The Diplomat
King Felipe VI presided yesterday, at La Zarzuela Palace, the XXXIII ordinary session of the Board of Trustees of the Carolina Foundation, which approved the Action Plan 2023, one of whose objectives is to relaunch relations between Latin America and the European Union.
The meeting of the Board of Trustees, the highest governing, representative and administrative body of the institution and whose Honorary President is Felipe VI himself, was also attended by the President of the Government -and executive president of the Board of Trustees of the Carolina Foundation-, Pedro Sánchez; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares; the First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño; the Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Pilar Alegría; the Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta; and the Minister of Universities, Joan Subirats.
Also in attendance were the Ibero-American Secretary General, Andrés Allamand; the State Secretary for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Juan Fernández Trigo; the State Secretary for International Cooperation, Pilar Cancela; the Director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Antón Leis; the Director of the Carolina Foundation, José Antonio Sanahuja; and the various members of the Board of Trustees.
After approving the annual accounts for 2021 and the appointments and renewals of several of its members, the Board of Trustees of the Carolina Foundation approved the 2023 Action Plan, aimed at promoting Ibero-American knowledge and cooperation, relaunching relations between Latin America and the European Union and contributing to a “just transition” in terms of digitization, sustainability and social inclusion.
In this regard, Pedro Sánchez recalled, during his speech before the Board of Trustees, Spain’s “ambition to resize the political and economic relations between the European Union and Latin America”, which will take shape in 2023 in “two important milestones”: the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, in the Dominican Republic, and the European Union-CELAC Summit, in Brussels, under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Carolina Foundation was established in September 2000 to promote cultural relations and cooperation in education and science between Spain and the countries of the Ibero-American community of nations, as well as with other countries with special historical, cultural or geographical ties. Its name refers to King Juan Carlos I, for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of his reign, and to King Charles I of Spain (and Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor) on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his birth.
To achieve these goals, the institution works in two areas through a system of scholarships and grants covering all areas of knowledge. The most important of these is the Training area to facilitate and promote the further studies of university graduates, as well as the specialization and updating of knowledge of postgraduates, professors, researchers and professionals from Latin America. The other important area is Studies and Analysis, dedicated to the generation of expert knowledge on Ibero-American foreign action, development cooperation, scientific diplomacy and social innovation, useful for the Spanish cooperation and foreign action system, the scientific community, public opinion and corporate sponsors.
In 2022, the Carolina Foundation awarded nearly 600 postgraduate and doctoral scholarships, in addition to the 2,000 awarded since 2018. Last January 17, the Foundation opened its new call for scholarships for the 2023-2024 academic year, in which it will offer 613 postgraduate and doctoral scholarships especially aimed at promoting the “triple transition” digital, ecological and social.
