compa-nies in China, Morocco, Brazil, India and Mexico.

The Lagun Artea Group, which focuses on theengineering and construction of installations for ironand steel works, received the "Made in Euskadi" dis-tinction. This company has tripled its staff and multi-

plied its turnover by five over the last few years. TheBusiness Innovation award went to Sener Ingeniería y

Sistemas, which hasbeen participating inthe development ofadvanced projects for45 years.

The judges madespecial mention of thepresident of theGuipuzcoan employ-ers' union, José MaríaKorta, assassinated byETA last summer, towhom they dedicatedan honorific award.The ceremony wasattended by theLehendakari, who also

said a few words in memory of "our friend Korta".During his speech, Juan José Ibarretxe stressed thecourage of the entrepreneurs and encouraged themto continue favoring economic growth and the cre-ation of jobs in Euskadi through their work. #

KOLDO SARATXAGA, THE BEST BASQUE ENTREPRENEURSener and Lagun Artea were also honored at ‘Basque Company Night’

11

P E R S O N A L I T I E S P e r t s o n a l i t a t e a k

Lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe and the Secre-tary of Culture of the Basque Government, Mari Car-men Garmendia, delivered the Basque Sports Awards2000, to honor the work and professional careers ofdifferent persons and entities related to the world ofsports.

The award to the best athletewent to the four Basque members ofthe national women's field hockeyteam who participated in the SydneyOlympics: Erdoitza Goikoetxea, MaiderTelleria, Elena Urkizu and Begoña Lar-razabal.

Two awards went to mountainsports. The former president of theBasque Mountaineering Federation,Paco Iriondo, was honored for his pro-motional and training work as well ashis dedication, while the Basque pictureaward was granted to the brothersAlberto and Félix Iñurrategi (posthu-mously for Félix, who died last yearwhile descending the Gasherbrum II).

Doctor Ander Letamendia, theauthor of different studies on the handinjuries plaguing pelotaris, was hon-ored for his scientific contribution tosports, and the Orio Olympic Rowing

Club was honored as the sports entity of the year2000. The sponsorship award went to the Basquetelephony company Euskaltel for its collaboration withthe Fundación Euskadi cycling team. #

Euskadi will continue to support projects against drugs in Latin America

The Basque Government will contin-ue providing technical and economic sup-port for those projects against drug abusethat are currently being carried out in LatinAmerica with which it has collaborated upuntil now. That was the statement deliv-ered by Lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe tothe representatives of non-governmentalorganizations from thirteen countries withwhom he met on June 26, coinciding withthe Worldwide Day Against Drugs. Inthose countries, the Basque Governmentfinances the program called ‘The Adven-ture of Living’ through the NGO Edex.

Since 1989, through this same organization, more than half of the schools in the Basque Country have par-ticipated in a health education initiative directed at children. Edex started its work in Latin America in 1994 withtwo pilot programs in Colombia and Peru, but the collaboration program in the fight against drugs has alreadyextended to seventeen countries in the Americas. #

SPORTS AWARD CEREMONY

Mountaineers Félix Iñurrategi (posthumously) and his brother,Albert, received the Basque picture award.

12

E r r e p o r t a i a k A R T I C L E S

The year 2000 saw continuity in the economicgrowth that Euskadi has been experiencing for thepast decade, which has placed this region at 99% ofthe average for the European Union after an increaseof no less than five percentage points between 1997and 1998. Average growth for the Basque Countrywas very high during this ten-year period, reaching3.5% compared to Spain's 2.6% and the EuropeanUnion's 1.8%. This improvement is mainly due to thegood economic behavior of the past few years. In theyear 2000, as in 1999, the Basque Country experi-enced 4.3% economic growth, indicating that theBasque economy is one of the most dynamic in thewestern world, with cycles characterized by stable,sustained growth.

Last year, industrial expansion was again consid-erably higher than that of the other sectors. However,we must take note of the balanced evolution of thedifferent categories into which economic activity isdivided. The industrial sector has grown an average of4.3% since 1993, compared to 3.2% growth in con-struction and 3% growth in services. The maximumgrowth rate of 8.7% achieved by industry in 1998 isespecially worthy of mention.

Unlike the 80's, growth in services and construc-tion was more moderate during the 90's, in keepingwith a cycle in which investment was playing a more

important role, while private and public consumptionwere more reserved.

This economic bonanza has allowed Euskadi'sper capita Gross Domestic Product to increase by 9%compared to that of Europe. The Basque GDP hasalways been higher than the Spanish average, butwhere that difference was 15% in 1990, it was 18%in 1998 (latest official European data). Thus, in thisrespect Euskadi has achieved full convergence withEurope.

This economic situation has had a favorableeffect on the Basque job market. The employmentrate, after approaching the Spanish average in 1993,was higher, surpassing the national rate during thepast three years. Even more significant has been thedecrease in unemployment. The increase in unemploy-ment that occurred between 1991 and 1994 as aresult of the industrial crisis of that period has beenreversed. Since 1995, not only have unemploymentfigures decreased, but Euskadi has managed to keepthem below the national average, even improving by4% the number of workers who were jobless beforethe aforementioned industrial crisis. Today, the level ofemployment, the working population, is the highestexperienced by the Basque economy in recent history.Unemployment has decreased considerably, reaching12.4% during the fourth quarter of the year 2000.

EUSKADI, AT THE FOREFRONT OFEUROPEAN ECONOMIC GROWTH

Industriaren hazkuntzak bestesektoreetakoa baino haundiagoaizaten jarraitu zuen; hauek,ordea, azkenengo hamarkadanhazkuntza erregularragoa izandute. Datu hauen arabera,hurrengo urteotako Euskadikoekonomiak aurrera egingo duiraunkorki. Azkenengo urteotanEuskadik bizi duen ekonomi ego-era oparoaren ondorioz, EuskalAutonomi Elkarteak Europakdituen maila berberak lortu ditualor askotan eta langabezia beramurriztu egin da, 2.000. urtearenbukaeran %12,4koa zelarik.

13

A R T I C L E S E r r e p o r t a i a k

Industry was the sector that generated the most jobs,along with a considerable increase in the number ofindefinite labor contracts.

Economic prospects for the future

All of the above data seems to indicate that eco-nomic growth in Euskadi will continue to be stable andsustained for the next few years. Jobs will continue tobe generated, and the unemployment rate is expectedto decrease to 11% toward the end of this year. Basedon current figures, there is reason to believe that thisrate may decrease to 10% in the year 2003.

