08 Apr Article entitled ‘The Role of Social Movements in the Social Innovation (SI): Euskaraldia, as a Digital Panopticon’ being published in the journal BAT in press by 13th July 2020

ABSTRACT:

This article draws on the thorny topic of the Social Innovation (SI). Particularly, it revolves around the role of those social movements promoting the Basque language not only in relation to their organisational models but also to their holistic strategy to tackle inevitably digital, urban, and political challenges surfaced by the disruptions stemming from the post-COVID society. Beyond the prescriptive, normative, or dogmatic standpoints, by contrast, this article actually aims to reflect upon and spark a fruitful debate on the current momentum by applying an amalgamation of SI concepts to the reality of the Basque Country. It employs ‘Action Research’ methodology to gather information and carry out fieldwork research as follows:

(i) The invitation made by Euskaltzaleen Topagunea (as the main body for coordinating civic groups) to deliver a conference in the Symposium called Topaldia 2020 was the point of departure of this article.

(ii) Consequently, Soziolinguistikako Klusterra (as the main body of research for the Basque language social development) through its scientific journal BAT, disseminates within this article the main findings of this ‘Action Research’ process.

Thus, the article is structured in five sections:

(i) first, it develops the SI concept and applies through its lenses a re-interpretation of the current momentum for the Basque language in the techno-political parameters (social entrepreneurship, activism, and co-operativism);

(ii) second, in the backdrop of the post-COVID society, this article argues that, more than ever before, ‘liquid’ social movements are required to lead niche experiments;

(iii) third, as a result of the digital, urban, and political transformations, the basque language, euskara, should be articulated as a ‘commons’, beyond the binary terms of the public and private;

(iv) fourth, this article adopts as a case study the social experimentation project entitled ‘Euskaraldia’ taking place annualy, in which people related to the Basque language, Euskara—though the profiling of two interdependent roles, active speakers as ‘ahobizi’, and early-adopters, practitioners, and listeners as ‘belarriprest’—in all seven provicinces and the Diaspore of the Basque Country, are encouraged to speak more intensively Euskara over an 11-day period by overcoming motivational, contextual, and psycho-sociological boundaries and threats imposed by the diglosic lock-in effect. This section, therefore, slightly outline a prototype from the Digital SI perspective called ‘Euskaraldia, as a Digital Panopticon’; ultimately

(v), this article concludes with a decalogue and five questions by further encouraging active reflection and social experimentation among stakeholders.

Keywords: Social Innovation; Liquid Social Movements; Commons; Euskaraldia; Digital Panopticon; Technopolitics; Data; Urban Transformations; Digital Transformations; Political Transformations; Post-COVID Society; Social Entrepreneurship; Activism; Co-operativism

To cite this article/Artikulua erreferentziatzeko erabili honako zita:

Calzada, I. (2020), Gizarte Mugimenduen Rola Gizarte Berrikuntzan (GB): Euskaraldia, Panoptiko Digital Gisa // The Role of Social Movements in the Social Innovation (SI): Euskaraldia as a Digital Panopticon. BAT Aldizkaria 115(2): 00-00. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35980.05763/2. [Preprint] Forthcoming. CC BY-NC 4.0