The Diplomat
The Annual Meeting of Directors of the Instituto Cervantes concluded late this Wednesday with the commitment to advance digitalization and technological transformation and continue expanding around the world with different presence models to promote Spanish.
As reported by Cervantes in a press release, at the closing of this meeting, held for three days in Asturias, some of the proposals presented by the 80 managers in the group meetings were summarized, which delved into the diagnosis of the functioning of the institution. and provided formulas to introduce organizational, labor and management improvements.
The director of the Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero, and the general secretary, Carmen Noguero, closed the annual summit of the Cervantes Institute, which has taken place in three cities of the Principality (Oviedo, Gijón and Avilés) and which was attended by the Queen Letizia last Tuesday.
In an event held in the Aula Magna of the University of Oviedo, García Montero insisted that Spanish “cannot only be the language of Cervantes or Saint Teresa”, but must be consolidated as a powerful language with international prestige thanks to the possibilities offered by new technologies and public support.
In this regard, he thanked the public sector for its support for technological transformation and the empowerment of Spanish through PERTE New Language Economy, which contributes to the launch of the Global Spanish Observatory and represents “a democratic responsibility that helps us think about things that go unnoticed.” Likewise, he expressed his joy at the launch of the Spanish Observatory, attached to the Instituto Cervantes, to decide “how we should support artificial intelligence and machine language so that they do not create supremacist biases.”
He also confirmed the Instituto Cervantes’ vocation to continue expanding throughout the world “after many years of hiatus”, with different forms of presence according to the needs of the various countries or cities: the centers, the Cervantes Classrooms, the extensions or, lately, the Cervantes chairs such as those that have recently been launched at universities in Edinburgh (Scotland, United Kingdom) and Virginia (USA).
Issues such as the economic viability of each presence model, their workforce, dependence on universities or their stability were discussed at length in some of the numerous group meetings that were held these days behind closed doors. In these work tables, the directors dissected the current situation of the Instituto Cervantes, pointed out shortcomings and proposed possible solutions, with the ultimate objective of improving the operation and results when promoting the Spanish language and Spanish-speaking culture throughout the world.
Among many other issues, they analyzed the training of staff in new digital skills, the different models of online Spanish courses, the employment situation of the numerous collaborating teachers, the implementation calendar of the Digital Transformation Plan, which should be implemented by mid-2026; the new professional profiles related to cultural activities, the formulas to increase self-financing or institutional relations with the local authorities of each country, with the Spanish embassies or with the ministries of Education and Culture.