The GDP will grow roughly 4% in 2001, with anaverage growth rate of 3.5% for the period from 2001to 2003. "

Activity rate

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Spain Euskadi

Economic Industrialgrowth production

Euskadi 4.3% 5.5%

U.S.A. 5.0% 5.5%

Spain 4.1% 4.0%

Germany 3.1% 5.1%

France 3.2% 3.2%

ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR IN THE YEAR2000

55

54

53

52

51

50

49

48

47

46

1999 2000 2001

Private consumption 3.5 2.8 2.6

Public consumption 4.4 2.0 2.2

Gross capital formation 4.7 4.4 4.0

Internal demand 3.9 3.1 2.9

External balance contribution 0.4 1.3 1.1

Industry 4.1 4.8 4.6

Construction 4.5 4.2 3.8

Services 4.2 4.1 3.8

VAT 6.9 4.1 4.2

Average GDP 4.3 4.3 4.0

GDP deflator 3.2 3.7 2.9

Employment 4.3 1.3 2.0

4th quarter unemployment rate 14.9 12.4 11.0

EXPECTED MACROECONOMIC SCENARIO FOR EUSKADI IN 2001

Industry Construction Services

1991 3.5 2.8 2.6

1992 4.4 2.0 2.2

1993 4.7 4.4 4.0

1994 3.9 3.1 2.9

1995 0.4 1.3 1.1

1996 4.1 4.8 4.6

1997 4.5 4.2 3.8

1998 4.2 4.1 3.8

1999 6.9 4.1 4.2

2000 4.3 4.3 4.0

EVOLUTION OF THE COMPONENTS OFTHE GDP IN EUSKADI

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The Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao hosted theeighteenth World Technology and Science ParksConference, held June 11-13. More than 500experts from fifty countries met to analyze thefuture of such centers in the new informationsociety and in the economy of the digital era. Themeeting was a great success, according to KlausPlate, president of the International Associationof Scientific and Technological Parks (IASP). "Itwas the best of all the conferences we've held",said Plate, who said he was favorably impressedby Basque society and its efforts to switch from atraditional economy based on iron and steelworks to one based on new technologies.

One of the conclusions reached by theexperts who met in Bilbao, 60% of whom werefrom abroad, was that this new industry is goingto cause a profound change, a revolution thatwill affect both the technological world and the rest ofsociety. The parks analyzed at the conference have infact been important worldwide driving forces in theregions where they were established, and have createdhundreds of thousands of new jobs all over the world.

During the three days of presentations, differentdata was revealed, expressing the optimism with whichnew technology companies face the upcoming years.For example, Chuck Martin, president of Net FutureInstitute, said that the volume of electronic commercebetween companies will increase from 336 billion toalmost three trillion dollars in only three years. He alsoforecast that while 65% of the contacts between clientsare now made by telephone, in another two years e-mailwill be the instrument used on half of these occasions.

The choice of Euskadi as a location

The IASP is an association founded in 1984, madeup of 212 technological parks from 54 countries, includ-ing a total of 50,000 companies. Since 1996, its world-wide headquarters has been located in the Spanish cityof Málaga, which was chosen from the projects present-ed by seven other candidates, including Paris and Ams-terdam. Those responsible for this association designat-ed the Basque Country as the location for the eigh-teenth Worldwide Technological Park Conference duringthe bidding held in Australia in 1998. Before Bilbao, this

event was hosted by Istanbul in 1999 and Edinburgh inthe year 2000.

This choice was no coincidence. Euskadi's Networkof Technological Parks has served as an example for therest of Spain, due to its pioneering nature and pattern ofdevelopment, which has provided considerable momen-tum for the area's economy.

Last year, the Basque technological parks had aturnover of 2.1 billion pesetas and employed more than7,000 people. The year 2000 was considered the consol-idation of a project that started fifteen years ago withthe inauguration of the complex located in the Biscayantown of Zamudio. For the first time in its history, theNetwork achieved prof-its last year. The com-bined results of the cen-ters in the three Basqueprovinces was 166 mil-lion pesetas. Totalturnover was 209.5 bil-lion pesetas, 32.6%more than the previousyear. The number ofcompanies located atthe parks also increased to 185.

In the year 2000, Basque companies and techno-logical centers invested 27 billion pesetas in Research

Euskadiko Parke Euskadiko Parke

TTeknologikoek iaz 2.100eknologikoek iaz 2.100

milioi pezeta fakturatumilioi pezeta fakturatu

zuten eta 7.000 lanpostuzuten eta 7.000 lanpostu

baino gehiago sorbaino gehiago sortu zutentu zuten

TECHNOLOGICAL PARKS FROM ALLOVER THE WORLD ANALYZE THE DIGITAL SOCIETY IN BILBAOMundu Biltzarrak 50 naziotako 500 aitu baino gehiago bildu zituen ekainean Bilbon

15


and Development, 13% of their total turnover and 10billion pesetas more than in 1999.

By provinces, the park in Zamudio achieved thebest results, with profits of 290 million pesetas. InGipuzkoa, Miramon closed its best year to date and gotahead of the profit attainment plan by achieving profitsof 69 million pesetas. Miñano, in Araba, was the onlypark to record losses, but its forecasts have improvedand it is expected to achieve positive results soon.

All of this from an emerging market sector with avery encouraging future led the IASP to choose Euskadito host the conference this year. And for good reason,as the turnover from the Basque parks makes up 50%of Spain's total.

Government actions

During the inauguration ceremony, LehendakariJuan José Ibarretxe reiterated the Basque Government'sbelief in new technologies and said that Euskadi'snewest challenge is to achieve convergence with Europeand to become a research capital for the entire conti-nent.

Ibarretxe stressed the "effort" by Basque institu-tions to "build our own science and technology systemaround these centers, increasing Research and Develop-ment spending to 1.3 % of the GDP". The Lehendakaribelieves that this figure should reach 1.7% in the year2004.

During his speech, Ibarretxe explained some of theactions taken by his Government in the area of the digi-tal economy. One of these is the ‘Euskadi Information

Society Plan’, whose main instrument is the ‘KonektaZaitez’ program. Through this program, he hopes todouble the number of computers in the Basque Countryto a total of 400,000 units, and multiply by five thenumber of residential Internet connections.

The Basque Government is also implementing itsScience, Technology and Innovation Plan, with anexpected investment of 100 billion pesetas to provideincreased momentum to the technological parks, thecompanies located in these facilities and progress inResearch and Development. "

A country of conferencesSan Sebastián's Kursaal, Bilbao's Palacio Euskalduna and the Palacio Europa in Vitoria have all become lux-

ury settings for organizing symposiums, conferences, and all kinds of meetings. Business in this sector has nev-er been better since the different centers were inaugurated. Those responsible for the infrastructures and pro-fessionals from Euskadi all agree that business prospects from now to 2003 are excellent. The Basque capitalcities hold plenty of appeal for such meetings, especially now that facilities are available with sufficient space forlarge numbers of people. Even so, smaller facilities such as those in Miramar, Donostia, Artaza, Leioa or Villasu-so, in Vitoria, have not been eclipsed.

The number of conferencesin all three capitals grew last yearcompared to 1999, and this year'sfigures will be even higher. Bilbaois the city with the most activity inthis respect, and is basing part ofits future on this sector by consid-erably increasing the number ofhotels over the next few years. "

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Miramón Technological Park

Located in a privileged natural setting, this facilityis just 5 minutes from Donostia and 10 minutes fromthe airport. It has a gross surface area of 130 hectaresand nearly 107,000 m2 ready for construction. ThisPark's main areas of Technological Orientation are:Medical Technologies, New Materials, Multimedia andAudiovisual Technologies and Advanced Robotics. Thefollowing technological research centers are located inthis Park: INASMET (Materials Technology Center),INBIOMED, and the main audiovisual technology devel-opment structure in the Basque Country (EITB).

