Encuentro anual de directores del Instituto Cervantes en La Laguna, Tenerife

Tenerife will host for the first time at the end of July, between the 27th and 31st, the annual meeting of directors of the Cervantes Institute. This summit, to be held in La Laguna and traditionally attended by Queen Letizia, will bring together almost a hundred executives of the institution. The director of the Institute, Luis García Montero, signed this Friday in the Aula Magna of the Central Building of the University of La Laguna the collaboration agreement with the three institutions of the island that will collaborate in the organization and celebration of this meeting: the aforementioned University of La Laguna, the City Council of La Laguna, and the CajaCanarias Foundation.

During the signing ceremony, the ULL rector, Francisco García, expressed the pride of being the headquarters of the Annual Meeting of Directors of the Cervantes Institute, as well as emphasizing that it is held in the Canary Islands, «the origin of the Spanish language model that spread in the New World,» which gives it a greater significance. He also emphasized that the islands play a strategic role in Spain’s relationship with Africa, and that «the Cervantes Institute can be a very important partner for this.»

On the other hand, García Montero explained that this annual meeting of the Cervantes Institute, where almost a hundred directors and managerial team gather to exchange experiences and study future possibilities, «always with pride, but without self-complacency, means turning the Institute’s network into the best ambassador of Tenerife and the Canary Islands in the world.» He also recalled that the institution works hand in hand with universities, and in this case, «being at the University of La Laguna means being in one of the great university references of the Spanish community that will soon, in 2027, celebrate its centenary.»

The acting mayor of the City Council of La Laguna, Badel Albelo, pointed out «the great opportunity that hosting this type of sessions and activities represents for the municipality, which contribute to the growth of our cultural heritage and strengthen the existing ties, both with the University of La Laguna and with the Cervantes Institute, with whom we have developed other educational and informative programs and projects in the past.»

Canarian artists such as Martín Chirino or Cristino de Vera have been exhibited at the Cervantes institutes in Rome or Paris by the CajaCanarias Foundation, as mentioned by its president, Margarita Ramos Quintana, who described it as «a real achievement that the Cervantes Institute has decided to choose these islands for its meeting, something that we receive with gratitude and as a great opportunity.»

Significant impact in the cultural sphere

In the action protocols signed by the four institutions, it is noted how this event has a significant impact in the cultural sphere, in relation to the host cities and the possibility that the meetings held there may also involve the celebration of other parallel activities.

For this reason, the agreements establish that the signing Canarian entities invite the Cervantes Institute to their headquarters or spaces for the opening, closing, work sessions, and office tasks of the support staff of the Annual Meeting of Directors, as well as to other activities that may be organized on the occasion of this meeting.

Likewise, the development of cultural activities in all their manifestations and forms of artistic expression (exhibitions, concerts, seminars, or meetings, for example) is established to showcase the cultural richness and diversity of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and, in general, the autonomous community of the Canary Islands.

The agreements also contemplate the promotion of cultural programs or initiatives developed by the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna for dissemination in the Cervantes Institute’s headquarters and its centers abroad, as well as the exchange of information on cultural projects of common interest.

Canary Islands, first time hosting the Annual Meeting of Directors

Since 2005 (except in 2020 due to the pandemic), the Cervantes Institute has been holding annual meetings with the directors of its centers abroad and all its managerial team, where they discuss their action plans for the international promotion of the Spanish language and culture.

This will be the first time it is held in the Canary Islands. So far, eleven autonomous communities have hosted these sessions: Andalusia, Catalonia, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid, Cantabria, Extremadura, La Rioja, Galicia, Basque Country, Valencian Community, Principality of Asturias, and Catalonia.