Representatives of Basque diaspora to gather in Bilbao

150 representatives of the Basque diaspora coming from 18 countries will meet from July 9 to 13 at the Euskalduna Palace of Bilbao for the "IV World Congress of Basque Communities." The event wants to promote the links between communities, Basque centres abroad and institutions in Euskadi.

Through a press release, the Basque Government informed that under the slogan "Zubigintzan" (Building Bridges), the congress will seek to boost and open new communication channels between individuals, societies, firms and governments.

Thus, the gathering wants to "build bridges and channels of multidirectional communication that strengthen and tighten" the links between the Basque Autonomous Region and its diaspora.

The conclusions of the meeting will be gathered in a document that will be kept at the Managing Council of Basque Communities so that the Four-yearly Plan of Institutional Action 2008-2011 is defined.

The previous four editions of the congress, held once every four years, took place in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Three representatives from every federation of Basque clubs will attend the congress, as well as three representatives from each of the countries in which there exists such a federation.

The programme of the "IV World Congress of Basque Communities 2007" will kick off at 6:45pm next Monday with the greeting of the Basque Premier Juan Jose Ibarretxe to participants.

Those attending the meeting will visit the new headquarters of the Basque public communications group EiTB in Bilbao, where they will have the chance to get to know the channels Canal Vasco and EiTBSat, as well as the Internet services the public group offers.