• With over thirty years' experience of promoting the Basque language in its day-to-day activities, IKERLAN was the second company in the Basque Country to implement a Basque language plan.
• IKERLAN has strategies in place to bring the Basque language closer to new employees, 40 % of whom come from outside the Basque Country.

The IKERLAN technology centre has been awarded the Bikain Gold Certificate, the highest distinction granted by the Basque Government to organisations that integrate the Basque language into their activities at an advanced level. This accreditation is a significant milestone for the cooperative, which has promoted the normalisation of the language in professional settings for over thirty years.

The award was presented at a ceremony held at the Europa Palace and presided over by the First Vice-President and Minister of Culture and Language Policy, Ibone Bengoetxea, and the Director of Research and Language Coordination, Sonia Rodríguez. IKERLAN's Director General, Ion Etxeberria, received the award on behalf of the technology centre.

Since launching the first Basque language plan in 1994 — making IKERLAN the second company in the Basque Country to take this step — IKERLAN has worked to make this language a natural part of its organisational culture, relationships and understanding of technology. The normalisation of Basque forms part of the technology centre's strategy as it works to fulfil the challenges set out in the Basque Strategic Plan 2022–2025.

This approach has enabled Basque to become part of internal and external communication, the welcoming of new staff and the daily activities of all teams. For this reason, the certification audit committee recognised the soundness and consistency of the language strategy integrated into the organisation's daily activities. The involvement of management—from corporate bodies to management teams—has been one of the key drivers of this progress, extending the commitment to all levels and areas of work.

Another noteworthy aspect has been IKERLAN's effort to create an inclusive environment that encourages non-Basque speakers to learn and integrate into normalised use of the Basque language. Currently, 40 % of new recruits come from outside the Basque Country. This diversity has reinforced IKERLAN's commitment to creating natural spaces for use, offering training during working hours and activating internal networks such as IK Bizirik!, which promotes the use of Basque in everyday life. Currently, around twenty professionals from the technology centre are studying Basque at levels A1 and B1.

Xabier Sagartzazu, director of IKERLAN's Energy and Mechatronics Unit and member of the Basque Language Commission, explains that "the real challenge is not so much knowledge, which already exists, but maximising the use of the language; that is why our efforts are focused on  ensuring that Basque has spaces (arnasguneak) to play a leading role within the organisation,  creating natural contexts for speaking it".

Furthermore, IKERLAN's track record in linguistic matters has become a benchmark in the business and technology fields. The organisation actively participates in forums and projects that promote the use of Basque in business, and shares its experience with other entities in the ecosystem, contributing to the development of new practices.

BIKAIN is an official, public and free certificate issued by the Basque Government. It verifies and recognises the degree of normalisation of the presence, use and management of the Basque language in the socio-economic sphere. In 2012, IKERLAN applied for the first time and was awarded a silver Bikain. IKERLAN's effort and dedication to furthering the normalisation of the Basque language as an essential part of its corporate identity has now earned it the highest category.

The audit team highlighted the soundness and consistency of the language strategy integrated into the organization's daily activities.