Programme and activities
During the five days of HIGA, participants will be able to participate in workshops, lectures and panel discussions on language recovery, youth activism and the creation of international networks. Here are some of the topics that will be emphasized:
🎭 Language revitalization through art
📲 The impact of technology on minority languages
🌐 Creation of post-HIGA shared projects
📣 Soon: We will publish the details of the HIGA 2025 edition's program. In the meantime, so you have an idea, here is last year's program.
DAY 1
Monday 17
Inaugural session of HIGA!2023 + Ice-breaking dynamics
The first day will serve to kick off HIGA, first by listening to the words of representatives of some of the organisations that have contributed to making HIGA a reality, and then we will carry out different dynamics to get to know each other.
Music: Plouz&Foen concert (Breizh)
DAY 2
Tuesday 18
Young language activism overviews
On the first day we will explore the implications of language activism. We will give voice to various activists, their experiences and the effects of activism on their personal and professional lives. After the roundtable interactions with selected activists, psychologist Gemma Sanginés will offer a workshop to help us manage the effects of activism on our lives and mental health. During this day, the experiences of all participants will be highlighted through their interventions at the end of each talk and workshop.
[9:00] Overview of projects and trajectories of some young activists -
In this space, several youths will present their projects and trajectories as activists for their languages.
> B. Jusué (Gazte Euskaltzaleen Sarea), A. Ruiz de Angulo (Zeinu Kaxa, Gasteiz), M. Miret, F. U. Igwe
[10:00] Experiences of language activism and its implications for personal and professional life -
This round table brings together again the above young activists to share the implications and balances of their trajectories in their personal and professional lives.
> B. Jusué (Gazte Euskaltzaleen Sarea), A. Ruiz de Angulo (Zeinu Kaxa, Gasteiz), M. Miret, F. U. Igwe
[11:30am] Learning to manage the implications of language activism -
This workshop is designed to provide advice and tools for managing the day-to-day challenges of language activism, with a particular focus on mental health. It is led by the renowned psychologist Gemma Sanginés, creator and promoter for many years of this and other types of workshops, such as the linguistic assertiveness workshops (TELP), among others.
> G.Sanginés
Afternoons from 18 to 20 July Project creation space -
In this space, HIGA participants will participate in the design and creation of different projects, either proposed by the HIGA organisation or by the participants themselves. The projects will be carried out in working groups continuously during the 3 days and will be presented on the morning of the last day, the 21st.
> Introduction with the help of Porrotx and Bizipoza
Open mic workshop /Break time
Music: Open mic
DAY 3
Wednesday 19
Intersectionality and peripheries in linguistic activism
This day is dedicated to the intersections of language activism with other forms of activism: feminism, LGTBIQ+ activism or anti-racism, among others. Taking the baton from the first day, the two talks and the workshop will explore the peripheries of society related to language activism, with a focus on their inclusion in all our forms of activism. The talks will be given by people from both language activism and feminist and LGTBIQ+ activism, and the workshop will be offered by Prollema (acronym for Projecte Llengua Materna), a project which supports young migrants through their heritage languages.
[9:00] Linguistic revitalisation from feminism and intersectionality -
In this talk, Lorea Agirre, Basque expert in the intersection between feminism and linguistic activism, will give us the keys to embrace an intersectional linguistic activism.
> L. Agirre
[10:00] Sexual diversity and language activism -
Following the theme of the previous talk, in this round table we will listen to the experiences and practices of young activists who have joined linguistic claims with feminist and LGTBQI+ demands.
> J. Fernández, T. Fum Dökter, A. Ghosh
[11:30] Linguistic trajectories and heritage languages: Linguistic autobiographies workshop -
This workshop is run by the project Prollema (acronym of Projecte Llengua Materna, Catalunya), which supports young migrants with a space and infrastructure to teach their mother tongues. In addition to presenting their project, the youths from Prollema will lead a workshop on linguistic autobiographies in which all participants will reflect and write about their linguistic trajectories in their own languages.
