Communication in the mother tongue is key to accompanying frail elderly people

At Fundación Matía we support people in the ageing process, and the basis of this support, to know their needs and priorities, is communication. Language is, therefore, a basic resource that aims to guarantee the need and rights of each person in their mother tongue. And even more so with older and/or frail people.

That is why, from 2007, we created the Basque language plan and language policy, which is integrated into the General Quality Policy. We have three general objectives:

• To become aware of the need to guarantee the right to linguistic choice of our users, so that our activities and services are also provided in Basque, as indicated by law.
• To make society as a whole aware of this objective.
• To integrate this culture into the daily work activities of the workers.

And these are our specific objectives:

• In our communications with users, both written and oral, we encourage the possibility of using either of the two official languages.
• Both in the corporate image and in the linguistic landscape, encourage the presence of both official languages.
• To increase the linguistic capacity of workers.
• To promote the use of Basque in internal relations, both in writing and orally.

In 2018, 27% of users in Matia will choose Basque as their first language of communication.

With this need and choice, the census of Basque among workers has been completed, and according to data from 2018, 48% are bilingual and 17% know something. However, this figure does not always make it possible to provide services in Basque and, in order to improve capacity and meet all objectives, there is a Basque Language Working Group to monitor and develop this.

With regard to image and communication, for example: the signage is bilingual, the website, advertising and marketing, social networks... we have the criterion of making it bilingual and giving priority to Basque.

In internal and external relations: bilingual oral and written communications, table-top identifiers, staff identification, Basque language courses, translation and adaptation of internal IT tools, integrating language requirements in staff selection and management, and awareness raising actions (Euskaraldia, Korrika, Basque Language Day, Mintzanet...).

Bearing in mind Matia Fundazioa's commitment to promoting the use of the Basque language and in the process of standardisation, we have drawn up and published the Basque Language Guide, the aim of which is for workers to gain autonomy and security when using the Basque language. This manual sets out attitudes to be adopted with regard to linguistic rights and the most common phrases and terms in the workplace.

 Aquí podéis ver la guía.