Zamudio Technological Park

This is Spain's most pioneering Technological Park. Itbegan operating in 1985, and has attained recognition asa model to emulate. Strategically located just 10 kilome-ters from Bilbao, 3 from the airport and 6 from the Uni-versity of the Basque Country, it features a gross surfacearea of 180 hectares. Its high level of development hasallowed this park to completely occupy a first phase con-taining 376,901 m2 of industrial lots. It focuses mainly onTelecommunications (and features one of Spain's largestconcentrations of such companies), Computing, Aero-nautics, Advanced Engineering and Environmental Tech-nologies. It features five Research, Development andTechnology Transfer Centers; GAIKER and ROBOTIKERTechnology Transfer Centers; LABEIN Research and Test-ing Laboratory; ESI (European Software Institute) and theAERONAUTICAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER.

Álava Technological Park

Created in 1992, this was a project with a vision forthe future. The facility is located 5 kilometers from Vitoria-Gasteiz and 7 from the airport, and features excellent con-nections by highway or rail. Its high level of urban devel-opment has allowed it to complete a first phase with auseable surface area of 240,383 m2. It focuses mainly onAeronautics, Advanced Electronics and Energy. LEIA (theÁlava industrial testing laboratory), the Aeronautic Tech-nology Center and the Energy Technology Center are itsmain R & D driving forces. It also features a Business andInnovation Center (BIC), which truly acts as a businessincubator.

Euskadi contains one of Europe's most consolidatednetworks of technological parks

Euskadiko hiru poligonoon inguruneetan aparteko erakundeok dira: lantegi bikainak, Unibertsitateak eta Ikertegi eta Teknologi Transferentziarako Zentruak.

Aukera ezin hobeko inuguruneak!

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THE CENTURY OF WOMENXXI. Mendean emakumeak zuzendaritzaardurak hartuko omen ditu erakunde publikoeta pribatuetan, eta, beraz, "EmakumearenMendea" izango dela esan da. Baina oraindikberdintasunerako aukera arazoa guztizkonpondutzake dago. Irailean Bilbon izangoden Emakume Enpresari eta ZuzendarienNazioarteko Biltzarrak mundu globalizatu etakonplexuan egoera honek dituen arazoakaztertuko ditu.

The twenty-first century will bear witness to theprogress made by women in the socioeconomic fabricof society, and their significant presence in positions ofresponsibility in public and private institutions. Femaleentrepreneurs and executives have come up withunprecedented models for managing people; however,equal opportunities are still an unresolved issue, andplatforms are still needed to respond to the demandsof women in business. The idea is to achieve a series ofgoals, such as promoting private initiatives by women,eliminating gender inequality on the job market andattaining a model to allow women to reconcile familylife with their careers.

One of the groups working towards these goals isthe Association of Female Entrepreneurs and Executivesof Bizkaia (AED), founded in 1995 as a channel forexpressing the ideas of a group that has played a rele-vant role in the economic reactivation of this Basqueprovince, contributing different ways of understandingmanagement and organizational models within compa-nies.

The AED has implemented numerous innovativeactions to supplement the policies developed byBasque institutions in this area. In September, the asso-ciation will organize an International Conference ofFemale Entrepreneurs and Executives in Bilbao, a pro-ject ambitious in its content and scope, whose goal isto promote and provide incentives to further femalebusiness and management creativity in the competitive,complex and globalized economy of the twenty-firstcentury.

The conferencewill last for three days,and will be held at thePalacio Euskalduna onSeptember 27 - 29.More than twentyspeakers from all overthe world will partici-pate. Issues of greatinterest will beexplored during morn-ing and afternoon ses-sions, to help partici-pants understand notonly the evolution ofwomen as businessleaders, but of theworld of business itself in today's society of informationand technology.

The unequal effects of globalization and how toreconcile the professional and personal lives of womenwill be two of the main issues covered at this confer-ence, which will also serve as a framework for makingbusiness contacts between female executives from dif-ferent countries. After the presentations, other issues ofinterest can be addressed in debates and discussions inthe presence of women who have managed to succeedin the always difficult and competitive world of business.Their experiences will be offered as models of how tobreak the gender imbalances that have traditionallyexisted on the job market. "


18

H IG H QUALITY PR ODUCTSNekezaritza, abelazkuntza eta arrantza Euskadin

aspaldikoak eta gizarte bizitzan eragin haundia izan dute.Azkenengo hamarkadetan sail honek aparteko ahalegi-

nak egin ditu teknika eta teknologi berriak erabiliz kali-tate haundiko produktuak lortzen. Europako nekezaritza-

ko elikagai alorraren krisialdi honetan, Eusko Jaurla-ritzak Euskadiko produktuen kalitatea eta osasungarrita-

suna bermatzeko egintzabide bereziak sortu ditu.

What with mad cow disease, foot-and-mouthdisease, swine fever, and the questions that havearisen about possible health problems caused bygenetically modified foods, doubts have been castupon the safety of different food items offered onthe European market. In Euskadi, a nation tradition-ally closely linked to cattle raising, agriculture andfishing, this crisis has not affected us directly, buthas resulted in the implementation of new controlmechanisms by a government that has alwaysworked hard to guarantee the quality of all productsfrom this region. For this reason, last January theBasque Government's Department of Agricultureand Fishing created the Elika Foundation. This foun-dation is intended to guarantee the safety of Basqueagricultural products and reinforce consumer confi-dence in foods from Euskadi.

This initiative is not new. The Basque Govern-ment has been working for more than two years,along with the Neiker Public Corporation, the Kali-tatea Foundation and the Azti Foundation, to designan entity that will ensure rigorous control of agricul-tural production processes. Thus, it was prepared toface the crises that have arisen so far.

Beef, the meat that has generated the mostdistrust due to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy,

better knownas mad cowdisease, mustpass a series ofstrict tests inEuskadi, morerigorous than those required under current law. Theuse of feed of animal origin is prohibited, and peri-odic inspections of animal fodder factories andfarming operations are performed. All cattle over 24months of age that is slaughtered at Basque slaugh-terhouses is tested for this disease.

A permanent alert system has been establishedfor all kinds of food emergencies, and slaughteringcattle at home is now prohibited. With these mea-sures, we can guarantee that the meat sold inEuskadi meets all requirements to be consumed withthe utmost confidence.

Meat is not the only kind of food subject to rig-orous controls. For years, the Basque Country hasbeen establishing and developing numerous pro-grams, plans and corporations to ensure the qualityof our autochthonous products, and for the futureof the agricultural industry itself. Last year, the Sus-tainable Rural Development Plan for theAutonomous Communityof the Basque Country waspassed for the period from2000 to 2006, and aninvestment of 83.26 bil-lion pesetas has beenassigned to this program.This amount will befinanced by the BasqueGovernment, the govern-ments of the three Basqueprovinces and the benefi-ciary companies. Thesefunds will be invested inagricultural operations,


19

establishing new operations for young farmers,training for the agricultural industry, improvingproduct processing and marketing, and subsidies toensure the protective ecological functions of ourforests.