> C. Benlemchkraf, A. Zahraoui, M. Moussa PROLLEMA
Afternoons from 18 to 20 July Project creation space -
In this space, HIGA participants will participate in the design and creation of different projects, either proposed by the HIGA organisation or by the participants themselves. The projects will be carried out in working groups continuously during the 3 days and will be presented on the morning of the last day, the 21st.
Visit to Salburua Natural Park
Dance: Dantza Plazan / Azido Folkloriko
DAY 4
Thursday 20
Communication tools and technology for language activism
The third and final day is devoted to two key aspects of modernity that will determine the future of minority languages: technology and communication. We will especially focus on audiovisual communication and present a list of activists known for their creation of content on some of the major platforms. The day will end with a two-stage workshop by the UNESCO Chair in World Linguistic Heritage dedicated to putting the voices (and languages) of the participants into animations of traditional tales.
[9:00] Language revitalisation through media and social networks -
This round table brings together several young activists known for their projects to revitalise and disseminate their languages on different audiovisual platforms. The role of technology and communication in the revitalisation and normalisation of minority languages will be discussed.
> S. Cebolla, G. Pelhisson, H. Martínez
[10:00] How to translate cartoons into minority languages? -
In this workshop we will explain the steps to follow to translate texts and dub them into our languages, with the aim of joining a project initiated by the Unesco Chair in World Linguistic Heritage.
> Sustatzailea: Munduko Hizkuntza Ondarearen Unesco katedra (MHOUK), bideratzailea: A. Murua (Binahi Akademy)
[11:30] Translation and recording of 'Una Mà de Contes' -
The second part of the workshop will consist of dubbing some cartoons based on traditional tales, so we can contribute to increasing the content available in minority languages.
> Munduko Hizkuntza Ondarearen Unesco Katedra (MHOUK)
Afternoons from 18 to 20 July Project creation space -
In this space, HIGA participants will participate in the design and creation of different projects, either proposed by the HIGA organisation or by the participants themselves. The projects will be carried out in working groups continuously during the 3 days and will be presented on the morning of the last day, the 21st.
Closing of the Creation Projects/Break Time
Music: Concerts by Duo Otxo (Occitania-Euskal Herria) / DJ Rosa Mari (Euskal Herria)
DAY 5
Friday 21
Project creations presentation + Closing session for HIGA!2023
The aim of the last day is to round off HIGA in a relaxed way, sharing the key points of the current edition and bidding a warm farewell.
MORNING TRAINING
9:00 - 11:00
The morning sessions will have a lecture and panel format and are organized and certified as part of a training program of the Summer School of the University of the Basque Country UPV-EHU.
WORKSHOPS BEFORE AND AFTER LUNCH
11:30-13:00 and 15:00-16:30
Workshops aimed at promoting collaboration and entrepreneurship between young speakers will be dynamised.
MEALS and ACCOMODATION
Participants at HIGA! will not have to pay for accommodation and meals during the Summit.
LEISURE AND CULTURE
Every evening
A variety of leisure activities are scheduled to weave interaction and mutual knowledge in a more informal setting: concerts, screenings, cultural outings, etc.
Speakers
Talks
Ainhoa Ruiz de Angulo. Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1988. She studied Social Work in Vitoria-Gasteiz and she is currently self-employed. Three years ago, together with her friend and colleague Cristina Campo, she founded "Zeinu Kaxa" Sign Language Academy to teach sign language, raise awareness in society and demonstrate that two young deaf women are capable of starting up a company. Her second home has been ASPASOR Association, where she is also dedicated to voluntary work.
Ainhoa Ruiz de Angulo
I am Beñat Jusue, I am 25 years old and I am from Tudela. I work as a waiter and I am studying labor relations at the UPNA (Public University of Navarra). I began to be a militant and to organize the first initiatives in favor of the Basque language in the youth assembly of Tudela. Since then I have participated in different organizations and projects, such as the UPNA Basque language group, the creation of the Union Tutera football team, Ernai youth organization and the pro-Basque youth network "Gazte euskaltzaleen sarea ".
