miradas al exterior_18_en

An Informative Diplomatic Publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation APRIL-JUNE 2011. N˚18. www.maec.es

FOREIGN AFFAIRS > Haiti, the fight for life > Social Security within everybody's reach > Colombia and Spain, an alliance of values COOPERATION > Approval of the Development Promotion Fund CULTURE AND SOCIETY > The Colegio de San Gregorio National Museum> Pescanova, casting nets into the future INTERVIEW > Rosa Montero: “Maturing as a writer means to become more and more free"

The Cervantes Institute celebrates its anniversary as the leading institution for the promotion and teaching of the Spanish language and the dissemination of Spanish and Latin American culture, with 78 centers in 44 countries.

years of theCervantes Institute

Carmen Caffareldirector of the cervantes institute

“ The Institute opens new paths throughout the world to our cultural industry”

Trinidad JiménezMinister of foreign affairs and cooperation

“ The Cervantes Institute is the great Embassy of our cultural diplomacy"

Ángeles González-SindeMinister of culture

“ The Spanish language travels everywhere in the world, without stopping at borders”

editorial office > Director: Mª Jesús García. Editor-in-Chief: José Bodas. Artistic director, publisher and editor: Javier Hernández. Contributors: Beatriz Beeckmans, Jacobo García, Jesús Díaz, Ignacio Gómez and Virginia Castrejana. management > General Directorate for Foreign Communications Serrano Galvache, 26. 28033 MADRID. Published and printed by the Directorate General of Foreign Communication and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Total or partial reproduction prohibited without the express consent of the publisher. Miradas al Exterior is not responsible for the editorial content or for the opinions expressed by the authors. email contact> [email protected]

‘The Lady with an Ermine’: Poland in the Royal PalaceIn a summer of major exhibitions, The Lady with an Ermine, one of the few portraits painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, makes its first visit to Spain in an exhibition that spans four centuries of Polish art imported from the National Museum of Krakow to the Royal Palace Madrid. It will be open until September 4 in the temporary exhibition hall, with a total of 195 works, including paintings by Cranach and Rembrandt and also clocks, ceramics, tapestries and armor.

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50.000billion euros. The volume of exports in the first quarter of 2011, involving a rise of 23.4%, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

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450anniversary of the birth of Luis de Góngora. Acción Cultural Española has scheduled an International Congress in Poitiers (France) to commemorate the work of the Prince of Wits.

ANNIVERSARY

10September. Is the deadline for submission of applications to the United Nations Young Professionals Program which will hold a preselection event on December 7 in Madrid

THE DATE

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40 > Pablo de Azcárate. Fronton Diplomacy. 42 > State Museums: The National Museum of the College of San Gregorio 46 > Pescanova, casting nets into the future. 48 > Interview with Michelle Bachelet, Director General of UN Women. 54 > San Sebastián, European Cultural Capital

34 > ‘Portrait of Microfinance’ Exhibit.

35 > Reform of the FAD is completed. 38 > Interview with Mario Lubetkin, Director of IPS

editorial board> President: Deputy secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. First deputy chair: Director General of Foreign Communications. Second deputy chair: Technical Secretary General. Members: Chiefs of Staff of the Minister, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Latin America, Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Secretary of State for the European Union.> NIPO: 501-11-018-9

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6 > 20 years of the Cervantes Institute. A network of 78 centers in 44 countries spreads Spanish and Hispanic culture

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66 > Rosa Montero: "Reading has always been a minority pursuit, but that minority is larger today than ever"

12 > Haiti, the fight for life. 16 >Social Security within the reach of all. 20 > Know your Embassy: Spain and Colombia, an alliance of values. 24 > Interview with Gema Martín Muñoz, Director General of Casa Árabe. 32 > Interview with the Russian ambassador to Spain: Alexander Kuznetsov.

Un monstruo de yuteUn monstruo de yuteUn hombre lleva yute al mercado. Debido a que este producto es ecológico, la industria del yute está volviendo a tomar impulso. Fotografía por Jashim SalamFotografía por Jashim Salam

Ganador 2010 7

The Cervantes should be a space for coordination of foreign cultural action policies

after Mandarin Chinese, and the second most studied, after English. It is therefore a language rich in speakers, in variety, in nuances and modulations. The Spanish language is also a great source of wealth for our country. This was underlined by our Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, in his lecture last April 12 at the Cervantes Institute in Beijing, when he cited a study that estimates that "15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Spain is from wealth derived from the cultural industries that use the language of Cervantes." The culture of our country is more international than ever

Spanish culture and culture in Spanish is moving into the new information technologies by moving along the virtual highways that connect cities and people without them needing to move, and which make up the new digital map

A country's passport is its language. And Spanish travels the world without stopping at borders. Much of the credit for this goes to our ancestors, who spread Spanish as they traveled throughout the world, not only in Latin America, our sister continent, but in the other four as well. But the collective and individual conscious efforts we make to spread our language and culture are also essential.

The Cervantes Institute is the main official stronghold in this endeavor. In addition to being the means of diffusion of our language, it the great ambassador of our cultural diplomacy. An ambassador that has been active for twenty years. The first office was opened on February 14, 1992 in Paris and another seventy-six offices have followed in all continents.

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world,

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Ángeles González-SindeMINISTER OF CULTURE

Trinidad JiménezMINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND COOPERATION

of the global world in which we now live. Spanish is, as the Prince of Asturias said at the last meeting of directors of the Cervantes Institute, "the great highway that enables all who speak it to move easily through global society". Testament to this are the eight million visits to the "Cervantes Virtual Center", the premier Spanish language reference portal, created by the Cervantes Institute in 1997. Also the launch of Cervantes TV, the Cervantes Institute's Internet TV service, contributes to

The Cervantes Institute is the great ambassador of our cultural diplomacy

The diffusion of the Spanish language should be priority for the Government

Thus, the PACE is already working for Spain's cultural diplomacy through actions in several directions: promotion of our culture, dissemination of its goods and services and enhancement of our knowledge industries; promotion of cultural exchanges with other countries and promotion of cultural progress in developing countries. The four key areas that form the goals and strategies of the PACE are the promotion of heritage and cultural expressions, internationalization of cultural and creative industries, intercultural dialogue and cultural cooperation for development.

Within the PACE, the Cervantes Institute will have a key role in the diffusion of Spanish, as it not only spreads the Spanish language and culture in Spanish through a comprehensive multidisciplinary program, but also offers courses at its centers in the other Spanish languages and spreads their culture. We believe that the Cervantes should be a space for coordination of cultural action policies abroad, along with the education policies developed outside our borders by the Ministry of Education.

The Cervantes Institute is still young. It has just had its twentieth birthday and wishes to travel and communicate with the endorsement of centuries of culture in Spanish. We are confident that with the right route map, it will continue to reap success to ensure that Spanish and things Spanish maintain the best worldwide presence. Congratulations.

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generates around 800,000 jobs, accounting for almost 4% of GDP.

With the firm belief that the dissemination of Spanish culture is of incalculable strategic importance in our foreign outreach, on April 7 we promoted and presented the National Plan for Cultural Action Abroad (PACE), the first strategic government project to promote cultural and creative industries internationally.

This plan was developed with the aim of working together. The two ministries - Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Culture - the Cervantes Institute, Spanish Cultural Action (ECA) and the Ministry of Education, which will collaborate in the promotion of Spanish, want to join forces in a coordinated way with a clear objective, as noted by Carmen Caffarel, Director of the Cervantes Institute, in her presentation: "We know that working together is not addition, but multiplication of the effectiveness of a task that concerns us all."

The principle that drives the plan is the belief that Spain has the knowledge industries - language, culture and creative and cultural industries - which are outstanding assets, and that these should be strengthened through public diplomacy by using so-called "soft power." Sometimes it may seem that the results are intangible but they are crucial to the international projection of a country. Because culture can and must be used to create the right framework for international political relations based on mutual respect, dialogue and interaction.

the promotion of audiovisual cultural content in Spanish.

The dissemination of Spanish should therefore be a priority for the government. And, as knowledge of a language promotes knowledge of the culture too, so knowledge of our culture benefits knowledge of our language. Language and culture are two sides of the same coin, a currency that makes our country's image abroad profitable. That profitability is provided in wealth and jobs: the cultural sector in Spain

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yearsof the Cervantes Institute

The Cervantes Institute has been at the service of the Spanish language in all corners of the world for twenty years now, transforming itself into one of the best ambassadors for Spanish-language literature and one of the best known institutions outside of Spain thanks to its extensive cultural activity.

In honor of its twentieth anniversary, the Cervantes Institute aims to hold some 6,500 events in its 78 centers in 44 countries worldwide throughout 2011. This series of events, detailed in an ambitious Plan of Cultural Action, sees an increase of 300 over last year despite the problems caused by the economic crisis, which have led to a 2 percent reduction in the Institute's budget.

Following its publication in the Official State Bulletin (BOE), law 7/1991 created the Cervantes Institute. Today we find ourselves twenty years on from that historic publication. Since that time, the Institute has expanded to all five continents thanks to a network of 78 centers spread over 44 countries, each dedicated to the promotion and teaching of the Spanish language and the promotion of Spanish and Hispano-American culture. by Arturo Carrascosa

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IN THE FIRST PERSON Inma González Puy. Director of the Cervantes Institute in beijing

In recent years China has recognized the value of Spanish as a language for communication and a vehicle of professional integration. A series of objective factors have come together to form a momentous turning point in the growing demand for people who speak our language and know our culture. In addition to the Beijing Olympics and the Expo in Shanghai, China's intense fixation on the Spanish-speaking world, bringing thriving commercial and cooperative relations with Spain and the countries of Latin America, has led to an increase in the demand for people who are fluent in both Spanish and Mandarin.

The experience of the Cervantes Institute in China clearly reflects this growing interest in Spanish and Hispanic culture. Despite being open for just a brief period of time, the center in Beijing has seen an annual growth in the number of registrations

of over 50%, making it the second largest in the entire network. This is a reflection of the reality in China combined, of course, with the vitality and strength of our language. In a country of diligent, pragmatic and persevering people, the increasingly competitive local labor market fuels a hunger for training in languages other than English, and Spanish is very much the second foreign language.

The Cervantes Institutes in Beijing and Shanghai have also been confirmed as reference points in their host cities; spaces where people come for involvement and intercultural dialogue with local institutions and civil society. The challenge now facing us is to establish sustainable strategies to take us elsewhere in the country, with the aim of progressively tackling the huge demand for Spanish-language teaching in a country of 1.34 billion inhabitants which advocates its own model for development.

IN THE FIRST PERSON Eduardo Lago. Director of the Cervantes Institute in New York

It is perhaps in the United States that Spanish, and as such the Cervantes Institute, faces its greatest and most urgent challenge, albeit not in the immediate future. While it is not a negative, we must be up to this challenge. The publication of the official 2010 Census, carried out every ten years, has confirmed in no uncertain terms what we already knew: that the country's relationship with everything Hispanic is growing at a very fast rate. Here in the United States, Spanish is not just a foreign language but a mother tongue. If it weren't for this fact, the fate of our language would be much like that of others such as Yiddish, which, at one

time, counted 400,000 speakers yet today has disappeared. According to the Center's figures, with Spanish we are seeing the exact opposite: it is growing in both quantity and quality. The challenge facing us in such a situation is immense. No other language enjoys such a brilliant forecast, but the demand will be difficult to manage. It is important to be clear: it was obvious to me when I took this role five years ago that this is no cause for triumphalism. The term itself is absurd. It is simply the most elemental principle of reality for which New York is the perfect metaphor. My work consists of challenging these forces and ensuring that a meeting point is provided for the three streams of the language: Latin American, Spanish and indigenous Latino.

The program of events will focus on the search for new audiences - principally young people and children -, a dialogue between civilizations, a celebration of Latin American bicentennials and the optimization of the participation of all those involved in cultural activity abroad. During the presentation of the aforementioned Plan of Cultural Action, the director of the Cervantes Institute, Carmen Caffarel, stated that "despite the difficult economic and financial crisis of recent years, in 2010 the Cervantes Institute was able to increase its budget with regards to the previous year thanks to the patronage its centers have been able to secure". She also highlighted the importance of encouraging "the search for patrons and external funding to allow an increase in the Institute's cultural activity". For 2011, the Cervantes Institute has a global budget of 103 million euros.

Caffarel indicated that within the Cervantes Institute's activities intercultural dialogue will be promoted through exhibitions such as Testigos del olvido, which focuses on the horror experienced in many areas in the world and which will be open to the public at the Institution's headquarters. In this exhibition, eight great authors including Mario Vargas Llosa, Sergio Ramírez, Laura Esquivel, Manuel Vicent and Juan José Millas, tell stories of conflicts and forgotten dramas. This section also includes the film series 'Oriental fantasies in Spanish cinema' which demonstrates the constant dialogue between the East and Spanish filmmaking. There will be an exhibition on poetry and the mystical by Alberto Corazón based on the songs of the Soul of St. John of the Cross, in which the Madrid-born artist presents pictorial works and objects that emphasize the links between poetic creation and artistic language, and a highly interesting combination of gastronomy and literature with 'The savor of words', a series of round tables that will discuss the extremely Mediterranean fusion of letters and dishes.

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Another axis of the Institute's program will be the commemoration of the Bicentennials of the Independence of Latin American nations, with exhibitions which will tour a number of the Institute's centers throughout the world. Also worth highlighting is the exhibit 'Encubrimientos', composed of the work of ten photographers chosen by the PhotoEspaña judges.

Furthermore, in all Cervantes Institutes activities will be held to commemorate significant anniversaries or centenaries such as the 25th anniversary of the death of Jorge Luis Borges, the Antonio Gades Year, the centenary of the birth of Ernesto Sábato, and the Year of Spain in Russia and Russia in Spain.

Among the activities to be organized by the Institute for young people and children is the celebration of the Cervantes Day for Infant and Youth Literature on May 25th. In the same vein, throughout the year the Institute will be organizing workshops on illustration and storytelling as part of the 'Wolves and dragons' series. Also

new is the project on the past and present of Spanish video games, which offers a reflection on the pluralistic image of Spain and the diverse cultural content found in Spanish and Hispanic videogames.

Also planned is the opening of new centers, such as the one in Hamburg, and the Aulas in Dakar and Nicosia, aimed at attracting the youngest members of society.

The box of Letters. One of the Institute's most innovative initiatives, the so-called Box of Letters, was started in 2007 and asks authors, artists, literary figures and others to donate or lend personal writings, photos and documents. To date, Cervantes Prizewinners Francisco Ayala, Antonio Gamoneda, Ana María Matute, Juan Gelman, Juan Marsé and José Emilio Pacheco,, as well as authors José Manuel Caballero Bonald and

> 1991. March 21. Publication in the BOE of Law 7/1991, creating the Cervantes Institute. September 13. Historian Nicolás Sánchez-Albornoz is named director of the Cervantes Institute. > 1992. February 14.The Cervantes Institute opens in Paris. October 7. The Congress on the Spanish Language is held in Seville as part of the closing ceremony of the Universal Exposition. > 1993. January 27. Cervantes Institutes are opened in Casablanca, Fez, Rabat, Tangiers and Tetouan. March 27. The Cervantes

Institute opens in Lisbon. April 5. The Cervantes Institute opens in Algiers. September 28. Cervantes Institutes open in London and Cairo. > 1994. March 10. The Cervantes Institute opens in Munich. March 24. The Cervantes Institute opens in Vienna. April 20. The Cervantes Institute opens in Athens. May 6. The Infanta Elena opens the Cervantes Institute in Manila. June 15. The Cervantes Institute opens in Damascus. June 16. Cervantes Institutes open in Amman and Beirut. October

26. The Minister for Culture, Carmen Alborch, opens Cervantes Institutes in Milan, Naples and Rome. November 4. The Foreign Minister, Javier Solana, opens the Cervantes Institute in Warsaw. November 10. The Cervantes Institute opens in Tunis. > 1995. January 25. Prime Minister Felipe González opens the Cervantes Institute in Bucharest. February 7. The Irish President Mary Robinson and the Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana open the Cervantes Institute in Dublin. September 22. The Cervantes Institute opens in Bremen. > 1996. May 17. Author and diplomat Santiago de

Mora-Figueroa, Marqués de Tamarón, is named director of the Cervantes Institute. June 3. The Cervantes Institute opens in Toulouse. October 29. The Cervantes Institute opens in Chicago. > 1997. February 18. Prime Minister José María Aznar opens the Cervantes Institute in Utrecht. April 7. The 1st International Congress on the Spanish Language is held in Zacatecas (Mexico) with the title «Language and the Communication Media». June 19. The Cervantes Institute opens in Manchester. December 7. Prime Minister José María Aznar inaugurates the Virtual Cervantes Center (CVC)

