Elhuyar Foundation and Charter Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa to analyse setting up of a research centre for the language industry

The Elhuyar Foundation, which is a member of Langune, has been working since 1972 on the popularisation of science and technology in Basque. Its Chairman, Jose María Rodriguez, has signed an agreement with the Head of Gipuzkoa Charter Provincial Council Markel Olano to move this study forward and to promote the research and development of language processing technologies. Thanks to this agreement, the Charter Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa will be contributing 150,000 euros through its Anti-crisis Plan 2011.

The main features of the Elhuyar Foundation project will be as follows:

1. Analysis of the viability of moving towards a research centre for the language industry.
   
2. Reflection on and analysis of the development of advanced language resources based on the needs of society, and designed to strengthen the language industry sector.
   
3. The boosting of the task to introduce information and communication technologies into society and, in particular, the encouraging of technological research, development and innovation in the fields of computing resources for language processing.
   
4. A critical review with respect to the deepening and enhancing of the Elhuyar Foundation’s founding commitment towards the society of Gipuzkoa and the Basque Country, and with respect to scientific knowledge and the boost to normalise the Basque language.
   

Markel Olano, the Head of Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, has designated this as a strategic project for Gipuzkoa:

“It is an initiative involving the whole country and a key to the development of our own identity from the very moment it encompasses the boost to the Basque language, language research and innovation, and the inevitable and necessary internationalization of it.”

Press statement:

• On the Elhuyar web site
  
• Charter Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa