{"id":7277,"date":"2026-09-24T19:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T17:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/?p=7277"},"modified":"2026-09-24T19:07:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T17:07:52","slug":"we-need-more-diverse-perspectives-to-build-the-technology-that-society-needs-and-there-the-presence-of-women-and-the-basque-language-is-essential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/we-need-more-diverse-perspectives-to-build-the-technology-that-society-needs-and-there-the-presence-of-women-and-the-basque-language-is-essential\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWE NEED MORE DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES TO BUILD THE TECHNOLOGY THAT SOCIETY NEEDS, AND THERE THE PRESENCE OF WOMEN AND THE BASQUE LANGUAGE IS ESSENTIAL\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1712\" src=\"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-300x201.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-767x513.jpeg 767w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-1536x1027.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-1024x685.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-2048x1370.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-450x301.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-900x602.jpeg 900w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-992x663.jpeg 992w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-768x514.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-1984x1327.jpeg 1984w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-1200x803.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/puntu.eus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image1-2-4-1800x1204.jpeg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A preview of the video podcast \u2018Gladysen haritik\u2019 was also presented at the event.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researcher Harritxu Gete Ugarte (born 1991 in San Sebasti\u00e1n) received the 6th Gladys Award today, at an event organized by the PUNTUEUS Foundation and the Faculty of Informatics of the EHU at the Santa Teresa Convent in San Sebasti\u00e1n. The event was opened by Kerman Orbegozo, Delegate Councillor for People, Economy and Budget Management, and Basque of the San Sebasti\u00e1n City Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harritxu Gete holds a degree in Mathematics from the EHU. After completing a Master&#8217;s in Language Analysis and Processing (winning the top academic record award), she defended her PhD thesis in Language Analysis and Processing in 2025 with Cum Laude distinction. Although she studied mathematics, her professional career is closely tied to language, especially in developing technology for the Basque language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Gete&#8217;s words, bringing together different backgrounds and knowledge is key to addressing today&#8217;s challenges: <em>\u201cAlthough I studied mathematics, my professional career is very much linked to language, especially developing technology for Basque. My path has shown me that we don&#8217;t have to stay on a single track: trying new things, changing path, and combining knowledge from different disciplines is very enriching. Therefore, I would tell young girls not to be afraid to try new things and find their own way. Often, when we are not experts in something, we might be afraid to express our point of view, but it is not necessary to be the best at something to make interesting contributions\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Gender Perspective and Commitment<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the award presentation ceremony, Olatz Perez de Vi\u00f1aspre spoke on behalf of the jury and explained that <em>\u201cthe winner has shown a firm commitment to the goals of the Gladys Award throughout her professional career. Her work has been key in the development of neural translators currently used for Basque, and she has integrated a gender perspective into her work\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The jury highlighted Harritxu&#8217;s work in bringing equality to the field of technology and strengthening the digital presence of Basque: <em>\u201cIn recent years, she has made a special effort to serve as an inspiration for young girls, engaging in outreach work through the media and various events. In addition, we want to emphasize her future potential: on one hand, because she has begun taking on leadership in several projects and her applied work has a direct impact on society; and on the other hand, because her involvement in science outreach ensures both the dissemination of her work and her role as a benchmark for young people\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Basque, Artificial Intelligence, and Public Education<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the main pillars of Gete&#8217;s work has been promoting the digital development of Basque and minority languages. She has participated in the development and training of automatic translation tools such as the Basque Government&#8217;s <em>Itzuli<\/em> and Vicomtech&#8217;s <em>Batua<\/em>. In addition, she has addressed the ethical and inclusive use of technology in her research, studying and disseminating information on gender biases in machine translation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking on the importance of digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, Gete emphasized that more diverse perspectives are needed to build the technology society requires: <em>\u201cthe presence of more women is essential, but also that of other groups that have historically had little presence in technology. And for that, public education plays a fundamental role. Personally, I completed my entire academic path in public education, and thanks to that, I had the opportunity to reach the work I do today\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alongside this, she praised the high level of research carried out in the Basque Country and the place Basque holds in the digital realm: <em>\u201cIt is essential for Basque to have its place in artificial intelligence and everyday technologies in order to live in Basque in an increasingly digitalized society. At a time when we are developing technology with Artificial Intelligence that will bring profound changes, we have the opportunity to incorporate our viewpoints from the beginning: to build technology that includes the presence of women and diverse perspectives, and for our language to also have its place there\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>&#8216;Gladysen haritik&#8217; video podcast to premiere on October 1<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was also a surprise during the presentation; inspired by Gladys de Estal, EITB, PUNTUEUS, and the Faculty of Informatics of the EHU are preparing the <em>Gladysen haritik<\/em> video podcast. The presentation of this initiative was led by Maite Go\u00f1i, Director of Radio and Audio at EITB, Lorea Arakistain, Director of Marketing and Communication at PUNTUEUS, and Elene Mendizabal, computer scientist and host of the podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This new show will showcase the key role of women in the digital environment and technological field through the voices of its protagonists. It will present the subjects not only as technology professionals, but as interesting and multifaceted individuals. A teaser was shown during the presentation, and episodes will air on EITB&#8217;s Guau platform starting October 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To conclude the event, Nerea Isasi, Director of Equality at the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, spoke to champion the history of the award and female role models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Gladys Award is an initiative promoted by the PUNTUEUS Foundation and the Faculty of Informatics of the \/EHU, with main sponsorship from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa. In addition, it has the support of Emakunde, Danobatgroup, the Euskaltel Foundation, EITB, San Sebasti\u00e1n City Council, and the Equality Directorate of the\/EHU.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researcher Harritxu Gete Ugarte (born 1991 in San Sebasti\u00e1n) received the 6th Gladys Award today, at an event organized by the PUNTUEUS Foundation and the Faculty of Informatics of the EHU at the Santa Teresa Convent in San Sebasti\u00e1n. The event was opened by Kerman Orbegozo, Delegate Councillor for People, Economy and Budget Management, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7277"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7311,"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7277\/revisions\/7311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/puntu.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}