KEy DATES IN THEINSTITuTE'S HISTORy

From leFt to rIght, the mInIsters For ForeIgn AFFAIrs, Culture And eduCAtIon, FrAnCIsCo Fernández or-

dóñez, Jorge semprún And JAvIer solAnA respeCtIvely, Attend the press ConFerenCe For the presentA-

tIon oF the CervAntes InstItute proJeCt, mAy 1990. photo eFe

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> 1998. January 28. Prime Minister José María Aznar opens the Cervantes Institute in Brussels. June 29. José María Aznar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu open the Cervantes Institute in Tel Aviv. > 1999. April 23. Journalist and Professor Fernando R. Lafuente is named director of the Cervantes Institute. > 2000. May 12. Inauguration of the Institute's first Aula Cervantes in Sofia (Bulgaria). > 2001. March 23. Author and professor Jon Juaristi is named director of the Cervantes Institute. September 17. Prime Minister José María Aznar, and his Turkish counterpart, Bulen

Ecevit, open the Cervantes Institute in Istanbul. October 16. The second International Congress on the Spanish Language is held in Valladolid under the title «Spanish in the Information Society». > 2002. February 6. The Prince of Asturias, the wife of the Russian President, Ludmila Putina, and the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, open the Cervantes Institute in Moscow. > 2003. March 18. The Prince of Asturias opens the Cervantes Institute in Berlin. October 10. The Prince of Asturias opens the Cervantes Institute's new center in New York. November 12. The Prince of Asturias opens the

Cervantes Institute in Lyon. > 2004. May 14. Author, professor and journalist César Antonio Molina is named director of the Cervantes Institute. September 8. The Prince and Princess of Asturias open the Cervantes Institute in Budapest. November 17 The third International Congress on the Spanish Language is held in Rosario (Argentina) under the title «Linguistic Identity and Globalization». December 13. The Center for Teacher Training is opened in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). December 20. The Prince and Princess of Asturias and the President of Serbia

and Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic, open the Cervantes Institute in Belgrade. > 2005. February 24. The Prince and Princess of Asturias and the Brazilian Education Minister, Tarso Genro, open the Cervantes Institute in São Paulo. April 19. The Prince and Princess of Asturias and Princess Victoria of Sweden open the Cervantes Institute in Stockholm. June 1. The Cervantes Institute and five other great European cultural institutes are awarded the Príncipe de Asturias Award for Communication and the Humanities. September 12. The Prince and Princess of Asturias open the Cervantes

Carlos Edmundo de Ory have taken part. Similarly, painter Antoni Tàpies, Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso, cineaste Luis García Berlanga, researcher Margarita Salas, composer Cristóbal Halffter and actor Manuel Alexandre have all made contributions. To mark the anniversary on March 21 2011, Catalan literary agent Carmen Balcells became the 16th personality from the worlds of Spanish and Latin-American culture to leave a legacy to the Box of Letters. May and June of this year saw the involvement of the world of theatre, through the contribution made by Nuria Espert, and Spanish dance, with Victor Ullate. The Box of Letters will soon receive legacies from chef Juan Mari Arzak, researcher Mariano Barbacid, painter Antonio López, guitarist Paco de Lucía and tenor Plácido Domingo.

Celebration of E Day. On June 18 the Cervantes Institute celebrated its third E Day in its 78 centers throughout 44 countries on all five continents. E Day celebrates the wealth of this language spoken by 500 million people.

However, its use is not limited to the 21 countries which count it as an official language. In the European Union (without including Spain), almost 30 million people have some level of competency in spoken Spanish. On the American continent, leaving aside the Hispanic nations, if we were to visit Brazil we would find some 5.5 million young people who could hold a conversation with us in Spanish. Figures from the United States, which has some 40 million Spanish speakers, estimate that by 2050 it will be the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. There are also significant signs that point to the good health of the language in Asia. Countries such as South Korea and China are seeing an annual rise in the number of students learning the language. In fact, in China there are already almost 20,000 students of Spanish. Since its foundation in 2006, the Cervantes Institute in Beijing has seen a year-on-year doubling in the number of students.

The celebrations for E Day began

with the launch of the traditional 'Lluvia de palabras' ("shower of words") from all centers outside Spain, beginning at 11am (local time for each center) and continuing for the entire day with a full program of cultural activities for all audiences.

In Madrid, the director of the Cervantes Institute, Carmen Caffarel, together with the Minister for Culture, Ángeles González-Sinde, and the Secretary of State for the European Union, Diego López Garrido, opened the festivities at the Institute's headquarters in Alcalá, Madrid, with a 'lluvia de palabras' or 'shower of words'. After this, the celebration continued to the rhythm of Latin music with performances by the group Los Chocolatinos and El Barrio DJ, accompanied by teachers from the Capital's best dance schools. For several hours the central street became an enormous dance floor, whilst the youngest of partygoers could enjoy the Pintando palabras activity, in which they had their faces painted with their favorite word. There was also the Spanish Game which allowed them to

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demonstrate their ability to compose words and their knowledge of our vocabulary.

Throughout the world, visitors to the Institute's 78 centers enjoyed events such as the appearance of Nobel Prizewinner Mario Vargas Llosa at the Beijing center, where he began the writing of a collective story. In Tunisia there was an accent competition; in Bordeaux, there was a concert by Julieta Venegas and Natalia Lafourcade; in Frankfurt they celebrated the opening of Spanish Week, with the Sangre Nueva Jóvenes Flamencos project; Berlin hosted a “poetic conversation with Silvio Rodríguez”; in Athens there was a meeting with Cuban writer Reinaldo Montero, and Curitiba provided the backdrop for an exhibition on caricatures. Also, throughout the day students from eighteen Cervantes Institutes took part in the Spanish Game league. The tournament's winner won a trip to several Andalusian cities, a prize that will also be enjoyed by the winner of the online version, a Spanish player who won after competing online with people from all over the world.

«Querétaro» is the favorite word in Spanish. Since May 18, the interactive platform http://www.eldiae.es/ has received some 141,000 hits from 150 countries and 4,146 cities. Of these visitors, 33,000 voted to decide which of the 30 words put forward by Spanish-speaking personalities was

Institute in Prague. > 2006. February 12 The Prince and Princess of Asturias and the President of Bulgaria, Gueorgui Parvanov, open the Cervantes Institute in Sofia. June 5. The Prince and Princess of Asturias open the Cervantes Institute in Palermo. July 14. The Prince and Princess of Asturias open the Cervantes Institute in Beijing. October 11. The King and Queen of Spain, the Infanta Elena and Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero open the Cervantes Institute's new headquarters in Madrid. > 2007. July 13. Professor of Audiovisual Communication

and Doctor in Hispanic Linguistics Carmen Caffarel is named director of the Cervantes Institute. July 17. The Prince opens Cervantes Institutes in Brasilia, Salvador de Bahía, Curitiba and Porto Alegre. October 30. The Prince and Princess of Asturias open the Cervantes Institute in Marrakesh. November 14 The Prince and Princess of Asturias open the Miguel de Cervantes Library in Shanghai. > 2008. February 12 Inauguration of Cervantes Television (http://www.cervantestv.es/) attended by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Education and

Culture. May 7. The Prince and Princess of Asturias open the new facilities in the Warsaw Cervantes Institute. September 22. The Prince and Princess open the Cervantes Institute in Frankfurt. November 11 The King and Queen of Spain open the Cervantes Institute in Tokyo. > 2009. June 25. The King and Queen of Spain open the Cervantes Institute in Sydney, the first in Oceania. October 7. The Prince and Princess open the Chicago Cervantes Institute's new premises. November 11 The Prince and Princess open the Cervantes Institute in New

Delhi. November 19 The Prince and Princess open the new facilities at the Rabat Cervantes Institute. > 2010. March 2. The date set for the Fifth International Congress on the Spanish Language (Valparaíso, Chile), which was eventually held online after the country was hit by an earthquake. May 19. Queen doña Sofía opens the new facilities at the Athens Cervantes Institute. > 2011. March 21. The Cervantes Institute celebrates 20 years as the first global institution dedicated to the teaching and promotion of Spanish.

their favorite. Querétaro, proposed by Mexican actor Gael García Bernal, received the most votes. Sueño (dream), gracias (thank you) and libertad (freedom) were the runners-up, and were put forward by Luis Rojas Marcos, Raphael and Mario Vargas Llosa respectively.

Celebrating the latest Spanish Day at the Cervantes Institute headquarters. photo eFe

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20 years of the Cervantes Institute

2011 sees the Cervantes Institute celebrate a very special anniversary: 20 years since its foundation. If we look back in an objective and impartial way, we can see that its story is one of success.

