The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers has authorized a voluntary contribution from Spain to the European Union Network of National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC) in the amount of 400,000 euros.
EUNIC is a European network of national cultural institutes and agencies that operates in numerous countries, promoting collaboration between European organizations and local partners and the dissemination of European culture. On the Spanish side, the Instituto Cervantes and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), which joined the network in 2015, are full members.
As a member of EUNIC, AECID actively participates in the network by supporting European collaboration in the field of culture through its network of Spanish Cultural Centers and Diplomatic Missions in more than 80 locations around the world, and in particular in the areas of Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. AECID also participates in the EUNIC network in the advancement of culture and sustainable development. The Agency coordinates Spanish cultural action abroad, which is carried out through the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Cervantes Institute, Spanish Cultural Action and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the EUNIC General Assembly held in October 2020, the current director of Cultural and Scientific Relations of the AECID, Guzmán Palacios Fernández, was elected president of EUNIC for the period 2021-2022. The Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations, which reports to the AECID, is present in 122 Spanish Embassies abroad and coordinates the Network of Cultural Centers of Spanish Cooperation.
In addition, during the EUNIC General Assembly, held in Toledo on June 10 and 11, 2021, the AECID formally assumed its presidency and a bi-regional meeting was held with the Ibero-American counterparts of the Ibero-American Network for Cultural Diplomacy (RIDCULT), which concluded with a Joint Declaration to deepen bi-regional dialogue on culture and collaborate in promoting their shared values.
In order to achieve this objective, on November 23, EUNIC requested a payment of 400,000 euros as Spain’s contribution to the activities carried out during AECID’s presidency. In response to that request, the Agency proposed to the Government a voluntary contribution for the same amount to finance, among other activities, the EUNIC Cluster Fund (established in 2012 and which has made it possible to finance 145 projects around the world) and a fund for the deepening of the Euro-Latin American cultural dialogue. Spain’s accession to EUNIC constitutes the regulations governing Spain’s voluntary contribution to EUNIC.