Beñat Jusue
Trained in philology and international relations, Mariona is currently a linguistic revitalizer. During the years she spent volunteering and working abroad, she experienced first-hand what it means to face a situation of linguistic extinction in Sardinia, and it marked her deeply. Since then, the minority languages of Europe have captured all her interest. Since 2020 she has collaborated with the Chambra de Òc, an association that promotes Occitan in the mountain valleys of Piedmont (Italy), as a representative of its International Mission. She is also a specialized translator in Aranese Occitan.
Mariona Miret
Lorea Agirre Dorronsoro is a journalist by profession, director of the magazine Jakin, an anthropologist by vocation and a vital fan of culture. She has worked in the magazine Argia, in the newspapers Euskaldunon Egunkaria and Berria, and in Mondragon Unibertsitatea and UPV-EHU (University of the Basque Country) Universities, among others. Her field of research is the analysis of the meeting points between language, gender, identity, community and political transformation. In 2019 she published her latest book, "Trikua esnatu da. Euskaratik feminismora eta feminismotik euskarara" (The hedgehog has awakened. From Basque to feminism and from feminism to Basque).
Lorea Aguirre
June Fernández Casete is a journalist and queer feminist activist. In 2010 she founded Pikara Magazine, in whose coordination team she worked for ten years. She currently works in the association of Basque gypsy women AMUGE and collaborates mainly in the magazines ARGIA and TTAP. In recent years, she has promoted two projects focused on the Basque language and sex-gender dissidence, both supported by Zinegoak association and Histeria Collective. On the one hand, "Nola esan/izan bollera euskaraz" (How to say/be a dyke in Basque) in collaboration with Amaia Alvarez Uria and "Mariokerrak", recently published by Txalaparta publishing house. On the other, "BiZi- Bisexualitatea eta Euskal Komunitatea" (BiZi- Bisexuality and the Basque Community), together with Oli Artola Apeztegia. She has also launched several pro-Basque feminist projects at the BIRA cultural center in Bilbao: "Berbalagun feminista", "Urdin Elektrioa" (interviews with well-known Basque women with public) and "Señora Bertso Eskola".
June Fernandez
Tymoteusz Król (wym. Tiöma fum Dökter) is a assistant professor in Institute of Slavic Studies of Polish Academy of Sciences and language revitalizer and activist of Wymysorys, a very small Germanic language in Southern Poland. His interests are language documentation and revitalization, sociolinguistics, folklore studies, analysis of nationalistic and homofobic discourse. His PhD thesis title was "Mountains, hills, cover us up. Analysis of memoirs of Vilamovians about Volksliste and postwar persecutions".
Tiöma fum Dökter
Anando Ghosh (heritage language: Angika) originally trained in linguistics from SOAS, University of London followed by a degree in clinical psychology from India. They work with the Endangered Languages Project (ELP) researching the linkages between language revitalization and mental health among speakers of minority languages. They are an incoming PhD candidate in Medical Anthropology at the University College London (UCL), UK.
Ananda Ghosh
Round tables
Silvia Cebolla
Silvia Cebolla was born in Zaragoza 38 years ago and she is a promoter of Aragonese language. She is the presenter and director of "Charrín-Charrán", the first program in Aragonese language on Aragón TV (Aragon's public television). She also does a great job promoting the language on her social networks, creating content both in Aragonese and about Aragonese.
My name is Gabrièu Pelisson. I was born in Nice 24 years ago and I have the chance to speak Occitan. This romance language is traditionally spoken in four countries: France, Spain, Italy and Monaco. My family spoke the Niçard dialect of the Occitan language. This variety has many points in common with the Occitan spoken in Provence, although Niçard is also influenced by Piedmontese and Italian. Despite a deep feeling of being Occitan, I grew up in a French-speaking family. I had to relearn the language I considered mine. I feel so proud to be bilingual and never miss an opportunity to use it or share it with people. After my studies in political science, I became an advisor in environmental protection policies. I am now a youtuber with a channel called "Parpalhon Blau". My main objective is to socialize the language to show it in all areas of daily life. I talk about everything I like, always in Occitan.