Azti FoundationAzti, Fishing and

Food Institute, is afoundation with exper-tise in oceanographyand the marine envi-ronment and fishingand food industryresearch. The experi-ence accumulated since1984, as well as itsspirit of service andtechnical and human

capacities have helped it achieve international prestige.Azti offers specialized services in applied research andtechnological development, advising and technicalconsultancy, training and technological information, andassistance with analyses and testing. Its research hasserved to establish the technical basis for optimal fisherymanagement. It is also involved in the transfer of newtechnologies to fishing fleets in order to increase theircompetitiveness. Azti has created two technology trans-fer centers in Chile and Argentina.

Mendikoi Public CorporationIn 1994, the Mendikoi Public Corporation was cre-

ated, under the auspices of the Basque Government'sDepartment of Agriculture and Fishing. Its mission is tomeet the needs for innovation and comprehensivedevelopment in rural areas. In response to this chal-lenge, technical training will be offered to the agricul-tural professionals of today and tomorrow, as well asinformation, support and expert assistance for the cre-ation of new businesses and in order to attract invest-ment that will contribute to development and the cre-ation of jobs. All of the above is intended to improvethe quality of life of the inhabitants of rural areas.

Kalitatea FoundationThe Kalitatea Foundation is an entity created in

1998 by the Basque Government's Department of Agri-culture in order to promote and develop quality agricul-tural products that would be valued, differentiated andappreciated by the market, in order to achieve a com-petitive edge. "

QUALITY DENOMINATIONSThe Basque Country Quality Denominations qualify

and identify food products produced or manufactured inEuskadi that have met a series of requirements in order toobtain official recognition with the corresponding label.

Denomination ofOrigin

These denominationsare assigned to productsfrom a particular place,whose quality is mainly dueto the geographical environ-ment in which they are pro-

duced, and which are processed or prepared in that area.There are five Denominations of Origin in Euskadi:

# Txakoli Wine from Getaria # Txakoli Wine from Bizkaia# Txakoli Wine from Araba # Idiazabal Cheese# Rioja Wine from Álava

Basque Quality Label

This label identifies anddistinguishes those foods produced,processed and/or prepared in the BasqueCountry, whose quality, specificity or

uniqueness are above average. Its objectives are to guar-antee the consumer a strict level of quality, identify the ori-gin and authenticity of the products, defend the work ofthe producers and promote quality. The following productsbear the Basque Quality Label:

# Peppers from Gernika # Suckling Lamb# Hot Peppers from Ibarra # Farmhouse Chicken# Quality Tomatoes # Natural Honey# Beef # Beans# Pasteurized Milk # Potatoes from Álava# Northern Tuna (Bonito and Cimarrón)

Euskal Baserri

Identifies fruits and vegetablesfrom Euskadi, grown with special careand attention in small gardens. Thegrower's proximity to the market allowsfor these products to be picked at their

moment of optimal ripeness, for maximum flavor andfreshness.

Ecologically Grown Foods

These products were grown usingenvironmentally friendly methods. This kindof agriculture preserves the fertility of thesoil, promotes biodiversity and uses no syn-thetic chemical products.

20


Urdaibaiko Biosfera ErreserbaBizkaiko Golkoko bihurgunebaten kokatuta dago, BizkaikoBusturialdean. Seguraski,berezko eskualde hau paisajeeta ekologi aberastasun uga-rienetarikoa duena izango daEuskadin: mendi maldatsuak,haranak, ibarrak, padurak etahondartzak, mota askotakopizti, hegazti eta landarez horniturik.

Urdaibai is one of Euskadi'smajor nature reserves, where onecan observe a broad spectrum offlora and fauna within theframework of perfect coexistencebetween man and his environ-ment. On December 8, 1984, atthe suggestion of the BasqueGovernment, the InternationalCoordination Council of UNESCO'SMAB Program included this area inthe International Network of Bios-phere Reserves in order to protectthe integrity and promote therecovery of the different ecosys-tems found there, due to their nat-ural, scientific, educational,cultural and socioeconomic impor-tance.

Located in the backwaters of

the Gulf of Biscay, in the Biscayandistrict of Busturialdea, Urdaibaioccupies an area of 220 squarekilometers. It is home to 45,000residents of 22 towns, eleven ofwhich are completely integratedwithin the reserve. Its northernborder is the coastline, with theMatxitxako and Ogoño capes pro-tecting the entrance to the estuary,marked by Izaro island. Its othergeographical borders, defined bythe divide of the Oka riverbasin, are marked by differentaltitudes, in a territory that isnever more than twelvekilometers wide and twentykilometers long.

Urdaibai is truly a naturalparadise, where it becamenecessary for human beingsand nature to live together. Thearea where it is located hasplayed an important role in thesocial and political organizationof Biscay. In the shade of theGernika tree, assemblies of statewere held and official oaths weresworn. Gernika and Bermeo arehome to 80% of the inhabitants ofan area whose economic activity isbased on the iron and steel,maritime/fishing and forestryindustries on the one hand, and

cattle raising and agriculture onthe other. It also features tourism,focusing on the beaches, historicalvillages and the network of hotelsand agrotourism accommodationsscattered throughout the area.

One of the functions of theorganization that manages thereserve is to promote research pro-jects and studies on the area, inorder to become more familiar

with this region and act withmeasures designed to protect anddevelop it. Today, numerousresearch groups from differentdisciplines are conducting a widerange of projects concerningUrdaibai.

A uniquely beautiful landscape

Urdaibai features a verydiverse landscape. The rivers, intheir quest for the Cantabrian Sea,have sculptured the relief as if itwere a work of art. The abruptmountains, with their low altitudesand steep slopes, overlook greenvalleys, giving way to soft fertileplains and marshes and ending inthe great blue plain of the sea,

The Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve promotes the sustainable coexistence of living thingswithin a context of respect for the environment

AN ECOLOGICALLY DIVERSENATURE RESERVE

21


bordered by a thin strip of cliffs,harbors and beaches.

The reserve is also home totraditional agricultural operations,in a diverse, harmonious landscapefeaturing small villages, traditionalfarmhouses and historically andeconomically important populationcenters. All of this gives Urdaibai arichly unique charm, making it oneof the most remarkable areas inEuskadi.

Plant community

The Urdaibai BiosphereReserve possesses first-class natura-listic value if compared to otherareas in Cantabria where industrialdevelopment has stronglydegraded the environment. Theareas of ecological and naturalisticinterest can be divided into fourcategories: the wetlands linked tothe Mundaka estuary, the Canta-brian holm oak groves, the coast-line and the Atlantic countryside.

