The Diplomat
The Instituto Cervantes and the Leading Brands of Spain Forum (FMRE, by its Spanish acronym) signed an agreement yesterday to cooperate in projects to promote the image of Spain through its language and culture.
Under the agreement, members of the Leading Brands Forum will be able to collaborate with the more than 80 Instituto Cervantes centers spread across the five continents, as well as offer Spanish language courses on advantageous terms for their employees or clients abroad. For their part, Instituto Cervantes card users will be able to take advantage of offers from the Forum’s brands both in Spain and in their countries of reference. The agreement also provides for the development of collaboration initiatives with the Honorary Ambassadors of the Spain Brand, accredited by the FMRE, in the category of Art and Culture.
“Our priority is to increase the visible impact of Spanish culture and language around the world”, said Cervantes Director Luis García Montero, after signing the agreement, which, he said, is part of the Institute’s strategy to establish alliances with the different Spanish actors with a presence abroad, both public and private. “Spain and its brands are at the forefront of creation and entrepreneurship, and the Cervantes Institute is proud to collaborate with them because they contribute to conveying an image of modernity, strength and creativity”, he added.
For his part, the president of the Brands Forum, Ignacio Osborne, said he was “very satisfied” with the agreement with the Instituto Cervantes, “a benchmark for our foreign action and a true ambassador of our language and culture around the world, a fundamental pillar for Spain’s international image”. For Osborne, a member of the Instituto Cervantes’ Board of Trustees since last October, public-private collaboration “is currently more important than ever” and, therefore, this joining of forces “will allow us to develop initiatives in favor of Spain’s image, generating synergies between the efforts of cultural and economic diplomacy”.
