43 years
for the Basque
What is KORRIKA?
KORRIKA is a popular race all around the Basque Country, organised by AEK, to promote the Basque language. Its objective is twofold: on the one hand, to promote awareness of the language, and on the other to raise funds to enable the AEK Basque language schools to continue their everyday teaching work.
Since the first KORRIKA run between Oñati and Bilbao in 1980, the event has become one of the leading events in support of Basque thanks to the large number of participants it attracts. There have now been 22 editions of KORRIKA in the last 43 years, and on 14th March 2022 a new edition will set off, covering more than 2,500 km over 11 days for the Basque language, not stopping for a moment and with the participation of hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.
As they run, the participants carry a baton which they pass from hand to hand, kilometre after kilometre. Inside the baton is a secret message which is not revealed until the last moment, when it is read out at the end of the event.
Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have taken part in KORRIKA over the years. These numbers and the impact generated by KORRIKA show just how committed Basque society is to its language
KORRIKA has become a much-loved, eagerly-awaited event that gets all of Basque society up and running every two years. Participation has increased every year and thousands of people volunteer to help organise it by joining the committees set up in the different towns and neighbourhoods, while hundreds of cultural and fun activities take place along the way.
Our aim is to return some of this love and hard work to society, to our surroundings, by making KORRIKA more responsible: built on the basis of feminism, ensuring diversity through social responsibility, fully aware of its environmental footprint and so on.
Organization
AEK works throughout the length and breadth of the Basque Country, its goal being for everybody to know the Basque language and use it in their everyday life as a matter of course. To this end, it works in all fields to normalise Basque, in terms of knowledge, use and backing.