Man has left his mark in theform of a valuable mosaic of mead-ows, small forests, thickets andfarmhouses, both extremelyinteresting and productive. Today,modern forestry plantations,occupying more than 60% of theterritory, also dominate the land-scape of the Biosphere Reserve.

At Urdaibai, we candistinguish between 25 differentunits of vegetation, which can begrouped into 8 categories. Thereare five natural or spontaneouscommunities, and others requiringcontinuous actions by humanbeings for their development andmaintenance. Only in the vascularor higher plant groups, more than

615 species have been inventoriedand described.

Zoological community

The diversity of biotopesfound at Urdaibai has resulted in awide variety of fauna: birds,mammals, amphibians, reptiles,insects, fish, mollusks andcrustaceans.

The marshes, as a wetlandinfluenced by the tides and thecontinental waters brought by therivers or springs emanating fromthe spots where limestone makes

contact with clay on the valleyfloor, are an extremely valuablearea for birds. This is even moreimportant given the fact thatUrdaibai is an area where birdsmigrating between Europe andAfrica stop to rest.

This spot offers the greatestvariety of nesting, sedentary,migrating and accidental birdspecies to be found anywhere inEuskadi. It is included in theRAMSAR Convention on Wetlands

of International Impor-tance and in the ‘Spe-cial Protection Areasf o r B i r d s - N AT U R A2000’ recognized bythe European Union.

Culture

Urdaibai containsnumerous archeolo-gical sites and histo-rical remains, many of

great value for understanding themain periods of human presence inthe region. The oldest remainsfound in the region (the Santi-mamiñe caves in Kortezubi) belongto the first of the culturesdeveloped by human beings in theLate Paleolithic age (35,000 to18,000 B.C.)

T h e a r e a o f f e r s a v a s tarchitectural and cultural heritage,featuring farmhouses, churches,city halls, mills, tower houses, her-mitages, cemeteries, bridges,docks, etc. The symbolic impor-tance of the Gernika tree and Casade Juntas are especially worthy ofmention. All of this contributed tothe specificity of this region for thepurposes of being declared a Bios-phere Reserve.

At Urdaibai, one can enjoyfour museums. Of the threelocated in Gernika, two aredevoted to the town of Gernikaand the third to Euskadi in general.Another museum is located inBermeo, and is entirely devoted tothe world of fishing.

Two towns in the area alsooffer various leisure activities. TheGernika Jai-Alai games, fixed-seatrowing races, rural sports and theInternational Folklore Week held inBermeo on August 14 - 17 are allwell-known. "

22


The beach or the mountains? This is the eternaldilemma that must be faced when summer vacationarrives and the time comes to find a place to take awell-deserved break from a long year of school orwork. However, some young Basques, well aware thatthere are people in the world whose problems aremuch more important than this less transcendentaldecision, have decided to use their months of leisure tohelp make the lives of the less fortunate a little better.It's not only a matter of cooperation, but of awarenessthat has caused these 87 young people to pack theirbackpacks and embark on an adventure that will takethem thousands of miles from home for three months.

These young people had all worked on volunteerprojects before, and knew how important their contri-bution could be to help improve the living conditions

of other human beings who lack basic necessities onlybecause they were born in less fortunate areas of theworld. For this reason, a two-month training periodwas sufficient to prepare them for the jobs they wouldhave to perform. They were selected in April, andstarted leaving for their destination countries in earlyJuly.

The different projects these young people willparticipate in were designed by different Basque non-governmental organizations, and cover all kinds of aidplans, such as education, health, the environment,agriculture and technical issues that can help improveliving conditions.

These 87 volunteers will travel to 17 differentcountries in the Americas (Venezuela, Ecuador,Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Panama,Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala), Africa(Cameroun, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania and Benin)and Asia (India and the Philippines). "

A MATTER OF AWARENESSLaurogeita zazpi gazte euskaldunek Euskadiko Garapenerako Gobernuz Kanpoko Erakunde ezberdinen lankide-tzarako proiektuetan igaroko dituzte udakooporrak; proiekturik gehienok mundukonazio txiroenetan kokaturik daude.

IN SEARCH OF ANCESTORS

Ellis ugarte newyorkarretik Estatu Batuetaraurte askotan sartu ziren inmigranteen berriematen du Interneteko orri batek. Webhonetaz, nazioko artxibategi eta zentsuezberdinekin konekta daiteke, edo etafamilia baten aurrekoen berri ere lor daitekebere abizena tekleatuz. Aberasteko aukerabila Ameriketara joandakoen historiaezagutzeko aukera aparta.

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Ellis Island is located in Upper New York Bay, veryclose to where the Statue of Liberty welcomes thosereaching the city of skyscrapers by sea. During the latenineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this islandwas the place where authorities recorded the names ofthose who came to the United States in search of the‘land of opportunity’. It is estimated that over 12 mil-lion immigrants entered North America through EllisIsland, and that 100 million Americans are theirdescendants.

As a tribute to all of these adventurers whocrossed the sea to start a new life, there is a web pagewhere the user can learn more about the history of theisland and those who left their name printed on appli-cation forms to enter the country. www.ellisis-landrecord.com is a portal from which one can alsoaccess other web pages related to immigration, andoffers many immigrants the chance to find out moreabout their ancestors.

The site includes direct access to national archivesand documentation centers, which in turn providegenealogy information, including wedding, birth anddeath records, as well as other situations requiring anofficial certificate.

Through the Ellis Island website, one can also enterother portals such as ancestry.com or www.family-search.org, where information can be obtained on thefamily's origins in the country by simply typing in a sur-name. Stories, experiences, pictures, period newspa-pers....all of these provide a very useful service to thosewhose only records of their ancestors are oral reportspassed from generation to generation. Thanks to theInternet, they can now expand upon this information. "

24

E u s k a l E t x e a k B A S Q U E C E N T E R S

The Caracas Sukalde Association was founded for the purpose of promoting Basque cuisine in Venezuela

GASTRONOMY AS A SIGN OF IDENTITY

Euskal Herriko sukaldaritza

zabaltzeko asmoz Mexikoko

Euskal Etxean sortutako Sukalde

Elkarteak izen bereko beste bat

sortu du Caracaseko Euskal

Etxean. Bi ekintzapideon asmoa

nazio arteko sare bat sortzea da,

Euskadiren izena eta izana denok

gogoko dugun hizkuntzaz,

sukaldaritzaz, ezagutarazteko.

Euskadi possesses certain identi-fying features that set it apart fromthe other nations of the world. Someof the elements that make up theBasque Country's own particular her-itage are its language, culture, folk-lore and traditional sports. Basquegastronomy also plays a very impor-tant role. Cooking is an internationallanguage, that breaks downlanguage barriers and serves as theperfect introduction to a country.Euskadi's fame in this respect goeswell beyond its borders due to theexquisiteness of its dishes, which owe

their success to the quality of theingredients used. Foreigners whotravel to the Basque Country alwaysleave with fond memories impressedupon their palates.