Gabriel Pelhisson
Franca Umasoye Igwe
Umasoye is a Digital marketer and an advocate for indigenous languages and cultural sustainability. Her interest in language activism was sparked by her personal experience during her days as an undergraduate in a Nigerian University, where she could not converse with a fellow Ekpeye student who could not speak Ekpeye fluently.
Hector Martinez
Héctor Josué Martínez Flores is a young Salvadoran Nahua, digital activist and one of the 70 specialized teachers in Nahuat language and cultural identity in El Salvador. In 2019, he created the digital project "Timumachtikan Nawat", the largest virtual library in Nahuat language in El Salvador, whose main objective is to document, make visible and revitalize the last living indigenous language of El Salvador, Nahuat, which has fewer than 200 native speakers. Martínez has documented unique information about Nahuat from community elders that cannot be found in any other source. In addition, he has worked on and documented useful neologisms for the Nahua-speaking and neo-Nahua-speaking communities. Also, he has dubbed trailers and famous movie scenes. In the Timumachtikan Nawat networks you can find videos with lessons in Nahuat, for the systematic learning of the language. In addition, he is the founder and teacher of the virtual school "Ne Ichan Safoura", where he works since 2021. Soon, Héctor will publish, together with the oldest Nahuat speaker in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, the First Dictionary in Nahuat of El Salvador. Héctor's work has been recognized by various institutions internationally and he has received several scholarships in recognition of his work.
Workshops
Ane Murua (Idiazabal, 1995) is a graduate in audiovisual communication. Since 2017 she has studied dubbing at "Binahi Akademy". She is currently a music dubbing student. For two years she has been working professionally in dubbing, above all, for content on ETB1, ETB3 (ETB-Basque Public Television) and platforms such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
Ane Murua
Gemma Sanginés Sáiz (Bilbao, 1970). Psychologist specialized in therapeutic intervention, sport and linguistic habits of speakers of minority languages. Since 2003, she has taught the personal language space workshop (TELP), with more than 200 editions both in the Catalan-speaking territory and in Euskal Herria; Professor in the HIZNET Linguistic Planning postgraduate course, organized by Asmoz Foundation (2013-2021). Psychologist at Clínica Revisalud, in Valencia 2005-2023 Teacher of Basque at the EOI of the Basque Country; Currently, in Valencia-Saïdia, since 2020. Co-author of the book "Sortir de l’armari lingüístic: una guia de conducta per a viure en català" (Exiting the linguistic closet: a behavioral guide for living in Catalan). She has also translated "Goza Daiteke Gehiago", by Karmelo Ayesta into Catalan (Gaudir de la llengua, 2015).
© by Isabelle Miquelesto
Gemma Sanginés
Darija is the language that I learned from my childhood with my first family (my mother and father), and over time, with my environment, that is, the people who speak the same language to me (Darija). My skills increased, on the one hand, playing with children (from my family and my neighborhood) and, on the other, at school. My second language was classical Arabic, which I learned at the first grade at school, and then I started learning French up to the high school level. Even so, my favorite language is English, a language that I learned through television and conversations with friends, when I came to live in Spain. I learned Spanish to integrate with the people here, and to communicate with them. Finally, it should be noted that the Catalan language is an important language for my studies here.
Chaimae Benlemchkraf
My name is Ayoub Zahraoui, I am 23 years old and I am from Morocco, although I have been in Spain for 4 years and 8 months. I have started training in higher education. First, I did a free time monitor course and then a gardening course. Later, I took an access test for higher education and now I'm doing what I like the most: a degree in computer science. Other than that, I'm coordinating a foreign language project. The project is called "Problem", which is a course in which a young person can teach his mother tongue (basic level) to local people.
Ayoub Zahraoui
Mamadou Moussa
Moussa is from Senegal. He has studied English philology at the Chieckh Anta Diop University in Dakar. He has participated in the Prollema project and has been able to write and publish his book in Pular language.