Over these 20 years of intense work, the Institute has shown itself to be “the best cultural expression of democracy”, in the words of author Antonio Muñoz Molina. The Cervantes Institute has known how to drive, promote, channel and support the international expansion of our common language. It is no coincidence that during this time the language has become the Spanish product most in demand internationally.

Society has recognized the Institute's work for the promotion of Spanish and Hispanic language and culture, leading it to be awarded numerous accolades. The most recent was its being conferred the status of Honorary Ambassador of the Spanish Brand by the Renowned Brands Forum. It recently accepted this award at a ceremony attended by The Prince and Princess of Asturias in which awards were also given to the national soccer team, Rafael Nadal, Santiago Calatrava and the Prince of Asturias Foundation.

The story of the work undertaken in the last 20 years will soon be told in a book on the Institute. So here I would simply like to note two unquestioned facts: the more than 200,000 registrations of

students wishing to learn Spanish that we receive every year and the 6,200 cultural activities we organize involving some 3,500 personalities.

During this time, the Cervantes Institute has pursued a policy of geographical expansion leading to a presence in 77 cities throughout 44 countries, in addition to its headquarters in Madrid and Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). 2011 will see the official inauguration of centers in Hamburg, Krakow and Gibraltar, the Aula Cervantes in Dakar and the new premises for the center in Rio de Janeiro. Aulas Cervantes are also planned for Seoul and Nicosia.

Its online presence is realized through the Institute's Multimedia Platform, made up of 85 portals including the veteran Centro Virtual Cervantes (cvc.cervantes.es), which has 18 million annual hits, and Cervantes Televisión (cervantestv.es), which broadcasts online 24/7. Another initiative worth mentioning is the recent creation of the Cervantes Circle of Friends, as a new means of additional private fundraising. The Circle offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to become more actively involved with the international promotion of Spanish and our culture. In exchange, the Institute takes the names of those businesses all over the world and contributes to their promotion and growth prospects. By taking our cultural identity and diversity all over the world, we

are opening new paths abroad for our cultural industries. One of the largest is that generated by the Spanish language, which is rapidly expanding, which opens markets and accounts for almost 16% of national GDP. Books, music, film, theatre and television are all means of promoting our language.

The Cervantes Institute transmits the image of a modern country that is open and full of opportunities. The Institute constitutes a network that has opened its doors to the future, to that which is new, because today Spanish brings a message of modernity to the world. However, we must not forget that the Spanish language does not just belong to us: its strength, charm and enormous potential lies in the fact that we share it with so many millions in the Western Hemisphere.

When the Cervantes Institute was founded in 1991, there were 300 million Spanish speakers. Today there are 500 million and Spanish is the second most studied language in the world, the second in terms of international relations and the third most used on the Internet. The figures say it all.

Having completed its first twenty years, the Cervantes Institute now works with renewed vigor to reach its ultimate goal: strengthening Spain's presence in the world and promoting a positive image of our country.

When the Cervantes Institute was founded in 1991, there were 300 million Spanish speakers. Today there are 500 million.

Carmen Caffareldirector of the cervantes institute

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The African character of Haiti refers to many of its customs, its religious traditions such as Voodoo, the roots of its music and its lively street markets. If we look over its history, very closely linked to the African continent, and the Haitians' vindication of that character since they proclaimed the first black republic at the beginning of the 19th century, it is the only conclusion that can be drawn. Before that time, Haiti, which up to that point had been called Saint Domingue, had suffered brutal exploitation at the hands of slavery and the rule of a tiny white French minority over the black population. However, as is so often the case, the independence of the metropolis did not signify the end of injustice and oppression. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Haiti's history was tinged with revolts, wars, coups d'état, limitless corruption and military invasions. In short, social violence and economic poverty. All of this, without counting the uncontrollable forces of nature in the form of hurricanes, storms and earthquakes, which in Haiti's case have always come up against a defenseless society and a

non-existent state. One only needs to read a classic book such as The Kingdom of This World, by Alejo Carpentier, or a contemporary novel, such as The Island Beneath the Sea, by Isabel Allende, to comprehend the reasons that have driven Haiti to its devastating, yet hope-filled, present situation.

However, this scene belongs to the past, and the current reality for the Caribbean country is that it is described as being the poorest in the Americas, where 80% of its population scrapes a living on less than two dollars a day and basic services are notable by their absence. It is true that figures, sometimes, lead to cold statistics, but some are very revealing. Such as five private ambulances being the only option for health transport in a country of around 10 million inhabitants, the lack of treatment against cancer, or the non-existent dialysis service. In short, apart from the very rich, who can afford the cost of a health insurance policy in Miami or the neighboring Dominican Republic, the rest of the population is condemned to die from illnesses that in the developed world

When landing in Port-au-Prince airport, one has the sensation of having arrived in a country in the heart of black Africa. But that impression is not only a result of the race of the vast majority of Haitians; direct decedents of African slaves taken to the Caribbean during the centuries of French colonization.by Miguel Ángel Villena

Haiti, the fight for life

can be treated in a hospital or even a pharmacy. Health care in Haiti is dreadful to the point that the current health system relies on the cooperation of countries such as Cuba and Spain or rests on the backs of humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders. For international cooperation or any foreign visitor it is rewarding to see that their aid is serving to maintain, at least, a minimum level of health care. Because on occasions the ultimate goal of cooperation is forgotten and for that reason work in hospitals, such as that in the region of Leogane, in the area surrounding Port-au-Prince, restores some winds of optimism to a few kilometers of the beaches of the

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Caribbean. However, the scarcity of Haitian doctors or nurses in health centers brings back the sense of pessimism. “Most Haitian university graduates”, says a spokesperson for Spanish cooperation, “abandon the country to look for work in the United States, Canada or Europe.” There is no country can withstand a brain drain of that enormity.

For all of the above reasons, when the earth opened up abruptly in Port-au-Prince and the nearby regions in the afternoon of January 12, 2010, it seemed the earthquake had come to finish off an already ruined country. The catastrophe deeply shocked the world and put Haiti back on the map of international concern after several

years in which a UN peace-keeping mission had been deployed, namely MINUSTAH, and there had been a reasonable level of political stability, which had allowed for certain degree of hope. Around 300,000 deaths, countless injuries and huge masses of people who had lost their homes and what few belongings they had, required an unprecedented international cooperation mobilization. The images of the tragedy and devastation poured onto televisions and newspapers for months and sparked a vast amount of solidarity. Spain and the Spanish people were not left behind and from government to NGOs, including Autonomous Communities, city councils, the media, trade unions,

companies and sports and cultural associations, they bent over backwards to provide assistance to Haiti. The government, represented by the then Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, and the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Soraya Rodríguez, committed 345 million euros to emergency and reconstruction operations. Of that commitment, pledged at the New York Donors' Conference in March 2010, 196 million has already been sent. This has been focused on alleviating the initial effects of the earthquake and on sectors such as water, sanitation and education. In relation to this, it is worth remembering that Spain was the third largest bilateral donor in

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Music for Haiti's hope

It is not strange that in some Latin American countries musicians are elected to senior public positions. The popularity of these artists, the wide-ranging influence of the music on culture and daily life and the commitment many intellectuals have to their communities would explain the reasons behind this phenomenon. Examples of which include, among others, Gilberto Gil, in Brazil; or Rubén Blades, in Panama. The most recent case is that of Michel Martelly, who became the president of Haiti in May this year among the fervor of his supporters who have placed him in the Caribbean country's most senior position after a long and turbulent electoral process that took over half a year. The arrival of a popular and charismatic

musician such as Martelly to the presidency could, without a doubt, mean the beginning of phase of democratic consolidation for Haiti, profound reforms in Haitian society and increased collaboration with the international community. It is important to highlight that it is the first time in the country's troubled history that a peaceful and democratic transition between two presidents has taken place: the outgoing Rene Preval and the incoming Michel Martelly. This transition therefore symbolizes democratic regularity following a second round of clean, transparent and unquestioned elections, in which Martelly received around 60% of popular support. That image reveals in some way the progress made in the country's reconstruction process, which

must not be limited solely to an immense physical task, but must also include the creation of new social and political structures in Haiti.

