The Diplomat
The Instituto Cervantes has signed a collaboration agreement with the Fundación Foro de Marcas Renombradas Españolas (Renowned Spanish Brands Forum Foundation, FMRE, for its acronym in Spanish) whereby both parties undertake to disseminate their respective programs and publications in order to promote Spain’s image abroad.
The objective of this agreement – signed on September 1 by the director of the Instituto Cervantes, Luis Manuel García Montero, and the general director of the FMRE Foundation, Pablo López Gil – is to jointly promote “the image of Spain and its Trademarks, as well as the image of the Cervantes Institute”, as published last Tuesday in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
To this end, the two entities agree to organize events and activities to promote their respective programs and publications and to collaborate in the creation of content of interest to both parties. This includes the use of the Cervantes Library Network abroad for the dissemination of ES+ magazine and other FMRE publications of interest to both parties, the distribution of these same publications in digital format through the Cervantes Electronic Library, the promotion and dissemination of the Instituto Cervantes Loyalty Program through FMRE media, and the organization of events and activities to promote the programs and publications of both parties.
The term of the agreement will be four years, although the parties may unanimously agree to extend it for a period of up to four additional years at any time before the end of this period.
The Instituto Cervantes will carry out the commitments assumed in this agreement by means of its own material and human resources, provided for in its expenditure budget for the year 2023. For its part, FMRE will assume in 2023 the expenses derived from the implementation of the commitments assumed in this agreement, up to a maximum of ten thousand euros, including taxes. Both parties may seek, jointly or separately, funding for their activities and initiatives. For subsequent years in which this agreement may be in force, the expenses assumed by the parties will be subject, in any case, to their budgetary availabilities for each year, although they are estimated to be similar to those foreseen for 2023.
The FMRE Foundation is a public-private alliance whose objectives are the promotion of renowned Spanish brands, the promotion of their internationalization as a factor driving competitiveness and generating progress, and the promotion, dissemination and promotion of the image and prestige of Spain in different areas, both in Spain and abroad. The FMRE is made up, on the one hand, of the Association of Renowned Spanish Brands and, on the other, of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Industry, Trade and Tourism, as well as ICEX Spain Export and Investment, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the Spanish Tourism Institute and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce.
The agreement refers to the General Protocol of Action that both parties signed on February 15, 2021 to collaborate in the development of activities and projects to promote, disseminate and foster the image and prestige of Spain, as well as the Spanish language and culture, which are of interest to both and are related to the purposes entrusted to them.
