The Diplomat
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Spanish Embassy in Malabo and the Instituto Cervantes in Dakar have launched a program to promote the teaching of Spanish in Equatorial Guinea.
On September 30, the first Spanish as a Foreign Language (ELE) Training sessions in Equatorial Guinea began simultaneously at the Cultural Centers of the Spanish Cooperation in Bata and Malabo. They are aimed at teachers and undergraduate and master’s students specializing in ELE, Hispanic Philology, Pedagogy, secondary and high school teachers, and other people interested in the subject.
The training program, which has benefited 150 students with a specialized profile, is part of the agreement reached in 2019 by the Instituto Cervantes and the AECID to implement a training project for trainers in Spanish as a foreign language through the ACERCA Program for Training for Development in the Cultural Sector.
With an initial duration of four years, this agreement has been extended in 2023 for four more years, until 2027. During this time, a total of twelve Academic Missions have been held in ten countries in the region: Ivory Coast, Benin, Gabon and Cameroon (2019); Ghana, Senegal and Mozambique (2021); Ivory Coast and DR Congo (2022); Benin and Angola (2023) and Equatorial Guinea (2024).
The ACERCA Program of Spanish Cooperation was created in 2005 to strengthen the capacities of partner countries in all areas of culture. One of the fundamental lines of work is the training and capacity building of cultural actors and managers from public and private institutions. It is also aimed at facilitating the meeting between experts and professionals with a view to establishing cooperation mechanisms, regional strategies and the creation of networks.
The course, lasting 30 hours spread over a week, was taught by four experts from the Instituto Cervantes specialising in teaching ELE, with 75 students in each Centre. All those enrolled who met the minimum attendance requirement received a certificate from the Instituto Cervantes and AECID, which was awarded on the last day of training, this past 4th October, during the closing ceremony of the sessions.
The opening ceremony, at the CCE Malabo, was attended by, among others, the Spanish ambassador, Javier Conde Martínez de Irujo; the director of the Instituto Cervantes in Dakar, Concepción Barceló Esteban; and the General Director of Higher and University Education of the Ministry of Education of Equatorial Guinea, Pergentino Esangui Ondo. In Bata, the training sessions were opened by the Spanish consul general in Bata, Alejandro Alvargonzález; and the representative of the AECID ACERCA programme, Mage Allegue.