The task will not be easy for the new president in this Caribbean country ravaged for decades by armed conflicts, coups d'état, natural disasters and corrupt governments. It goes without saying that the devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010 which cost almost 300,000 lives and destroyed a large part of the country, represented a before and after in Haiti's history. However, the underlying problems in the poorest country in the Americas go back a long way. Nevertheless, in his favor Martelly has the support of the most dynamic and

The arrival of a popular and charismatic musician such as Martelly to the presidency could, without a doubt, mean the beginning of phase of democratic consolidation for Haiti

Soraya RodríguezSeCretAry oF StAte For InternAtIonAl CooPerAtIon

Haiti before the earthquake, behind the United States and Canada, and that the Caribbean country figured as a priority for the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation. It is very true that one year and a half after the earthquake, the signs of the reconstruction are late in arriving, but one has to take into account that in Haiti's case we are talking about almost refounding a country, after providing housing to accommodate the almost 600,000 people affected, who continue to live in tents. A figure which has indeed reduced by half over this period. As one journalist said on a visit to Haiti several months ago, the problem in that country is where to start.

This reconstruction process, which should be measured more in terms of decades than years, has been made more complicated by the political and social processes that Haiti has experienced since autumn 2011, with several calls for election, fraud accusations, disturbances due to the results and the intervention of the international community to guarantee a free and fair democracy. All of this in the middle of an outbreak of a cholera epidemic, which fortunately has been neutralized. After several shaky months, Haiti again has a new president elected in free elections. Last May, Michel Martelly, a popular Kompa musician

(Kompa is the indigenous Haitian rhythm) received the presidential sash from his predecessor, Rene Preval. It undoubtedly represents an encouraging sign of normality and reconstruction for the international community, since it is the first time in the history of Haiti in which a peaceful transfer of powers has taken place between two leaders elected at the booths. As international cooperation coordinators point out, refounding requires infrastructures and services, but also democracy, an essential condition for rebuilding Haiti. Because the temptation or the risk of the poorest country in the Americas becoming a lucky protectorate for an indefinite

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open sectors of Haitian society and a margin of trust from the international community and the leading donor countries which have driven forward free and democratic elections. Therefore, compared with the traditional Haitian political class, Martelly can represent a new form of government, a different style. The new president, with whom I had the opportunity to interview on behalf of the government at the beginning of his coming to power, is aware that Haiti's future is in the hands of the Haitians. In this sense, one of his priority objectives involves linking the sizeable Haitian Diaspora to the process of refounding the country because it is worth remembering that 80% of university graduates from Haiti reside abroad, above all in the United States, Canada and Europe. It is clear that, under these conditions, the future of any country would be burdened. In the same way, the new Haitian authorities are acutely aware of the fact that the reconstruction effort is condemned to failure if it does not have the backing of the international community.

The terrible earthquake in Haiti generated the largest solidarity movement with a foreign country ever recorded in Spain. From the government and the public institutions to thousands of anonymous citizens, involving the NGOs and other civil society organizations, they all bent over backwards to alleviate the effects of one of the greatest tragedies of modern times. As a consequence, Spain committed 345 million euros to emergency and reconstruction for the 2010-2013 period at the Donors' Conference held in New York in March last year. Spain has paid out 196 million euros up to now, both through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as through the funding of NGO projects. Spain has focused its development cooperation on sectors such as water and sanitation, education and health, and in regions such as Port-au-Prince and the south-east of the country. Not counting the fact that I understand the puzzlement and even the indignation of many Spanish citizens who criticize the slowness in the rebuilding of Haiti.

However, I have to clarify that the international cooperation and Official Development Assistance (ODA) operations are measured more in terms of decades than in months or years. In any case, Spanish citizens must know that all the aid sent to Haiti or any developing country is subject to exhaustive checks, both national and international, in such a way that few budgets are subject to greater vigilance than those intended for international cooperation.

Consequently, we international cooperation managers have learned to be marathon runners and look to the long-term instead of burning ourselves out in a short distance sprint. Because of all of this, when the horror of an earthquake such as that of Haiti disappears from the media agenda, it is vital to maintain the effort to not forget that devastated country that deserves an opportunity for a future. Even more so if a popular musician has come to power with an air of hope and democracy.

When the horror of an earthquake such as that of Haiti disappears from the media agenda, it is vital to maintain the effort to not forget that devastated country.

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period of time are appearing on the horizon. Therefore, donor countries are insisting that the international community must accompany, but not take the lead in, the refounding of the country. “Haiti's future must be in the hands of the Haitians”, the Secretary of State, Soraya Rodríguez, has often stated. That is why it is so important that one of the of the new president's primary objectives is to recover the Haitian Diaspora and involve them in the reconstruction process. Without entrepreneurs, technician or professionals, the immense task of rescuing the country from the well of poverty and under-development, will be a wasted effort.

The question marks over the validity of international cooperation are always found on the table, in the discussions, meetings and proceedings organized by the thousands of helpers and volunteers who have attended the rescue in Haiti, from all corners of the world, over the last year and a half. But the desolation that their mountains of trash, unchanneled floods, the effective absence of public services or the existence of a highly fragile state contrast with the vitality of a people who fight everyday for life, who are able to set up a market stall and are capable of washing and dressing their children so they can attend school with their uniforms clean. Perhaps

this is the best example of the courage of the Haitians and the image that most surprises all visitors: the tidiness of the school children. “Haiti's most valuable asset is the energy, lust for life and desire to continue forward of the Haitians. In spite of all the disasters, their fight for life is capable of overcoming the enormous difficulties”. These opinions of a Red Cross manager in Haiti are echoed by all the cooperation agents, from political leaders to the humblest volunteer. International aid has helped to prevent the Haitians from falling into the flames of hell. Now it is about, among other things, ensuring that they can reach that beautiful Caribbean sky.


Currently, the working life of many millions of people flows between different countries. Migratory movements commonly harm the protective action that the Social Security provides to workers, given that different national migratory systems are governed by the territoriality principle; that is, it is applied to the population that is established in the country itself. Thus, unceasing migratory activity prevents workers from completing the minimum contribution periods required to be entitled to receive benefits. This situation is particularly prevalent in the countries of Latin America; the region with the highest net emigration rate in the world.

As a result, the Ibero-American Social Security Organization (OISS) has been working for years to establish a Multilateral Social Security Agreement that provides protection to the individual rights of millions of migrant workers and their families, in highly sensitive areas such as the guarantee to financial security in situations of old age, disability or death. The agreement will enable contribution periods completed in different countries to be added together in order to access benefits

On May 1 this year, the Ibero-American Multilateral Social Security Agreement came into force, which promotes coverage for legal migrant workers, as well as their family members and beneficiaries. The implementation of this agreement represents a significant achievement in the development of international social security law. by Miradas al exterior

Social security within everybody's reach

and offer the alternative of receiving them in a country other than that in which they were earned, thereby establishing equal treatment of all people, irrespective of their nationality as a basic principle.

The Ibero-American Multilateral Social Security Agreement. The origin of the Ibero-American Multilateral Social Security Agreement stems from the 5th Conference of Ministers and Senior Social Security Managers of the Countries of Ibero-America, held in Segovia (Spain) in 2005, and from the agreements that arose from the 15th and 16th Ibero-American Summits of Heads of State and Government, which led to the approval of the text of the Multilateral Agreement by the Heads of State and Government at the 17th Ibero-American Summit of Santiago in Chile, in November 2007.

The agreement has been set up as a regulatory base for what will be one of the most important binding legal instruments established to date by the Ibero-American Community. Fourteen countries have signed it: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain,

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Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Uruguay and Venezuela. Eight countries have ratified it: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain (February 12, 2010) Paraguay and Portugal. And to date, Spain (October 13, 2010), Bolivia (April 18, 2011) and Brazil (May 19, 2011) are the only three countries that have signed the Implementation Agreement.

The Ibero-American Social Security Organization (OISS). The OISS is a technical and specialized international organization, which aims to promote


the social and economic well-being of Ibero-American countries and all those linked together by the Spanish and Portuguese language, through coordinating, exchanging and making use of their mutual experience in Social Security and, generally, in the area of social protection.

The first records of the OISS date back to the First Ibero-American Conference held in Barcelona in 1950. There, a secretariat was created to support further conferences that would be named the Ibero-American Social Security Commission; but it was at the Second Ibero-American Conference, held in Lima (Peru) in 1954, where the OISS Constitutional Charter was approved, with the presence of the most of the countries included in the region, together with representatives of institutions such as the ILO, OAS and ISSA.