In Venezuela, the CaracasBasque Center has launched a projectto help make Euskadi's excellentcuisine better-known in this country,and in the Americas in general. Theidea is not new, as a similar associa-tion has been working towards thesame goal in Mexico for quite sometime. The Mexican group was in

charge of laying the founda-tions for Sukalde, the namethat will also be adopted bythe newly formed associationin the Venezuelan capital.

Last year, the CaracasBasque Center organized agastronomic festival, whichwas attended by chefs fromthe city's main Basquerestaurants. One of theguests was Pablo SanRomán, one of the pro-moters of Sukalde Mexico,who helped start talks to

develop an equivalent project inVenezuela. This helped put intopractice one of the conclusionsadopted at the Fourth Conference ofBasque Associations held last year inEuskadi: to urge the Basque Centersto organize projects similar to thecreation of the Sukalde Association inMexico.

The challenge faced by thoseorganizing these initiatives is to havetheir work serve as an example forBasque Centers in other countries,until an international network hasbeen constructed to make Sukalde animportant instrument for sharing andpromoting Euskadi through itscuisine. In Venezuela, the idea is toalso create an Institute of BasqueCuisine, based in Caracas but conti-nental in scope.

VVenezuelako Sukaldekoenezuelako Sukaldekoelkarelkartekideen artekideen artean tean

berbertako sukaldari tako sukaldari ospetsuenetarikoak dira.ospetsuenetarikoak dira.

The courses have sparked great interest.

25

B A S Q U E C E N T E R S E u s k a l E t x e a k

Courses and initiatives

In early July, the VenezuelaSukalde Association was recorded inthe appropriate register. Among itsmembers are some of the country'smost prestigious professional chefs,amateurs and promoters in charge ofcarrying out the different projects thatarise. Each section has a board ofdirectors specializing in the corre-sponding area so that all activitiesgenerated through Sukalde are put inthe appropriate hands. The initialgroup will be made up of 30 people,some of whom are first-generationVenezuelans (children of Basque immi-grants). Others were born in Euskadi,and still others are Venezuelan mem-bers of the Caracas Basque Center.

As far as the association's practi-cal work is concerned, the projectsundertaken so far have been a com-plete success, starting with the Gastro-nomic Festival held by the BasqueCenter last October to celebrate itsfiftieth anniversary, where the idea of

creating Sukalde was first proposed.The event's success far exceeded theexpectations of the organizers, whosaw the demand for seats grow wellbeyond what they had planned. TheCaracas Basque Center found impor-tant sponsors for this event, such asETB, the banking group BBVA andcompanies from Venezuela, allowingthem to celebrate in grand style.

The association has an ambitiouscalendar of activities planned until theend of this year. Some of these havealready been put into practice, andwere a great success. For example,four cooking courses have beentaught by prestigious chefs inVenezuela. The instructor for the firstcourse was Aitor Garbizu, who is cur-rently working as a chef in Barcelona,who offered an interesting introduc-tion to Basque gastronomy. The youngVenezuelan Enrique Ramírez taught acourse on salads, while AinaraArozena, student of the Aila deZarautz cooking school and memberof one of the families belonging to theBasque Center, offered an instructiveclass on how to prepare pintxos andcanapés.

The Venezuela Sukalde Associa-tion also held a wine tasting course,and took a field trip to get a closerlook at how wine is made. It is alsoorganizing a series of talks on thereason the association was created:the prestigious cuisine of the BasqueCountry. "

Caracaseko Euskal EtxeakCaracaseko Euskal Etxeaklau sukaldaritza ikastarlau sukaldaritza ikastaro o antolatu ditu eta asmo berantolatu ditu eta asmo berririugari ditu aurugari ditu aurtengo.tengo.

Ainara Arozena taught students to make pintxos and canapés.

Chef Asier Garbizu taught acourse on Basque cuisine.

26


The Basque priest Antonio Zubia's work in a Caracasneighborhood is recognized

The Guipuzcoan priest Antonio Zubia, of the Mari-anist order, has received recognition for his communityservice in the populous district of Isaías Medina Angarita,better known as Catia, where he has managed to inte-grate many children and young people who had beenexcluded from the educational system for differentreasons. Through a project called City of Hope, Zubia hasgiven them a chance to become educated and face life.

In this district of the Venezuelan capital, 58 murderstook place in 1999, a figure which decreased to three lastyear and was kept to zero during the first half of 2001.

The residents of Catia acknowledge the efforts ofthis Basque priest, who has managed to get more than300 volunteers involved in his initiative. Thanks to thisproject, different families who had been feuding formany years have been reconciled, which has significantlycontributed to reducing crime in the area. #

CONFERENCE BY THEBASQUE GOVERNMENT'SYOUTH DIRECTOR IN BUENOSAIRES

Representatives of the Basque Government'sYouth Office, headed by the Director himself, José LuisMadrazo, took a trip to Buenos Aires at the end ofMay to participate in the Hostel Conference of theAmericas, and took advantage of their stay there tovisit Basque associations in the Argentinean capital.

On June 1, Madrazo gave a speech at the LaurakBat Center, in which he described the youth policiesthat are being implemented in Euskadi. He explainedthe main points of the Youth Plan, which is beingimplemented to provide a global response to the dif-ferent demands and concerns that his departmentreceives from Basque youth.

He also described how the members of Basqueassociations can participate in the youth activities pro-moted by the Basque Government, such as scholar-ships, cultural exchanges or promoting the Basquelanguage, among others.

In addition to responding to questions on issuesrelating to his own office, Madrazo answered somequestions posed by his young audience, who wantedto hear first-hand about the political situation inEuskadi following the Basque parliamentary electionon May 13, and how it was being experienced inEuskadi. #

VILLA MARIA HOLDS A CHARITABLE SANIGNACIO DAY CELEBRATION

On July 28, the Basque Center in the Argentinean town of Villa María celebrated the day of San Ignacio deLoiola, patron saint of the Basques, with a festive dinner party, which was also charitable. The event was held at theheadquarters of this Euskal Etxea, whose members were in charge of organizing all preparations to commemoratethe holiday. There was food, music and gifts, including a trip for two to Rio de Janeiro. This festive atmosphere wasthe perfect setting for a social and charitable event, in which some companies from the region also collaborated.

The proceeds obtained from the tickets sold to participate in the dinner party, as well as the contributions fromentities outside the Basque Center, were used to purchase powdered milk, which was later distributed among thedifferent charitable associations in Villa María and Villa Nueva. An excellent way to celebrate San Ignacio Day whilealso helping the less fortunate. #

Karla del Rocío Polanco, a young Peruvian woman,was unable to contain her excitement when told that shehad won a contest organized by the Basque Channel andwould be awarded a ten-day trip for two to Euskadi. LikeKarla, hundreds of people had responded to a promotion-al ad broadcast by Euskal Telebista's channel for theAmericas, in which participants were asked to answerthree simple questions: "Through what system do youconnect to the International Channel?" "What are yourfavorite programs?", and "Do you have any sugges-tions?"

