Burnham in the Basque Country for the Future of Welsh Language (Eleanor Burnham )

Cymraeg
English

Eleanor Burnham <info@eburnham.org.uk>

Burnham in the Basque Country for the Future of Welsh Language

November 3, 2006 2:15 PM

Eleanor Burnham AM will tomorrow be returning from an official visit to the Basque Country in the hope of discovering new ways to promote and develop the Welsh Language at home.

Ms Burnham, a fluent Welsh speaker and Welsh Language Spokesperson for the Welsh Liberal Democrats, arranged her visit in the hope of finding a good example of how minority languages can thrive in smaller countries such as Wales.

Her trip included a variety of visits and influential meetings:

• A Meeting with Martxelo Otamendi, Editor of the Basque language newspaper Berria, to discuss the possibility of a national Welsh Language newspaper

• A visit to the Basque parliament in the capital Vitoria

• Meetings with various individuals involved in the government departments of language and culture to discuss language issues in these areas

• A visit to a tri-lingual school as a model for how Welsh language medium education could be developed in the future

Ms Burnham said: "I am so pleased to be visiting a country which, although small in population, has so successfully preserved its own language in everyday life.

"I firmly believe that the future of the Welsh language lies in a rights-based agenda for individuals in Wales and the Basque example provides a multitude of ways in which Welsh could be taken forward in the 21st century.

"I will be completing numerous visits in the fields of culture, language and education with the hope that these models can provide progressive, workable reference points for our own country.

"The future of the Welsh language lies with the rights of the individual and I believe we should be exploring the new avenues opened up by similar countries with minority languages throughout Europe."

Notes:

Ms Burnham is due to return to Wales on Saturday the 4th November and will be available for any interviews, questions or enquiries about her trip and her thoughts on Welsh language policy from Monday 6th November onwards.

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