From that date forward, the organization began its activities with a temporary structure and provisional statutes that were approved at the Third Ibero-American Social Security Conference, held in Quito, Ecuador, in November 1958; establishing itself, from that time, as an international organization which has been evolving with the passage of time to provide a response, throughout its history, to

the needs arising in the area of social security and offer the closest and most effective collaboration to its composite institutions.

Noteworthy among the OISS's most important functions, which are set out in its statutes, are the promotion of actions for the progressive universalization of social security; cooperation in the development social security systems, as well as their study, research and perfecting; the adoption of agreements between the member states; the relations with other international organizations and bodies that are involved with social security the promotion of international standards that assist coordination between the systems and encourage the internationalization of the right to social security and the periodic calling and organization of the Ibero-American Social Security Conference.

OISS activities. The development of social protection and the modernization of management are two challenges that the OISS aims to tackle by working in different areas.

Human resources training, through master's degrees in partnership with universities and specialized courses in social protection that are run

through Regional Action Centers and National Offices. Cooperation, assistance and technical support for the modernization of the management of social security systems, through technical consultancy and inter-institutional visits.

In addition to the Ibero-American Multilateral Social Security Agreement, the OISS champions other programs to promote development of social security in Ibero-America. These include the Ibero-American Strategy for Health and Safety at Work, a basic instrument to establish, by way of consensus, the general framework in which health and safety policies are implemented in the region in the medium to long term (2010-2013). Also, the Bank of Information on Social Security Systems, which contains an informative comparative analysis of the main areas that influence and affect the development of these systems, and the Elderly Adult Project, aimed at creating a space for collaborative work in which the organizations responsible for caring for the elderly in the countries of the Ibero-American community make progress in analyzing situations and identifying the needs and demands of the elderly and/or dependent adults.

Family photo of the Ibero-American Summit in Salamanca in 2005, the origin of the Ibero-American Multilateral Social Security Agreement.

An unpublished experience

The internationalization of the financial world, significant migratory movements and the proliferation of transnational companies, highlight the limitations in the coverage of social security systems developed from the perspective of the nation state in the area of social protection. These systems, which are governed by the territoriality principle, protect those citizens whose working life is mostly carried out in their own country.

The Ibero-American Community is the region with the highest rate of net emigration in the world: in 2005, 25 million migratory movements were recorded, according to figures from ECLAC, and this means the working life of a great number of citizens is generally passing between various countries. This circumstance can make the likelihood of accessing a contributory pension more difficult, especially in old age, despite have made contributions throughout your professional life, by requiring the completion of a minimum contribution period (shortfall) to be entitled to the benefit.

The question throws up serious consequences from a social rights viewpoint, underlining the need for social security to provide a response that takes into account, disregarding national borders, all of the contributory efforts made in different countries with the purpose of being granted entitlement. Adding to this, the fact that in the Ibero-American sphere the bilateral agreements are not very

developed (23% of those that would be needed to cover the relations between the countries) and that employment relationships are acquiring an ever more multinational dimension.

The Ibero-American Social Security Agreement project, which the Ibero-American Social Security Organization has been demanding for quite a few years, was promoted by Spain at the Meeting of Ministers and Ibero-American Summit of Salamanca in 2005. Its content was approved unanimously by the senior social security managers invited to Iquique and by the Heads of State and Government at the Summit of Santiago (Chile) in 2007. Two years later, at the Lisbon meetings, the all clear was given to the content of Implementation Agreement. Currently, the agreement has been ratified by Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Paraguay, Portugal, Venezuela and Uruguay, having entered into force on May 1, 2011. Its effective implementation is already a reality in Spain, Bolivia and Brazil, who have signed the Implementation Agreement. The rest of the countries are expected to be incorporated soon.

The content of the agreement, which is the result of the effort and contribution made by the representatives of all of the countries and the technical assistance of the OISS, provides for: a) Equal treatment irrespective of nationality; b) The adding together

of contribution periods accredited in different countries, thereby guaranteeing the conservation of rights in the acquisition process and distributing their cost pro rata temporis, that is, in proportion to the time worked in each of the countries; c) The guarantee of the conservation of the acquired rights, meaning that benefits are not lost by moving to another country; d) The applicable legislation that workers will be subject to, governing the principle of lex loci laboris with some exceptions, clarifying the situation of workers who provide services or carry out work temporarily outside of their country of origin; e) The implementation of the provisions that are most favorable to the worker in the event that there are other existing agreements; f) Administrative and technical collaboration between managing institutions to help with the management of beneficiaries.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the Ibero-American Multilateral Agreement, which coordinates but does not amend or replace national legislation constitutes an unpublished experience because it means a social security agreement between countries with markedly different models, in an area in which there is no previous political association that assists the legal framework that could provide it with support, a reason which has demanded the involvement of each and every one of the parties, and its ratification -or joining- requires it to be incorporated as national legislation in each of the countries.

The project, which has been debated for years, was promoted by Spain at the Ibero-American Summit in Salamanca in 2005.

Adolfo JiménezGenerAl SeCretAry oF tHe oISS

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Colombia and Spain, an alliance of valuesIn 1499 Alonso de Ojeda embarked on his first voyage to South America, less than seven years after Rodrigo de Triana would visit the Americas for the first time. De Ojeda, on board with Juan de la Cosa and Américo Vespucio, navigated the coasts of Guajira that same year; arid lands and clear skies which did not in any way convey the exuberance of the territory they had just discovered. The land of Colombia.

Today, over 500 years later, and 200 years since Spain's declaration of independence, Colombia is a vibrant country, blessed with huge natural and human resources; a lively and energetic country, which faces its promising future with optimism.

In 2010, the Columbian people elected Juan Manuel Santos as their president. With Santos they opted to give a new impetus to the policies initiated by Álvaro Uribe, based on the concept of democratic security and economic liberalization. The election of Santos reflects the hopes of the Colombian people, the spirit of reconciliation evident in the Law of Victims and the

DISCOVER YOUR EMbASSY Common interests, parallel viewpoints, but above all, a shared history and culture. Colombia and Spain have excellent relations, a result of sharing parallel historic paths and being in close proximity. With the arrival of democracy in Spain, both countries renewed their relationship, which was established on an equal footing and with the ambition of being maintained over time. The second largest investor in the country, the second largest donor and the third most popular destination for Colombian migration, Spain is a strategic partner of Colombia. by Jesús Díaz Carazo

inclusion of human rights as a central theme of his politics.

Santos's new presidency has been characterized by reconciliation in the international arena, with an open, balanced and global agenda. Following the crisis of 2008 with Venezuela and Ecuador, Colombia reestablished diplomatic relations with both countries. At the same time, the country is getting more involved in the region, with a more active role in organizations such as UNASUR.

One of Colombia's most remarkable features is the drive of its economy in recent years. The political situation has favored increased liberalization and a great economic openness. The increase in public safety, tax incentives, a greater legal security and good macroeconomic management are responsible for a 500% increase in direct foreign investment (DFI) over the last six years. In addition to this is the signing of a number of free trade agreements with countries such as the US and Canada or with organizations such as the European Union and the EFTA. As a result,

today Colombia is the fourth largest economy in Latin America and the 28th internationally, with economic growth that has remained positive despite the world economic crisis. Growth which has been recognized by its inclusion in CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa), a group of emerging economies with a particular dynamism.

But for Spain, the most remarkable feature is its consistent link with the Caribbean country. First and foremost is its cultural link. The Republic of Colombia is the third largest Spanish-speaking country in terms of number of speakers, very close behind Spain, and is known for the care with which it treats its language. With Gabriel García Márquez, Spanish words have been awarded with the Nobel Prize and with Shakira and Juanes, young people from all over the world are humming songs in Spanish.

This cultural closeness is also translated into the closeness between their people. Spain is the third most popular destination for Colombian migration, with some 300,000 Colombians residing there. The Colombian community enriches the Spanish community with their culture and work, integrating themselves into Spanish society with large doses of generosity. Celebrated examples of this are the soldier Niyireth Pineda Marín, who died in Afghanistan in the act of service with the Spanish contingent and was decorated with the Grand Cross of Military Merit or the soldier Jhony Alirio Herrera Trejos, who was injured in the same attack. In them, Spanish society recognizes the great closeness between their people.

