Basque culture and language make it into Meetup groups

The culture and language of the Basque Country, a region situated between the north east of Spain and the south west of France, with a very large Diaspora all around the world, has taken a new and previously unexplored path on the Internet when a Basque-American decided to launch a Basque Language & Culture Meetup group.

Jose Antonio Alcayaga III, a graphic designer, web developer and photographer of Basque heritage, wanted to bring together other people with Basque ancestry, so he decided to create a Meetup group focusing on Basque culture and language, the first of its kind on this social network. The group's aim is also to encourage members to discover and discuss their roots in the Basque Country and to learn about the Basque culture and language.

"Nothing makes me happier than to see Basques meeting each other in the New World. Long live the Basques!" one of the members says on the wall of the Meetup group.

Millions of Basque descendants live in North and South America, as well as in parts of Europe and Asia.

José is a member of the Basque Club of New York and the Society of Basque Studies in America. Apart from the first Basque Language & Culture Meetup in New York City, he is also responsible for a group on Facebook called "Alcayagas del Mundo/Alcayagas of the World", where his aim has been to unite those who share his surname, which is Basque in origin. It has approximately 840 members.

Meetup.com is an online social networking portal that facilitates offline group meetings in various localities around the world. Meetup allows members to find and join groups unified by a common interest, such as politics, books, games, movies, health, pets, careers or hobbies. Users enter their ZIP code and the topic they want to meet about, and the website helps them arrange a place and time to meet. Topic listings are also available for users who only enter a location.