The Leaders stressed their interest in positioning Spanish as a second language in Australia
Back in Madrid, the Leaders kicked off their last day with a visit to the Instituto Cervantes headquarters, where they were given a presentation on the institution and discussed bilateral relations in the area of culture.
The representatives of Instituto Cervantes at the event were Eduardo Sánchez, Head of Analysis and Strategy; Jacinto Aramendi, Head of Communication and Promotion; Victoria Rubini, Head of Business Development and Beatriz Rodríguez, Head of Foreign Relations.
The meeting focused on the work done by Instituto Cervantes in Australia through its Cervantes Chair and the centre that the institution has in Sydney. The Leaders had a chance to learn about the agreement Instituto Cervantes has in place with the University of Sydney for the promotion of Spanish academic and scientific culture through seminars and conferences, which is part of the aforementioned Cervantes Chair. Instituto Cervantes in Sydney strives to bring the two cultures closer together and promote Spanish language learning through a range of activities, such as ‘La fiesta del español’ (the Spanish language party) and various other debates, concerts and institutional partnerships, including one with the University of Sydney to train Spanish language teachers. During the meeting, the Leaders expressed their interest in positioning Spanish as Australia’s second language, rather than French, to strengthen relations with Latin American countries.
The group also had a chance to visit La Caja de las Letras, an Instituto Cervantes initiative through which the Central Bank’s vault is used to keep texts and files provided by well-known writers, film-makers, musicians, artists, scientists and architects. Instituto Cervantes is a public institution created in 1991 to promote Spain’s official languages and the culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Present in 86 cities across 43 countries, it also has two centres in Spain, one in Madrid and the other in Alcalá de Henares. Its multimedia platform and features a leading online portal on Spanish language and culture.
