Members are called to vote for the candidates running for President and Governing Council for Álava, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Navarra.
On Saturday 30 November, starting at 11:00 a.m. (10:45 a.m. at the first call), in the Gipuzkoa Chamber in Donostia-San Sebastián, the Extraordinary Assembly of Eusko Ikaskuntza will proceed to elect the President and four representatives to the Governing Council for each of the territories of Álava, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Navarra.
A single candidate is running for each position. The President Ana Urkiza Ibaibarriaga is running for re-election for a second term. Asier Etxenike Ugarte is running for the Governing Council for Álava, Zelai Nikolas Ezkurdia for Bizkaia and Isabel Elizalde Arretxe for Navarra. Rikardo Bueno Zabalo is running for the governing body as a representative of Gipuzkoa (see profiles below).
The Assembly, which can be followed both in person and by videoconference, will open with the reading of the CVs of the candidates, who will then present their programs. At the end, members will be able to ask questions or express opinions.
Only those who are up to date with the payment of the annual fee for 2023 and are included in the Electoral Census available in the Private Area of the website will be able to vote.
In order to promote participation, on this occasion the voting modalities have been expanded: representation, delegation, deposit and own physical vote. For the first, the member can designate another person to vote on his or her behalf. To this end, the signed representation document must be presented together with a copy of the ID at least one hour before the first call. Each assembly member may represent a maximum of five votes.
To formalise the delegation of votes, the member must inform the secretary of Eusko Ikaskuntza three days in advance of who he or she is delegating his or her vote to.
The third option, deposit, will allow voting in advance in person at the territorial offices or by email. Likewise, the deposit must be made in the three days prior to the holding of the Assembly.
All the details can be consulted in the Private Area.
PROFILS
Presidency: Ana Urkiza Ibaibarriaga
Graduate in Social and Information Sciences from the UPV/EHU and a diploma in Linguistics from the UNED, she has completed postgraduate studies in Business Communication and Commercial Communication, Commercial Banking, and Human Resources Management.
In 1995 she joined the Ideko Technology Centre and a year later took on communication tasks at the Danobat Group. In 2007 she was appointed Director of Human Resources at Bankoa Crédit Agricole and later of Internal Communication and Training. Since 2022, after Bankoa was absorbed by Abanca, she has been a specialist in its Human Resources department.
At different stages she has taught Communication at the University of Deusto, combining this with the secretary-manager of Euskal Idazleen Elkartea.
A member of the Basque Government's Basque Language Advisory Board since 2000, in 2016 she received the Elhuyar Prize for her work promoting the use of Basque in companies.
As a creator, Ana Urkiza Ibaibarriaga is the author of books of short stories, poetry, aphorisms and children's and young adult literature, as well as cultivating the biographical genre and translation. This work has been recognised with various literary awards. She also collaborates in the media and specialised magazines.
Candidates for the Governing Council
Álava: Asier Etxenike Ugarte
Graduate in Sociology from UNED and in Physical Activities from UPV/EHU, and a diploma in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences from the Vitoria-Gasteiz School of Education. Since 2009 he has responsibilities in R&D&I, research, production management, data exploitation and statistical purification processes at Aztiker, S.L., a company specialising in applied sociological research. He has participated in fourteen projects there from 2015 to the present. In 2020 he obtained the Gerriko Ikerlan Beka de Lazkao. He has collaborated with different Basque media.
Bizkaia: Zelai Nikolas Ezkurdia
Graduate in Law from the University of Deusto and a Master's degree in Political Integration and Economic Union of the European Union. He is currently developing a doctoral thesis on the open Parliament. After having worked in the legal services of the Basque Government, since 2018 she has been a Jurist in the Basque Parliament. Professor of Civil Law at the UPV/EHU from 1993 to 2002, she previously worked professionally as a lawyer. Her scientific activity has focused on territoriality, conflict resolution and cooperation within the European framework, topics that she addresses in her collaborations in the media.
Gipuzkoa: Rikardo Bueno Zabalo
PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Navarra with a thesis on machine tool design. Since 2019 he has directed BRTA – Basque Research and Technology Alliance, an alliance between the Basque Administration and 17 research and technology centres. Previously he had responsibilities at Tecnalia Research & Innovation as director of International Development, of its Advanced Manufacturing area and of the Programmes area. He was also director of Scientific Policy and of the Department of Mechanics and researcher at the Fatronik Foundation. His reflections are oriented towards the analysis of the influence of competitive industry, innovation and technology in achieving a balanced society.
Navarra: Isabel Elizalde Arretxe
Expert in Rural Development, Sustainability and Circular Economy. During the 2015-2019 legislature, she headed the Department of Rural Development, Environment and Local Administration of the Government of Navarra, from which she promoted regional laws, programs, plans and strategies aimed at a new model of growth with respect for the natural environment. Previously, she was managing director of Cederna-Garalur, owner, director and manager of Axura Consultores, and Local Development agent in various entities. She has written about ecological and sustainability aspects. She currently heads the Peio Martikorena Foundation and is a cooperative worker at MCZ, a micro-cooperative for social and labor insertion.
FUNDAMENTAL BASES OF THE 2024-2028 PROGRAMME
The programme presented by the candidacy headed by Ana Urkiza takes as its starting point the analysis and contrast of the SWOT document (weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities of the entity) resulting from a deep six-month reflection process during the current 2024.
The contributions of Eusko Ikaskuntza members, members and candidates for members of the Governing Council, staff and scientific directors have been collected, uniting and sharing knowledge, opinions, ideas and proposals.
From there, the programme for the 2024-2028 period is structured around four strategic axes and supported by three transversal lines of work:
Strategic axes:
- Members. This axis will respond to four main objectives: broadening the membership base, increasing the feeling of closeness to the institution, promoting participation and carrying out an analysis on associationism.
- Projects and agenda. The objectives of this axis aim to increase the quality, impact and rotation of projects, as well as to develop an agenda connected to the needs of society.
- Communication and referentiality. Improve the visibility and referentiality of Eusko Ikaskuntza.
- Financing. Diversification of funding sources and stabilization of income.
These strategic axes will be accompanied by transversal lines of work such as the following:
- Working group. Improve the capacity for innovation and coordination of the working group.
- Alliances. Strengthen existing strategic alliances and create new ones.
- Territoriality. Eusko Ikaskuntza will continue to develop its projects throughout Euskal Herria, promoting projects that can be scaled to the different territories, promoting cross-border projects and proposing measures that seek balance between the Basque territories.
Complete program in the Private Area of the website.