Responses to this questionnaire were received fromcountries such as Argentina, Colombia, Mexico,Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Uruguay, Chile,Puerto Rico, the United States, Panama, the DominicanRepublic, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Paraguay and Honduras. Thesuccess of this ad reflects the warm welcome that is beingreceived by ETB's programming in the Americas, whereviewers particularly enjoy the news services. After thenews came sports programs (especially soccer, cycling andjai-alai) and the programs ‘Lo que Faltaba’ and ‘Ésta es miGente’. This last program is one of Karla del Rocío'sfavorites, who also enjoys ‘La Primera Noche’, ‘Noticiaspara América’ and ‘El País de los Vascos’.

The Polanco family lives in Moyabamba, in theregion of San Martín. This area is located in the heart of

the Amazon jungle, where the presence of Basque priestshas always been noteworthy. The Basque Governmentalso participates actively in the development of thisregion, and an NGO based inVitoria-Gasteiz devotes part ofits funds to solidarity projects inMoyabamba.

Karla del Rocío and herfamily also take part in theseplans to help the needy, and hercontact with Basque groups inthe area, especially priests,explains her interest in themeaning of certain words shehears in Euskera. She will nowhave the chance to satisfy hercuriosity about a land that"must be charming", as thePolanco family put it. The young winner will arrive inEuskadi accompanied by her father, who is delighted bythis chance to savor the Basque cuisine he's heard somuch about, and to discover the reality of a nation he hasonly seen on TV. "

27


CAPULCO, SITE OF THE ‘CESTA DEORO’ TOURNAMENT

The traditional Christmas ‘Cesta de Oro’ tour-nament organized each year by the Basquecompany Eusko Basque will be held this year in theMexican city of Acapulco, where the most presti-gious names in Jai-Alai will compete from December25 to January 6. The current champions, Alberdi Iand Aranburu, will not have an easy time defendingtheir titles, as the company will organize balancedmatches between the world's eight best teams. Thematches will be televised by Euskal Telebista, andcan be followed in both Euskadi and Mexico. EuskoBasque intends to give an international push to thisgame, which has always aroused great interest inthe Americas. #

CD with traditional Basque music

Nearly forty Euskal Etxeak, who kindlyresponded to a survey by the Basque Government'sOffice of Relations with Basque Associations on thesituation of the dance groups ascribed to theircenters, have received a recently published CDcontaining traditional dance music from everycorner of Euskal Herria under the title ‘Zazpi Oin,Zaspi Hots’.

This Office is currently planning some projectsrelated to the dance groups, which may see the lightnext year, including a seminar on the subject. #

A young Peruvian woman wins a trip toEuskadi thanks to a contest organized by the

Basque Channel Hamabost urteko Karla del Rocío Polanco neskatxa peruarra izan da irabazle AmeriketarakoEuskal Telebistaren kanalak 600 pertsonaren artean antolatu duen zabalkunderako spot bati

erantzunez parte hartu duten 600 pertsonaren artean.

The winner, Karladel Rocío Polanco

28


Any excuse is valid for going back in one's ownhistory and returning to the land where one's ances-tors were born, which they left to search for betteropportunities thousands of miles away, and for whichthey have instilled a tender love in their descendants.The experienced women's Maxi-Volleyball team fromthe Basque Center in Rosario, Argentina, came to playball, but competing was not nearly as important tothem as the chance for an important cultural exchangewith those awaiting them on the other side of theAtlantic.

At the invitation of the Basque Volleyball Federa-tion, seven players, their coach and trainer traveled toEuskadi loaded down with sports equipment andthrilled to visit a country that had always been a pres-ence in their lives. Some team members had alreadyhad a chance to visit Euskadi, but for most of them thiswas the first trip to discover their origins, which madethe excitement even greater.

They landed in Sondika on July 14, to spend a

week playing in fourmatches againstteams from Bizkaia,Araba, Gipuzkoa andEuskadi, and to tourthe three Basqueprovinces. They alsovisited the BasqueParliament and Ajuria Enea Palace, where the entireexpedition was welcomed by Lehendakari Juan JoséIbarretxe.

They would never forget Bilbao's GuggenheimMuseum, the city of San Sebastián, the Old Cathedraland medieval quarter in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Alavesepart of La Rioja, and many other places with familiarnames that they finally saw with their own eyes. Theywould later share these experiences with their friends

at the Zazpiak-Bat Euskal Etxeak inRosario.

"This athletic and cultural encounterwith Euskadi has allowed us to get toknow the reality of this land, which isquite different from what we read aboutin the papers in Argentina. Everyone bentover backwards to welcome us with openarms, making our stay here unbeatable.The memories of this trip will stay with usforever", they said as they boarded theplane that would take them back to theland of their birth. In Argentina, they willcontinue acting as ambassadors for acountry they consider their own, regard-less of where they were born. "

DISCOVERING ONE'SROOTS THROUGH SPORTS

Argentinako Rosarioko Euskal Etxekoandrazkoen Maxi-Voley taldeak Euskadibisitatu du, Voleibol-eko EuskalFederazioak gonbidatuta. Bere aurrekoenjaioterria ezagutzeko aspaldiko ametsabete dute, torneoa jokatuz Euskadi osoaezagutzeko aukeratu ere izan dute eta.

HelburHelburua ez zen parua ez zen partiduaktiduakirabaztea, Arirabaztea, Argentina etagentina etaEuskadirEuskadiren aren arteko harteko harrree--manak estutzea baizik.manak estutzea baizik.

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Salou celebrates Euskadi Day

The weekend of July 7 and 8, the Txoko Lagun Artea in the town of Salou in Catalonia held its thirteenthannual Euskadi Day celebration with a program full of events. Both the members of the Basque community resid-ing in this coastal town and the locals participated. The festivities started early Saturday morning with the tradi-tional passacaglias featuring txistularis and trikitrixas, giving way to a day of music, Basque dancing and ruralsports (aizkolaris, harrijasotzailes and trontzalaris). Sunday started with a kayak race and continued with a bacalaoal pil-pil (boiled cod) contest, with the participation of the Chefs Association of Costa Dorada, the area whereSalou is located.

The events at this Euskadi Day celebration, which has already become a tradition, were sponsored by theBasque Government, the Salou Municipal Government and the Provincial Government of Tarragona. #

E USKADI-AM E RICAN JAI-ALAI C HAM PIONSH I PRepresentatives from seven South American countries played in a tournament against the Basque team

Last May, Pelotaris representing jai-alai feder-ations from Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela,Mexico and Bolivia played in a tournament in theBasque Country against a team representingEuskadi. This visit was in response to the Basqueteam's two trips to the Americas since it wasformed last year.

