The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will dedicate 6,055,810 euros to finance the Casas Network, the public diplomacy organisation with which the Government seeks to convey its foreign policy objectives to countries in different areas and bring the reality of other regions of the world closer to Spaniards.
The Network is made up of Casa América, Casa Árabe, Centro Sefarad-Israel, Casa Asia, Casa África and Casa Mediterráneo.
The first three are based in Madrid, although Casa Árabe has an extension in Córdoba. Casa Asia is located in Barcelona, with an extension in the Spanish capital; Casa África is in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; and Casa Mediterráneo is based in Alicante.
The oldest of these institutions is Casa América, created in 1992 and governed by a consortium formed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Autonomous Community of Madrid and the Madrid City Council. The budget that Foreign Affairs has for its operation in 2022 is 1,321,970 euros, an amount to which are added other contributions from other partners and, especially, from companies that make up the board of trustees.
For its part, Casa Asia, which began its work in 2001, will receive 1,021,970 euros in foreign funds for its headquarters in Barcelona and its extension in Madrid. Its progress has not been easy in recent years, due to the attitude of the other members of the consortium: the Generalitat of Catalonia and Barcelona City Council.
Casa Árabe, created in 2006, with centres in Madrid and Cordoba, will receive 1,265,000 euros from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to which must be added contributions from the Andalusian Regional Government and the city councils of the two cities mentioned.
The Centro Sefarad-Israel, also created in 2006, will receive 850,620 euros, plus contributions from the Community of Madrid and the city council.
Casa África, which also began its work in 2006, will receive 996,250 euros from Foreign Affairs, to which it will add the amounts contributed by the autonomous government of the Canary Islands and the city council of Las Palmas.
The youngest of the network, Casa Mediterráneo, created in 2009, will receive 600,000 euros from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the contributions made by the Generalitat Valenciana and the city councils of Alicante and Benidorm.
