The Diplomat
King Felipe VI presided over the XXXV ordinary session of the Board of Trustees of the Carolina Foundation this Tuesday at the La Zarzuela Palace, in which the 2025 Action Plan was approved, which will coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of its creation and which provides for an increase in scholarships in the areas of human rights and democracy.
The Carolina Foundation was established in October 2000 as a cultural bridge between Spain and Latin America, as well as with other countries with which it maintains special cultural, historical and geographical ties.
This public-private institution offers a wide range of scholarships to Ibero-American students and professionals every year, allowing them to carry out postgraduate studies at the best Spanish universities. In addition to the scholarships, the Carolina Foundation organizes numerous cultural and academic events that encourage the exchange of ideas and the strengthening of ties between both continents.
The meeting of the Board of Trustees was chaired by the King, Honorary President of the Carolina Foundation, and was attended by the President of the Government and Executive President of the Board of Trustees, Pedro Sánchez; the First Vice President and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares; the Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo; the Secretary of State for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Susana Sumelzo; the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Eva Granados; and the Director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, Antón Leis, among others.
During his speech, Pedro Sánchez highlighted the work of the Carolina Foundation and its sustained support for the Ibero-American and cooperation agenda and stated that this institution is managing to increase its number of postgraduate and doctoral scholarships, edition after edition, thanks to a “solid public budgetary commitment” that has grown in recent years. He also stated that the Carolina Foundation is a key piece, consistent with the philosophy of Spanish Cooperation, which aims to develop a supportive, effective foreign action committed to multilateralism and democracy based on technical, scientific and cultural cooperation.
The Board of Trustees approved the 2025 Action Plan, which includes several new features, such as an increase in scholarships on human rights and democracy, the creation of a program with the Ibero-American Social Security Organization, and the expansion of the mobility program with the CSIC, “all of which is marked by the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Carolina Foundation, focused on the multiplication of alliances and networks, where the ‘multi-actor logic’ prevails, in order to consolidate a robust and stable platform of relations between its members,” the Royal House highlighted in a press release.