On a political level, relations are excellent. Relations between both

COLOMBIA In fIgureSArea: 1,141,748 km2

Population: 44.5 million inhabitantsPopulation density: 39 inhabitants per km2

Urban Population (%): 78,3%Annual population growth: 1%Life expectancy: 73 yearsGDP (billion, provisional 2009): 186,2 $Inflation rate: 5.4% (2009 prov.) Unemployment rate: 14.8% (2008 prov.) Main export partner: United States Main import partner: United States Main exports: Oil, coal, coffee and nickel Main imports: Intermediate goods (capital and consumer goods)Resident Spaniards (2007): 11.177Source: MAEC

countries have a high degree of fluidity, as demonstrated by the visits this year of President Santos to Spain and Her Majesty the Queen to Colombia or the annual meetings at the Ibero-American Nations' Summit. Spain and Colombia share their strategic vision, stemming from their democratic convictions and common transnational interests, which include the fight against illegal drugs, terrorism and organized crime.

The superb relationship that unites us is reflected in the ties that Spain has sought between Colombia and the European Union, of which the Multi-Party Trade Agreement between Peru, Colombia and the EU is a good example.

Furthermore, Spain has always been at Colombia's side in one of its biggest problems; armed conflict with guerrilla forces. Due to this it has taken part in various peace initiatives as a companion-

Panoramic images of the city of Bogota and the Spanish Embassy in Colombia.

Solid bilateral relations

Today, as always, Spanish-Colombian bilateral relations could not be better and cover a broad multidimensional spectrum, in accordance with the high level of interaction between the respective civil societies. This has been a constant since the Spanish Embassy was opened in Bogota in 1873. Bilateral relations are framed within the Strategic Partnership Agreement, signed when President Álvaro Uribe visited Spain in January 2008, placing them at the highest level.

These relations have evolved in accordance with the changing times. But based on that mutual understanding, it has been very easy to adapt to the circumstances of our national histories and in diversity we have discovered the wealth of joining our horizons and working together. Following the 2010 elections, Colombia

has entered a new stage with the task of consolidating the progress that the country has experienced in the last ten years. In this stage, Colombia can count on Spain's resolute commitment and companionship. Economically speaking, our position as the second largest foreign investor behind the US, the increasing presence of our companies and the new scenario that the Multi-Party Trade Agreement will create between the EU and Colombia, will allow the enormous commercial potential that our bilateral relationship still has to develop to be tapped. The development drivers that President Santos has announced – housing, infrastructure, the agricultural sector, mining and oil, and technological development- offer a wide range of opportunities for Spanish companies with extensive experience in these sectors.

Politically speaking, the new stage that began the passing of the Law of Victims, the design of a consensual comprehensive human rights policy and the advances in the modernization of the administration shall have the support of Spain and the contribution of our development cooperation. In recent years Colombia has experienced a period of sustained economic growth, although somewhat slowed down by the international financial crisis, it seems to have got back on track, as is shown by the 5.2% increase in GDP in 2010. This backdrop of an economic boom, highlights the decisive involvement of Spanish companies. BBVA and Banco Santander, Telefónica, Repsol, Mapfre, Gas Natural and Planeta, to name just a few of the big names, have made Spain the second largest foreign investor in Colombia.

Spanish cooperation in Colombia is centered on extenuating the consequences of the armed conflict that afflicts the country and on peace-building and the strengthening of democracy.

Nicolás Martín CintoSPAnISH AMBASSADor In BoGotA


guarantor in the negotiation process with the ELN, as a facilitator of a humanitarian agreement between the government and the FARC, or as a contributor to the OAS Mission to Support the Peace Process. The Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation for the 2009-2012 period considers Colombia as a “Special Attention Country”, with a marked stress on the prevention of conflict and peace-building though initiatives that deal with the direct effects of violence and promote sustainable human development, gender equality, institutional strengthening and citizens' participation. With these objectives in mind, Official Development

Assistance (ODA) has been increasing significantly. If in 2006 ODA was 60.27 million euros, in 2010 it was 112.45 million euros, making Spain the second largest donor after the US.

This special relationship translates into economic relations of the highest order. The liberalization processes that took place in the country attracted Spanish investors. This has made Spain the second largest investor in Colombia, and subsidiaries of some its most important companies have been moved there, such as BBVA, Santander, Telefónica, Endesa, Gas Natural-Unión Fenosa, Aguas de Barcelona, Canal de

Isabel II, Repsol-YPF and Cepsa, not forgetting the investment in media companies such as Radio Caracol or the newspaper, El Tiempo. In total, around 250 Spanish companies carry out activities in the country.

Alonso de Ojeda and Vasco Núñez de Balboa would have been able to imagine little of the promising future of Colombia upon discovering the lands of the New World between Guajira and the Gulf of Urabá. A land packed with history and culture, rich in natural resources, full of contrasts and variations, but with one constant: the close relationship with Spain.

Development cooperation occupies a very important position in our bilateral relations, in which the AECID undoubtedly plays a fundamental role. Nevertheless, the Spain's commitment of solidarity with Colombia involves all sectors and institutions of Spanish society: Spanish Autonomous Communities, city councils and NGOs have cooperation projects all over the country and have made Spain into the second largest international donor in Colombia, with ODA that moves in the region of 70 million euros per year.

Spanish cooperation in Colombia is centered on extenuating the consequences of the armed conflict that afflicts the country and on peace-building and the strengthening of democracy. But all of its actors also mobilize themselves, in coordination with the OTC with its headquarters in Bogota, the largest in the world, when emergency aid is required, as we have just confirmed with the tragedy of the wintry spell that has been affecting Colombia since the end of 2010. Spain was the first country that attended to provide aid to the victims. In the area of cooperation it is also

necessary to highlight the Training Center for Spanish Cooperation in Cartagena de Indias, a special instrument for cooperation not only with Colombia, but also the Ibero-American community. This magnificent bilateral relationship has one priceless instrument; cultural cooperation between two countries that, ultimately, originate from a common source and which are cooperating ever more closely together, based on a shared language, culture and idiosyncrasy.

There is no doubt that Colombia is one of the most culturally vibrant countries in Ibero-America and this is reflected not only in its leading personalities, known by all, such as Gabriel García Márquez, but also in its intense cultural programming that spans the entire country. One of the fundamental tasks of our cultural cooperation is ensuring the continued presence of Spanish artists and intellectuals at these events. To name but a few, in recent times, at the hands of the Embassy, figures of the stature of the Maestro Daniel Barenboim and his orchestra, Divan, the national photography award-winner, Gervasio Sánchez, the movie director Fernando Trueba and the extraordinary exhibition

“Spain, crossroad of civilizations” have visited Colombia.

One must not forget that the relationship between Spain and Colombia has a fundamental human aspect which is emigration. The Colombians are the second largest emigrant community in Spain and this is felt in the magnificent work of the General Consulates of Spain in Bogota and Cartagena, where some 80,000 visas per year are processed, which makes this country one of the principal countries for our delegations in this area.

Finally, in the area of security and the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime, we already have some well-rounded mechanisms that involve close collaboration, both in the area of extradition and judicial and police cooperation, issues in which we will continue to develop our shared capacity. With such solid roots as those described here, and such a broad agenda, I have no doubt that we can look to the future with optimism, since the Spanish-Colombian relationship is going to continue developing and improving over the coming years.

The Colombians are the second largest emigrant community in Spain. The Spanish consulates in the country process some 80,000 visas per year.

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What challenges have arisen in the short-term at El Tiempo, Colombia's leading newspaper, to tackle this difficult economic time? In Latin America, the sale of newspapers in paper format continues to increase; and so our audience has not suffered. Fortunately in Colombia there is no crisis, quite the opposite, there is an economic boom which means there are no problems with advertising patterns. What is your relationship with Colombia, and how long have you lived in this country?

My relationship with Colombia was motivated by professional issues, since in 1995, Grupo Planeta transferred me to this country to take charge of our operations in the Andean region. At first it was for a two-year period, then another three, and has reached 16 years so far.What opinion do the Colombians have of Spain and the Spanish people? In Colombia, the Spanish are very highly thought of, there are no misgivings or drawbacks; quite the opposite, they accept us and truly love us; this really

helps integration.Could you give us some reasons to choose Colombia as a vacation or professional destination? For a vacation, Colombia offers endless alternatives, which make it a very, very attractive tourist destination. As they say here, Colombia has three seas -the Atlantic/Caribbean, the Pacific and the Amazon. As a professional destination, Colombia is passing through a good economic period and everything points to the possibility that this situation could last for several years.

