The Buber Prizes are an annual event in which the best Basque websites and internet applications are recognized. For me, these awards are particularly meaningful, as the awards are named after these pages, partially as a recognition of the role of Buber’s Basque Page in the history of Basques on the internet and partially because “buber” doesn’t mean anything offensive in Euskara or Castellano…

One of the things that most impresses me about the Basque Country is the way they embrace everything modern, such as the internet, to help promote such ancient things like their language and culture. It is this confluence of the ancient and modern that makes the Basque Country such a dynamic and intriguing place.

Awards are given in a number of categories. For example, for mobile application, the winner this year is Spotbros, an application for “cloud messaging”, which promises to revolutionize how you share things with your friends. Euskalkultura.com, a news site focused on Basque heritage world-wide and lead by an old friend of mine, Joseba Etxarri, won for the best website in Euskara. There are also prizes for best corporate site, best personal site, and best free software.

A few of the runners-up are also of particular interest. MundakaBC is dedicated to the Basque city of Mundaka, world-famous for its surf. For those of you who are keen about wine, Dastagarri is an app for you. It allows you to keep track of your wine and of notes about wine you’ve tasted, all stored on the cloud for access from anywhere.

The Buber Prizes not only recognize a few outstanding sites, but also the overall effort of the Basque internauts. I’m particularly proud that my “name” is associated with these prizes, as the efforts of the people behind these sites and apps is truly outstanding.