Grants for language projects in the French Basque country

A joint call for proposals issued by the France-based Organismo Público de la Lengua Vasca (OPLV) and the Departament of Culture of the Basque government, funded to the tune of 880,000 euros and 460,000 euros respectively, has concluded with grants being awarded to 62 projects presented by 50 organisations working in the fields of preschool education, teaching in Basque, the media, leisure, publications, vocational training in Basque, translation services, Basque language courses for adults, promoting the language in social life, and research.

The venture is a good example of cross-border cooperation, which started in 2003, and which developed into an official bilateral agreement signed in February 2007.

More information (in Spanish):
http://www.euskara.euskadi.net/r59-bpeduki/es/contenidos/noticia/albis7_64_iparralde_08_05/es_iparrald/albis7_64_iparralde_08_05.html

French parliamentary initiative to give "regional" languages Constitutional status

Davyth Hicks (Eurolang) reports from Brussels under the heading "France: deputies vote for ‘regional’ language recognition amidst strong UN criticism".

http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3058&Itemid=0

The parliamentary initiative, plus the hammering the French state received in Geneva from the UN on May 16th, when the UN expert Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights once again deplored "the lack of official recognition of minorities within the territory", as Davyth Hicks reports, might lead to substantial changes and make France's policies more in tune with virtually the whole of the rest of Europe.

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held its 40th session (28 April - 16 May 2008) in Geneva recently, and studied France's Third Periodic report and the observations made to it by a number of NGOs, prominent among which were those representing the lesser-used languages of France. Much of this documentation can be accessed here: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/cescrs40.htm

The ADUM team believes that if a Constitutional amendment can de added, as proposed by the National Assembly, to the effect that "Les langues régionales appartiennent à son patrimoine" (regional languages are part of [France’s] heritage), the way would once and for all be opened to legislation and policies allowing this heritage to be supported actively and financially.

We would be happy to report on official calls for language-linked projects to be subsidised, as is now the case in many other countries, such as Italy: the regional authorities of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto or Sardinia, as well as central government itself.