The representatives from Euskadi clearly dom-inated the games, winning seven of the eightevents. The only victory by a South American team took place in the doubles event, where Beltrán and Santa-maría beat Martín I and Antxia 40-24. #

THE CENTER IN SAN JUAN VISITS THE BASQUE COUNTRY

In June, some members of theEusko-Etxea Center in San Juan,Argentina took a trip to the BasqueCountry, where they finally saw thingsthey had been hearing about for yearsfirst-hand. They toured the threeprovinces of our Autonomous Commu-nity, enjoyed its landscapes and finecuisine, and said that the best souvenirthey took home was their "fond mem-ory" of their stay among the Basques.During their stay in Euskadi, they werewelcomed at the Basque Govern-ment's Lehendakaritza, as shown inthe photograph. #


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THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA WILLPUBLISH JOSÉ MANUEL AZKONA'SBOOK ABOUT BASQUEIMMIGRATION IN ENGLISH

In December, the University of Nevada will pub-lish the English translation of Paraísos Posibles by JoséManuel Azkona as part of the collection The BasqueSeries. This book is a meticulous study of Basqueimmigration to the Americas throughout five centuriesof history. Possible Paradises will be an extended edi-tion of this work, already published in Spanish, inwhich Azkona examines the roles of the Basques whowent to the New World in search of new opportuni-ties. He also examines the impact of their adoptedland on Euskadi.

In his book, this historian from Bilbao stresses thefundamental role of the Basques in the explorationand conquest of the Americas, as well as their partici-pation in transatlantic communications andcommerce.

Through numerous graphs, maps andphotographs, Azkona's pioneering study takes a verybroad view of the Basque presence in the New World,linking the different centers of immigration, fromArgentina to the North American West.

In the summary of this book that appears in thecatalog of works published by the University of Neva-da, Azkona's book is referred to as being of "monu-mental importance" for getting to know a nation"that has culturally always valued hard work andsocial solidarity". "

POSTHUMOUS PUBLICATION OF A NEWBOOK BY ROBERT LAXALT

The University of Nevada's Basque Series collection now features anew book by Robert Laxalt, the most prestigious writer of literature withBasque themes in the United States, and one of the great promoters of ourculture in the US. Travels with My Royal: A Memoir of the Writing Life isa book in which this American writer of Basque origin, who diedlast March, explores himself and his life as a writer, describingscenes ranging from his childhood in Carson City to histeaching days at the University of Nevada. At the same time,Laxalt performs a personal critique of his works.

The title of this book refers to the Royal typewriterthat Laxalt used all his life as a tool for his work and avehicle to help put his famous creations in the hands of his audience. The typewriter even occupied a place of honorat some of the ceremonies held in Laxalt's memory after his death. "

N E W S B R I E F S L a b u r r a kEuskadi will be connected to theworld's most important fiber-opticnetwork

TyCom will build a submarine cable termi-nal station at the Zamudio TechnologicalPark that will house the necessary equip-ment to connect the land and submarinesegments of its global TGN network,involving an investment of 24 millioneuros. The cable will enter Bizkaia atSopela beach, and pass through severaltowns before reaching the park. From thestation, transmission, reception, remotepower and motorization operations forthe underwater and land plants will beperformed. The TGN network is sched-uled to become the longest, mostadvanced submarine fiber-optic networkin the world. The Iberian Peninsula will beconnected to this network at three points:Catalonia, Portugal and Euskadi. #

Moneo's cubes now officially belongto Donostia

In late June, Rafael Moneo signed theend of construction certificate for theKursaal in San Sebastián, along with offi-cials from the building's Board of Direc-tors. The final construction cost was10,382,000,000 pesetas. Moneo wasgratified by the fact that his award-win-ning work has become an emblematicsite for Donostia, and stressed the build-ing's flexibility for hosting a wide varietyof activities as the key to its success. #

The best bull in the world is Basqueand has 160 calves

‘Jazz’, a 5-year-old bull bred by theAberekin cattle insemination center inthe Biscayan town of Derio, hasachieved the best genetic evaluation inthe world, according to the Interbull test(International Genetic Evaluation Ser-vice). This bull, who has sired 160 dairycows, won first place in the competitionagainst 52,784 bulls from all over theworld. The characteristics evaluated arethe quantity and quality of the milk pro-duced by the cows sired, as well as theircapacity to transmit longevity. #

New public centers for free Internetsurfing

The Basque Government will invest 406million pesetas to implement the newprogram ‘Konekta Zaitez ciudadan@,which will create a network of centersproviding free Internet access at munici-pal sites all over Euskadi. The plan alsoincludes free training courses. The firstpart of the program, which involvedauthorizing subsidies for purchasingcomputers, surpassed all expectations.The Basque Government and municipalgovernments will sign agreementsallowing most towns to open such cen-ters to the public. #

The Prest training and employmentfair will be held in November

The third Prest Fair, dedicated to trainingand employment, will be held Novem-ber 8, 9 and 10 at the Bilbao Interna-tional Trade Fair. This event, organizedby the Basque Government's LaborDepartment, the Biscayan provincialgovernment and the BBK, has becomethe perfect setting for informing thepublic about the current training andemployment situation. The previousPrest Fair featured a hundred exhibitorsand received 28,000 visitors. The work-shops, featuring actions by businesses,professional associations, universitiesand chambers of commerce, wereattended by more than 3,000 people. #

Career Start-up Programs

The Basque Department of Educationwill devote 776 million pesetas to thedevelopment of Career Start-up Pro-grams during the 2001-2002 academicyear. The goal of these subsidies is tocreate socioeducational projects directedat young people between the ages of16 and 21 who have left school withoutobtaining a degree or have had learningdifficulties, and would like to receivefurther training. #

More than 1,500 travel vaccinationsadministered in Bilbao in the year2000

Last year, Bilbao's International Vaccina-tion Center administered more than1,500 vaccinations for preventingtyphoid fevers, tetanus, diphtheria anddifferent types of hepatitis. This service,which provides information on healthrequirements depending on the destina-tion country, was consulted by 8,500people who planned to travel to Africa,Asia and Central and South America.Most were traveling as tourists, whilenearly 7% were participating in interna-tional cooperation programs. #

Paris presents France's first retro-spective exhibition of Chillida's work

From June to September, the Jeu dePaume National Gallery in Paris is pre-senting the first retrospective exhibitionoffered by the Guipuzcoan sculptorEduardo Chillida in France. It includes aselection of a hundred works from pub-lic and private collections in Europe, Asiaand the Americas. The exhibition pre-sents the Basque artist as one of themost important of the second half ofthe 20th century, stressing his ability toextract art from a chisel and forge. Inaddition to the sculptures, ink drawingson paper by the artist himself are alsobeing exhibited. #

The previous issue of Euskal Etxeak magazine featured José MaríaAzarloza's article on the influence of Basque architecture on somebuildings in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The limited space available atthat time prevented us from publishing all of the photographs show-ing some of the buildings that best represent the influence of typicalBasque constructions on this picturesque city. We decided to takeadvantage of this page to continue sharing pictures of the housesthat helped Azarloza conduct an in-depth study on this subject.

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CHALET LLANTADA. Built in 1937 by José Bartolami and sons.

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CHALET RODRÍGUEZ. Built in 1921 by Fernandino Lemmi

CASA COLÓN. Built in 1937 by Santiago Castagna

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CASA VIAMONTE. Built in 1939 byCarmelo Pulichino

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