XV Ostana Prize / Premio Ostana 15ª edizione

Save the date! The 15th edition of the Ostana Prize is back on 23rd, 24th and 25th June. Gift yourself a one of a kind and unforgettable language experience in Miribrart hamlet, in front of the Monviso mountain peak: a cultural, linguistic, emotional immersion en convivéncia (according to troubadours “the art of living together in harmony”) in company of the 8 award winners.

Ostana has been defined as a “place beyond time” thanks to its beauty, and has its solid roots planted in the Occitan culture, present across the “Valadas Occitanas” of Italy. Participating in the Ostana Prize 2023 is also a great way of celebrating the International Decade for Indigenous Languages, proclaimed by UNESCO.

Discover now the programme and awardees at www.premioostana.it

THE OSTANA PRIZE

The “Ostana Prize: Writings in Mother Tongue” is a celebration of the cultural biodiversity of humanity. Our goal is to let people listen to the sound of minority and indigenous languages which have a determination to live and thrive despite all obstacles, and through them discover the past and present stories of their community, of the peoples who speak them.

Born from the desire to know and make known writers, filmmakers, musicians from different parts of the planet, the Ostana Prize has become a formidable opportunity to meet and exchange experiences for dozens of authors from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania who illustrate and make the language of their community alive with their creative work.

2023 EDITION 🔑

“Qui ten la lenga, ten la clau” (“The one who has/protects the language, has the key”)

This phrase by Frederic Mistral, Occitan author who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1904, motto and thread of this edition, is a bold statement that decodes a precious message from the Occitan heritage: in a constantly changing world, where it is difficult to orient oneself, mother tongues are precious keys that allow us to understand the contemporary reality.

This year, like in 2022, the Ostana Prize has receives the support of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages declared by UNESCO, and has two important European networks as partners: the European Language Equality Network (ELEN) and the Network for the Promotion of Language Diversity (NPLD).

2023 AWARDEES

Special Prize: HAWAD, Tamajaght language (tuareg, Niger)

International Prize: Bernardo ATXAGA, Euskera language (Spain)

Historical Linguistic Minorities in Italy Prize: Liliana BERTOLO BONIFACE, Francoprovençal language (Italy)

Youth Prize: Blanca I. FERNÁNDEZ QUINTANA, Asturian language (Spain)

Translation Prize: Monica LONGOBARDI, Occitan language (Italy)

Occitan Language Prize: Sarah LAURENT-ZURAWCZAK, Occitan language (France)

Musical Composition Prize: Fiona MACKENZIE, Gaelic language (Scotland)

Cinema Prize: Julie PERREARD, Corsican language (France)

14 EDITIONS SO FAR, 46 LANGUAGES

At Ostana, 46 mother tongues have been represented through 80 artists and authors over the course of 14 years. In each edition there has been the presence of at least an indigenous language from outside of Europe.

Have a look at the languages and personalities we’ve awarded: Friulian, Slovene, Cimbrian, Armenian, Sardinian, Tibetan, Totonacan, Rromani, Galician, Maori, Ladin, Basque, Saami, Kurdish, Cheyenne, Corsican, Hebrew, Catalan, Maltese, Sicilian, Yoruba, Shuar, Frisian, Griko, Huave, Breton, Romansh, Innu, Nynorsk, Amazigh-Kabylian, Weslh, Irish Gaelic, Albanian, Occitan, Even, Chuvash, Guaraní.

You can know more about the 2022 -14th edition of the Prize through the dedicated UNESCO platform website: XIV Premio Ostana · 14thOstana Prize – Writings in Mother Tongue – 2022 – 2032 International Decade of Indigenous Languages (idil2022-2032.org)

VIDEO MATERIALS

Below are stunning visual materials about the Ostana Prize along the years. You can find them all in our Youtube channel:

• The awardees of 2022 edition of the Ostana Prize
• Best moments from the 2019 Ostana Prize
• Conversation with Kola Tubosun, Yoruba Special Award, 2020 online edition of the Ostana Prize
• Interview to Josephine Bacon, 2017 International Award, Innu language

THE ORGANIZER: CHAMBRA D’ÒC

The Chambra d’Òc is a cultural association that works in the field of promotion and enhancement of the lesser  used languages in the world. Its main objectives are the protection of the Occitan and Francoprovençal language and culture in Italy.

The Chambra d’Òc association operates in the field of language promotion through both local and international projects such as the ‘Ostana Prize, Writings in Mothers Tongue’, the creation of the documentary film ‘Bogre -The Great European Heresy‘, tracing the footsteps of Cathars and Bogomils in the Middle Ages in Occitania,  campaigns such as ‘Occitània a pè‘ (“Occitania on foot” calling for UNESCO to recognise Occitan as world heritage), territorial projects such as ‘Chantar l’uvèrn‘ (“Singing Winter”),  festival of development of the local territory through the promotion of music, cinema, tourism, cuisine of the Valleys, etc.), publishing of books in Occitan, training of operators and linguistic desks who offer language courses, translation and language counselling in Occitan and Francoprovençal.