That’s the newspaper, not our life-bestowing star

Yesterday saw the 123rd anniversary of the publishing of Zamenhof’s Unuan Libron, the first book in Esperanto.

Not uncoincidentally Esperanto-speakers managed to get in a few interviews, thanks to the work of Esperanto Lobby’s Brian Barker.

Two Jebanoj (plus our friend Heather, who is a former member and now an honorary one) were interviewed by David Lowe of The Sun. Owing to space constraints the article disappointingly didn’t materialise in the printed version of the newspaper, but the online article is present for all to see. Well done to Rob and Alex for their contributions to what comes across as a positive article.

The following people were also interviewed on local radio, all listenable on BBC’s iPlayer.

Tim Owen on BBC Radio Leicester, 1.12.30 into the programme.

Stela Besenyei on BBC Radio Sussex, 0:26:44 into the programme.

Brian Barker on BBC Radio Somerset, 0:39:35 into the programme.

David Kelso on Radio Humberside, 1:40 into the programme.

John Murray on BBC Radio Foyle 1:23:35 into the programme.

Stephen Thompson on BBC Radio Lancashire, 2:20:46 into the programme.

There were also mentions of Esperanto on Radio 4 and on the BBC World Service.

JEB is organising its first official camping weekend, between Friday 10th September and Sunday 12th September 2010.

The location which we have chosen is the Wowo campsite in East Sussex. Detailed information can be found here and it looks like a really excellent campsite, with plenty of facilities and even the opportunity to light real campfires

One of the aims of the weekend is to organise a series of discussion circles (diskutrondoj/Drondoj). These have become very popular within EAB over the past few years, and we thought it would be great if we could introduce JEB members to them too. The atmosphere will be relaxed and informal, the topics straightforward but interesting, so it should be a great way for us to practise our Esperanto whilst getting to know each other better

The campsite is very reasonably priced, so hopefully affordable for everyone. The nearest train station is Haywards Heath, which is easily accessible from London (Victoria). If you are under 26 and need help with your travel costs, don’t forget that you may be eligible for a grant from NoJEF

The campsite itself is situated approximately 6 miles from the station. Hopefully we should have three or four cars between those attending, so we should be able to arrange lifts for anyone who needs one – let us know if you will be in this position and we can finalise details nearer the time

Note that the campsite has a rule requiring everyone to book two nights (Friday and Saturday) which is why we are making this a long weekend. The advantage is that this means we will have more time at our disposal, and we are therefore hoping to organise an excursion to nearby Brighton

If you’re interested in coming, let us know – either on Facebook or in the forums – and book a place for your tent asap!

The fine folk at the Esperanto associations E@I and ILEI have recently released a 24-page booklet titled “Discover Esperanto”. It’s available in several national languages, one of which, of course, is English.

The booklet presents a very effective introduction to Esperanto, both the language and its history. It’s main contribution, however, is that it reproduces comments from Esperantists about how and why they use the language. An outstanding example would be from the American Amanda Higley, who spent sixteen months travelling in Europe yet only had to pay for three nights’ lodging: The other 470+ nights she spent as a guest of Esperanto-speakers.

I’d recommend the booklet to people who already speak the language, since they might just learn a little that they didn’t know about the origins of the language, but especially to beginners.

If anybody asks you about Esperanto, I think that this would be a wonderful thing to show them.

The English version is available to download here.

The JEB AGM 2010 took place on 15th May 2010 during the British Esperanto Congress in Llandudno. A copy of the minutes of this meeting is available to download here. If you require further information about any of the issues raised during the meeting, please feel free to contact us in the forums

JEB are planning to meet in the beautiful town of York (northern England) during the weekend of 26th/27th June 2010.

On the Saturday there will be a meeting of the Yorkshire & Humberside Esperanto Federation, where Professor John Wells will lead a programme on the theme “Kiel ekspluati la vortprovizon de Esperanto” during the day. The programme will start at 11am and finish at 5pm. To take part, you need to send a cheque for £12 (which includes lunch and tea/coffee) together with details of your name and address to F-ino AB Duerden. (It doesn’t seem right to publish her postal address here, but it’s included within the information on the “Somera renkontiĝo de JEB” event on Facebook, and if you’re not on Facebook you can get in touch with us on the forums.) Cheques should be addressed to “Yorkshire & Humberside Esperanto Federation”.

The seminar will take place in Guppy’s Enterprise Club, 17 Nunnery Lane, York. The location is not far from the main train station in York so should be easily accessible for everyone

We hope that lots of JEB members will take the opportunity to participate in this interesting event. For those who don’t fancy it or who won’t be able to arrive on time, we invite you to meet up with us afterwards, when we are bound to relocate to the nearest Wetherspoons to enjoy the rest of the evening

We’re currently looking for cheap accommodation in York and intend to spend the night there. On Sunday we hope to meet up again and see some of the sights of York.

So, if you’d like to come, please let us know either on Facebook or in the JEB forums. If you’re thinking of going to the seminar, please decide as early as possible and send your cheque to the federation, so that they know how many people are going to be coming

The JEB spring meeting took place between 6th and 7th February in the Welsh capital, Cardiff. This was without doubt the most successful JEB meeting in recent history, with 22 different participants over the course of the weekend

JEB-ano Paul Roberts has written an excellent report on the weekend, which you can read on the EAB website.

Heather Eason has also published a review on the new website of the Cardiff Esperanto Society, and if you don’t believe that there were really 22 people, you can browse her photos here.

