Family photo of Cervantes Institute’s directors.
The Diplomat. 24/07/2018
Instituto Cervantes’ new Director, Luis García Montero, presided over yesterday his first annual meeting of directors of this entity in Orihuela (Alicante). In the meeting, which brought together some 130 people from Spain and centers abroad, he expressed its willingness to defend the Spanish language and its culture.
The poet born in Granada affirmed that the Spanish language and its culture are «a fundamental hallmark of our presence abroad» and an essential support of the image of Spain throughout the world. He promised to defend «the Spanish and all the cultures of the State and the nationalities that are integrated into the nation».
García Montero promised «maximum transparency» and a prudent and open attitude, pointing out that before making decisions he wants to know better Instituto Cervantes. He showed his willingness to listen to all the directors, to whom he asked to tell him the truth «in a low voice and with education» to know what is being done and the problems that have to be solved.
The meeting, which will last until Thursday and on which the memory of Miguel Hernández glides (García Montero is an expert on Orihuela’s poet), also counted with the participation of the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ibero-America and the Caribbean, Juan Pablo de Laiglesia.
[hr style=»single»]
De Laiglesia stands up for the culture to recover external image exterior
[hr style=»single»]
De Laiglesia, who is also President of Cervantes’ Board of Directors, advanced some lines of action, such as the firm commitment to Ibero-Americanization: «The Spanish», he pointed out, «is the great asset of our diplomacy, with the added value of sharing it with Spanish America».
He added that culture «is an absolute priority of our external action», and cultural diplomacy should be one of its main vectors. «The crisis», he said, «has seriously affected our image abroad, and that is why we must incorporate cultural projection as a defining element of our presence abroad».
For his part, at a press conference prior to the inauguration, Instituto Cervantes’ Secretary General, Rafael Rodríguez Ponga, stressed that this institution is «one hundred percent a state agency that is very cheap to the taxpayer», since more than 46 percent of its budget comes from enrolment fees, sponsorship and diverse products and services.
