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Implications of Current Research on Social Innovation in the Basque Country

Edited by

Ander Gurrutxaga Abad and
Antonio Rivera

The Basque Country's social structure is undergoing a process of transition between the gradual disappearance of industrial society and the emergence of a knowledge society. Industrial society is no longer the force that rules daily life, but neither has a knowledge society yet been fully constructed. There is no completed model to serve as a reference for societies like that of the Basque Country. This book investigates the contexts and terrain of Basque social innovation. It begins with the premise that knowledge is mobile, fluid, unstable, and never static. Human networks are primarily networks of knowledge and information transfer with the ability to sustain interactive processes of learning and innovation. The stocks of knowledge that can be found in particular places are a cultural exercise in which success is a matter above all of shared culture. Social innovation locates the basis for innovation in the ability to take advantage of a society's social intelligence in the attempt to resolve problems and build futures when it confronts things like "conflict," "diversity," "climate change," "culture," and "the city and its new spaces." Innovating means, in the final analysis, producing systems of tolerance that accept some basic aspects of the existing situation in order to modify it.

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Development Cooperation: Facing the Challenges of Global Change

Edited by
Koldo Unceta and
Amaia Arrinda

Development cooperation, a concept that has existed for more than fifty years, has been transformed drastically in recent years. With the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, so-called developing countries ceased to be potential pawns in global political dynamics and gradually became the focus of greater moral concerns. As such, pro-development policies demanded a more ethically grounded political strategy, a challenge that governments and international bodies did not koow how to, or did not want to, react to. This problem was compounded further by the impact of globalization, with its concomitant increase in the interdependence of a range of global economic, political, social, ecological, and cultural processes. Mostrecently of all, the global financial crisis and its consequences have also raised questions about the future of
development cooperation, at a time when it should be more relevant than ever.

This book addresses a wide spectrum of issues that are central to the debate on development cooperation today such as sustainability, gender equity, technology, communication, rural development, global conflicts and commerce, labor relations, financing development, humanitarian action, and the specific case of Africa.

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Feminist Challenges in the Social Sciences. Gender Studies in the Basque Country

Edited by
Mari Luz Esteban and

Mila Amurrio

This book reflects many of the profound social, political, and economic changes that have influenced the UPV/EHU since the 1980s. This process shaped a complex social and political reality in the Basque Country that is mirrored in the diversity of authors and topics in the book. These authors do, however, share a feminist outlook and these chapters provide a general, albeit partial, overview of Basque feminist scholarship. The book is indicative of a twofold series of feminist challenges: There is the challenge of describing and reflecting upon the changes that have occurred in recent decades as regards the presence of women in the job market, in politics, and in public life. These are spheres where feminist activity—institutional, academic, and professional—has flourished to a considerable extent, but where inequalities, though often highly sophisticated and therefore difficult to identify, nonetheless remain evident. And there is a challenge in another sense as well, because the material gathered here represents a vital contribution to general research in the fields of anthropology, sociology, history, law, economics, political science, and communications sciences.

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Equality, Equity, and Diverstiy. Educational Solutions in the Basque Country

Edited by

Alfonso Unceta and
Concepción Medrano

Public education is one of the greatest achievements of European countries during the twentieth century. While schooling systems neither exclusively form citizens, nor are they sufficient to alleviate all inequalities, education plays an increasingly important strategic role in relieving social problems and promoting the civic and ethical upbringing of our children. Researchers and professors at the UPV/EHU have had the privilege to design and implement important educational projects in conjunction with government of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, which has authority over education in its territory. This book presents the timely (in most cases since 2000) observations, research, and programs that have resulted from this cooperation. Our stress—in both our theoretical and analytical dimensions—has been on the importance of diversity, the promotion of social and human values, and respect for basic human rights. In addition, we describe the cooperation that must be fostered—and the various needs met—between all educational "agents": academic researchers, administrators, teachers, parents, and the community at large to promote equality and fairness in our society.

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