Thanks to the hard work of Heather and Brian Barker, the activities of JEB were even brought to the attention of the BBC, who featured this article on their website on the day of our meeting

Many thanks to everybody who came and made the weekend as enjoyable as it was. Special thanks are due to Heather for all the help she gave us and in particular for her fascinating guided tour of Cardiff city centre

The British Esperanto Congress 2010 will take place from Friday 14th to Monday 17th May 2010 in the beautiful town of Llandudno, North Wales.

The organisers have put together an excellent website where you can find detailed information about both the local area and the event itself.

If you’re interested and would like to sign up, you’ll need to go to the website of the Esperanto Association of Britain where it is possible to register and pay online. The cost of the weekend is £43, which includes tea and coffee (meals and accommodation payable separately). Don’t forget that if you’re under 26 and able to write a letter in Esperanto, you may be able to apply for funding from NoJEF to cover the cost of the congress for you.

As ever, we hope that there will be a strong JEB presence at the congress and will be holding our AGM on the Saturday afternoon at 2pm. All are welcome to attend, either as a member or as a spectator if you’re no longer under 30. If you have any issues which you would like us to put on the agenda for the meeting, feel free to drop us a line.

If you have any questions about the congress, would like some help with finding accommodation, or haven’t attended a JEB meeting before and would like to get to know some of us in advance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at the JEB forums. In the meantime, don’t forget that the next JEB meeting will be taking place on Saturday 6th February in Cardiff

150 years ago today, December 15th, Ludwik Zamenhof was born. His was a divided city, partitioned in four quarters. Four identifiable groups (Germans, Poles, Jews and Russians) lived in Białystok, each category keeping to its own area.

The young Zamenhof was touched by the unnecessary violence exhibited towards others who were different, the segregation. Having witnessed for the umpteenth time the beating dished out to a member of one group who strayed into another’s area, the young Zamenhof thought to himself that the situation would not have arisen had the two groups involved been able to talk to one another.

So he started work on his project for an international language, a mutually understood yet neutral language that each group would have in addition to its own. The Russians would still have Russian, but switch to the international language when speaking to Germans, who would keep their Germanic tongue, but opt for the international language when in conversation with the Poles, and so on.

At the party for his 18th birthday Zamenhof presented to his friends his lingwe uniwersala, the first draft of what would become nine years later Esperanto.

Since the 1920s Esperanto-speakers have celebrated December 15th as “Zamenhof Day”. Having started with only one member Esperanto has wound its way around the globe; the World Esperanto Association has members in 121 countries. Not a bad rate of success for a project started by a teenager, especially when compared to the results of efforts of intellectual heavyweights such as René Descartes

(Past the break Google rather kindly helps us celebrate.)

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Kuoso’s the guy that did it.

JEB’s Autumn meet-up took place in London. It was Jake’s first Esperanto event in the UK, and he was nice enough to write about it soon after.

Well, it so happens that Kuoso was present, along with some coupons and an idea.

One of our High Street stores has been giving out 2-for-1 offers on several activities. Kuoso, being in possession of four such coupons suggested that we might like to make use of them. One topical location stood out:

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My only previous experience of speaking Esperanto in real life had been during the IJK 2009 in Liberec. Since I had enjoyed the IJK so much, I was incredibly pleased to learn that there would be a meet-up in London, and was very eager to go along. Because I hardly had a chance to speak with ‘Britaj esperantistoj’ amidst the madness of the IJK, I saw this as a good opportunity to meet and get to know British Esperantists better.

I was a little bit worried before going, since I had never travelled through London alone before, and my innate ability to get lost somewhat worried me. However, despite the chaotic diversions in Kent, I somehow arrived at The Penderel’s Oak in Holborn only five minutes late.

I walked into the pub, slightly nervous, but excited all the same, and was met by the now familiar face of Tim Owen. Although I had felt a bit tired and confused earlier, having been shouted at in Ashford station, I was pleased to discover that I could still understand spoken Esperanto and was able to ask ‘Ĉu vi scias, kie estas la necesejo?’, before it was too late.

As the day progressed, the Esperanto-table expanded, sucking in more and more chairs. First came the Esperantists living in the parts of Britain outside London (although not necessarily British), those from outside of ‘la urbo’, then those living in London and finally the ‘gasto el Calais’, who apparently took the scenic route through Chinatown, before turning up.

I found the atmosphere very friendly and relaxed. Because there were plenty of people, we could speak for hours on end without running out of things to say. I really liked the fact that there was a range of nationalities, as it made the conversations diverse and interesting.

The conversation flowed across topics and languages like the poetry of the tube rumbling under the city of London. After a couple of hours, I forgot that I was speaking in Esperanto and was simply speaking.

It still amazed me that after only beginning to speak Esperanto (as opposed to read or write it) two months ago, and hardly having practiced since, I was capable of speaking about a wide range of topics without many problems at all.

Although the journey to The Penderel’s Oak was entirely straightforward, I took a wrong turning on the underground on the way back, possibly, because I was assailed in Esperanto by an ‘alta, malhelharara, bela strangulo’ whilst walking up High Holborn Road, and, instead of concentrating on getting back, I decided to let everyone on the streets of London and on the tube hear me speak Esperanto as loudly as possible. How mature! Consequently, I accidentally went to Liverpool Street instead of Leicester Square and had to retrace my steps. But it was well worth it.

I went back home by train, tired, my mind confused by too many languages buzzing round my head and being spoken on the train, but very satisfied with the day. I see this as a beginning, not a one-off. I will certainly go to other ‘JEB-renkontiĝoj’ in the future and generally hope to be in ‘esperantujo’ again.