<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The King and Queen will preside this coming Wednesday, at the Royal Palace of El Pardo, over the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Instituto Cervantes, the highest governing body of the institution. The meeting was initially scheduled for the beginning of November, but was cancelled as a result of the DANA crisis.</strong></h4> According to the Royal House, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia will preside over the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Institute, in which the main data of the 2023-2024 academic year and the objectives and forecasts of the new academic year will be announced. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, will attend the meeting. The annual meeting of the Board of Trustees was initially scheduled for the beginning of last November, but the Royal House announced the suspension of “the entire agenda” of the King and Queen as a result of the DANA crisis in Valencia. During the ceremony, the King and Queen will present the “Premio Ñ” Award, with which the institution recognizes personalities who stand out for their work in international dissemination of the Spanish language. The King, Honorary President of the Board of Trustees of the Instituto Cervantes, presents this award every year at the meeting of the institution's trustees. This recognition by the Instituto Cervantes was created in 2021, within the framework of the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the creation of the Instituto Cervantes, and fits in with the objectives of the institution: to promote the teaching and use of the Spanish language (spoken by almost 600 million people in the world, of which some 480 have it as their mother tongue) and to spread the culture of more than 20 Spanish-speaking countries. The honorary distinction was approved by the Board of Directors of the Instituto Cervantes on May 8, 2006. The minutes of that meeting state that “it has been decided to create the Ñ awards to recognize the career of those people who, not being native Spanish speakers, have distinguished themselves by their work in promoting and promoting our language internationally.” The annual award consists of a bronze sculpture with the logo of the Instituto Cervantes, inspired by the letter ñ, characteristic of the Spanish language. The Instituto Cervantes is the public institution created by Spain in 1991 to universally promote the teaching, study and use of Spanish and to contribute to the dissemination of Hispanic cultures abroad. Dependent on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it collaborates with prestigious national and international institutions, both public and private, with the aim of ensuring that products and services related to Spanish are governed by quality criteria and to promote the encounter and exchange of Spanish and Pan-Hispanic culture with other cultures of the world. In its activities, the Instituto Cervantes primarily focuses on the linguistic and cultural heritage that is common to the countries and peoples of the Spanish-speaking community. It is present in more than 90 cities in 45 countries, through its centers, classrooms and extensions, on the five continents. In addition, it has two offices in Spain, the central office in Madrid and the office in Alcalá de Henares.
