The Queen of Spain participates in the Annual Meeting of Directors of the Cervantes Institute, which "will set strategies for the future"

Queen Letizia inaugurated this Monday at the University of Granada the Annual Meeting of Directors of the Cervantes Institute, in which the heads of the organisation in Spain and around the world will establish strategies for the future to disseminate culture in Spanish and the international teaching of our language. 

Just six days after inaugurating the Cervantes Centre in Los Angeles (United States), Doña Letizia presided, for yet another year, over the opening of the annual Cervantes family summit. It will be three days of intense meetings in which they will analyse the situation, take stock of the year that is coming to an end and coordinate the common work in all the centres. 

The director of the Institute, Luis García Montero, confessed in his speech his "pride as a Granadian, a university student and a defender of Spanish in the world", as well as for having spent forty years working for "peace and the word", in reference to the poet Blas de Otero, whom he met here in 1976 when he was beginning his university career, which would lead him to become a professor at this centre.  

The Rector, Pilar Aranda, pointed out that this is the Spanish university that teaches the most languages: a total of 27, through different departments and at different levels (degrees, masters, courses...). The commitment to the language is also evident in its eleven Spanish language centres around the world, the work of its translation department, which helps our literature to be understood in other languages, and the agreements with the Cervantes (of whose Board of Trustees it forms part) so that its students can carry out work experience in the Institute's centres.    

The Mayor, Francisco Cuenca, welcomed the directors and expressed his satisfaction at making Granada, "a city of culture and humanities", the epicentre of Spanish, making the Andalusian city, "of a glorious past and full of talent", the venue for the institution's debates until next Wednesday. 

The Secretary of State for Ibero-America, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World said that these meetings "are fundamental for the exchange of ideas and experiences" between directors of centres spread across the five continents, as well as "an essential forum for the design of the institution's strategic lines". For Juan Fernández Trigo, all of this is especially important at "a key moment for Spanish", which continues to grow in number of speakers, although it will do so at a slower pace in the coming decades. It is necessary to "join forces to make Spanish a language of international prestige", in particular, to turn it into a language of science, he concluded. 

In the coming days, the year will be reviewed and an analysis will be made of "how we are emerging from the pandemic", García Montero said at the previous press conference. The COVID was a "serious blow" that forced Cervantes to transform itself, but which had the positive effect of accelerating its technological and digital transformation. This will allow the Institute to benefit from the so-called PERTE of Spanish, and has allowed its cultural activity to reach many more users: although "we are very much in favour of face-to-face attendance", if before COVID the number of people attending cultural events was around 900,000 a year, now it exceeds two million, adding those who follow these activities online. 

Another key issue will also be addressed: artificial intelligence (AI) and its influence on the Spanish language, which will be the focus of the last of the working sessions on Wednesday, given by two experts from the University of Granada: Zoraida Callejas and Juan Gómez, full professors in the Departments of Language and Computer Systems and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, respectively. In this respect, García Montero proposed a code of ethics to try to prevent technological advances from leading to supremacist or sexist biases or undermining respect for diversity. 

The opening ceremony included four brief explanations by the directors of Beijing (Isabel Cervera), Rabat (José María Martínez), Sydney (Coral Martínez Íscar) and Los Angeles (Luisgé Martín). And it closed with a performance by the Orchestra and Choir of the University of Granada, conducted by Gabriel Delgado, with the voice of soprano Laura Sabatel. 

Finally, after signing the University's book of honour, Doña Letizia held an informal meeting with the Cervantes directors and guests. The ceremony took place in the Rectorate of the University of Granada, a former hospital that the Catholic Monarchs ordered to be built for the sick, the poor and pilgrims, and whose construction began in 1511. Since 1980, this historic building has been the main headquarters of the University, which is collaborating in the organisation of the Cervantes Summit together with the City Council, the Provincial Council of Granada and Renfe. 

The working sessions begin this afternoon with the inaugural lecture by the Professor of Language Lola Pons. Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be a Lorca day, as it will take place in Fuente Vaqueros, where the directors will also visit the birthplace of the Granada poet Federico García Lorca and attend the theatrical performance "A vueltas con Lorca", by the actor Carmelo Gómez. 

On Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, will speak by videoconference at the concluding session which will take place in the Plenary Hall of Granada City Hall.  

The culmination of the annual event will be the performance of Miguel Ríos. On Wednesday, the singer will donate a personal legacy to the Cervantes Institute, which will be collected by Luis García Montero, also from Granada, who will deposit it in the Caja de las Letras at the Cervantes Institute on his return to Madrid. Miguel Ríos will also give the concert "Vuelvo a Granada" at the Isabel La Católica theatre, in which he will review the songs that have marked his professional career (free to the public until full capacity is reached). 

American Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.