Francesc SoléPRESIDENT OF PLANETA FOR THE ANDEAN AREA AND GROUP REPRESENTATIVE AT THE NEWSPAPER EL TIEMPO

A SPANIARD IN COLOMBIA

24 A analysis

— Casa Árabe celebrates its first five years in July. What are the biggest accomplishments marked by this anniversary? — I think that in these five years the institution has been consolidated and the lines of action that guide this project have enjoyed a sustainable development with tangible results in its three main fields of activity. These fields are public diplomacy, the dissemination of knowledge of the different and highly diverse realities of the Arab and Islamic nations, and research through its International Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. Currently, Casa Árabe is the only institution in Europe that fulfills all these missions, which are viewed as an integrated project that brings together knowledge, educational programs, cultural brokerage, political planning and support for economic investment. It is a very active whole encompassing cultural, sociopolitical and economic aspects, the creation of research networks and the teaching of Arabic through a range of different activities: talks, debates, seminars, exhibitions, workshops and publications. And it now has Spain's only media library and documentation center specializing in Arab countries. From the moment I took on the task of

establishing and developing the Casa Árabe project, my goal has been to develop a comprehensive project that includes the whole of the Arab world, making all of it known and accessible. In this way, the ignorance and prejudice that exist about the Arab and Islamic world can be replaced with a genuine rapprochement, revealing rich and hitherto inaccessible dimensions of that world to people interested in knowing about it. And there are many such people, judging by the success we have had with the public. I really feel very satisfied with the work we've done.— What is Casa Árabe's top priority in the area of "public diplomacy"?— The existence of an institution like Casa Árabe is a valuable tool for Spanish diplomacy, as it demonstrates the ability of our country to develop and spread awareness of the multiple realities of the Arab world in the West, and thus contribute to the necessary rapprochement between the two worlds. This is greatly appreciated by all the official visitors from the Arab world who come to our country. In this respect, I have also been extremely concerned with making Casa Árabe known in the different Arab countries as a reference institution. At the same time, Casa Árabe has opened its doors to many people

active in the Arab political, artistic and economic worlds who have found a space in our institution to communicate with Spain and the West in general. — What is Casa Árabe's relationship like with other Spanish institutions, and with the other "Casas…"?— I have always thought that collaboration reinforces and transmits the great institutional potential that Spain has. This is why we collaborate on a lot of programs and activities with other institutions in very diverse areas, such as cultural institutions, think tanks, universities, the media and publishing houses. We maintain a close relationship with the Cervantes Institute, with whom we have organized joint programs at its branches in Arab countries, and on some occasions in other parts of the world, such as New York and Tokyo, for example. We have also worked with the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and with Casa América on the extremely interesting topic of Arabs in Latin America, and with Casa África and Casa del Mediterráneo we have shared our "Ramadan Nights" festival.— What kind of involvement do companies from Spain and the Arab world have in Casa Árabe?— Among our top sponsors are all the biggest Spanish companies with

To make known the diverse realities of Arab and Islamic countries is one of the main lines of action that Casa Árabe has been pursuing since its creation. In the words of its General Director - who is witnessing her dream of democratic revolution in the Arab nations - the achievements of the institution have turned it into an integrated project that brings together political planning, knowledge, educational programs and support for economic investment.

Gema Martín Muñozgeneral director of casa Árabe

“Our aim is to replace the ignoranceand prejudice about the Arab and Islamic world with a genuine rapprochement, revealing hitherto inaccessibledimensions of that world”

investments and business in Arab countries, which gives us a channel for communication and relations with them. But we have also signed collaboration agreements with Chambers of Commerce in various Autonomous Communities, with the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) and the Exporters' Club, among others. And all of this forms part of Casa Árabe's line of action based on the development of public economic diplomacy, pursuing a comprehensive program to act as a bridge and a broker for potential economic investment between Spain and the Arab countries.

In this program, we work intensely with the Spanish and Arab economic and business worlds to help strengthen or open up new opportunities for economic investment, and we publish the Casa Árabe economic and business Bulletin, in Spanish and Arabic, as an instrument for information and analysis.— You are a Professor of Sociology of the Arab and Islamic World and a regular media columnist. How have you taken on the challenge of managing a project like this? — I took it on with a lot of excitement. The greatest gift you can offer a

prOfIle. Gema Martín Muñoz holds a doctorate in Arabic and Islamic Studies and is Professor of Sociology of the Arab and Islamic World at the Autonomous University of Madrid. She completed her graduate studies at Cairo University and has been a visiting professor at various universities, including Harvard, Rome, Havana, Algiers and at Al-Quds University (Palestine). She is a founding member of the Network on Comparative Research on Islam and Muslims in Europe at the Sorbonne, and a member of the French Cultural Council's Strategic Committee for the Union for the Mediterranean. She is

the author of several books, including ‘Iraq, un fracaso de Occidente’ ("Iraq, A Failure of the West", Tusquets, 2003), ‘El estado árabe. Crisis de legitimidad y contestación islamista’ ("The Arab State: Crisis of Legitimacy and the Islamic Response", Bellaterra, 2000), ‘Islam, Modernism and the West’ (London, IB Tauris,1999), ‘El islam y el mundo árabe. Guía didáctica para profesores y formadores’ ("Islam and the Arab World: Course Guide for Teachers and Trainers", AECI, 1996), and ‘Marroquíes en España. Estudio sobre su integración’ ("Moroccans in Spain: A Study of their Integration", Madrid, Fundación Repsol, 2003).

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specialist in the Arab and Islamic world is the opportunity in her life to develop the project that I spent years planning, convinced that Spain needed this comprehensive reference institution dedicated to this extremely important part of the world. This has required me to give my body and soul to creating, consolidating and directing this project, and as a result I haven't been able to dedicate as much time to writing articles and books as I did before. But, although at times I miss it, I believe this is my work now and it really is the realization of a dream. Added to this is being able to witness the beginnings of my other great professional dream, the democratic revolution in the Arab nations. Frankly, I really can't complain. And Casa Árabe is now called upon to play an important role in supporting Arab and Islamic democracy.— What is your opinion about the role of the West, and specifically of Spain, in the current situation of democratic uprisings in the Arab world? — For the West it has been a huge shock because it was placidly accustomed to the status quo in the region, which meant, to put it briefly, being able to exercise hegemonic influence over most of the respective dictatorships. These revolutions are forcing the West to radically modify the paradigm of its relations with Arab and Islamic nations, to reinterpret its role in the region and to accept that it will be able to have good allies but not customers. The intensity and speed of the process are forcing it to this conclusion, in spite of its passivity and obvious bewilderment in the beginning. But these changes are going to have much more positive consequences not only for Arab citizens but also for the West. I believe now that a mutual process of change is underway. In this context, Spain is taking on the role of supporting democracy that is needed not only in Tunisia and Egypt, but also in Libya, in the huge humanitarian project being undertaken in relation to the refugees that the conflict in Lybia is generating, for example.

26 A foreign action in brief

Banco Santander to open branches in rural zones of China Banco Santander has signed a partnership agreement with China Construction Bank to open offices in rural zones of China, giving it access to more than 800 million potential customers. The Spanish group will have a 20% share in this new partnership, the largest share permitted for a foreign banking corporation under Chinese law. In this way, Banco Santander makes a firm entry into an important market and consolidates its role as a bridge between Asia and Latin America, where the Chinese government has considerable interests.

His Majesty King Juan Carlos awarded the Russian State Prize The Russian State Prize, the only award for which foreign personalities are eligible and which until now had only been given to former French president Jacques Chirac, has recognized His Majesty King Juan Carlos for having become a “symbol of reconciliation in Spain”. The Prize awards an amount of approximately 125,000 euros, which will go towards the restoration of the historical-cultural heritage destroyed in the Lorca earthquake, at the request of King Juan Carlos.

Marked economic focus at the 6th Spain-China Forum Barcelona hosted the 6th Spain-China Forum at the beginning of July, organized by the Spain-China Council Foundation. On this occasion, the event examined the international image of Spanish and Chinese companies, and tourism and sport as forms of nation branding, among other topics. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Trinidad Jiménez, highlighted China's importance as one of the countries with the greatest potential for Spanish companies.

Bibiana Aído to become advisor to UN Women The current Secretary of State for Equality, Bibiana Aído, has been appointed special advisor to the Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet. The United Nations agency works to promote gender equality and its objective is to become a major defender of the rights of women and girls.

Australia checks over its naval sector in Spain Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce visited the Navantia shipyard in El Ferrol, where the two biggest warships to be operated by the Royal Australian Navy are being built: two LHD ships inspired by the Spanish vessel ‘Juan Carlos I’. The Spanish company, which has already been awarded other contracts by the Australian Navy, has just signed an agreement to supply the internal communications systems for three destroyers. During the official visit to Spain of the Australian Governor-General, the Prince of Asturias highlighted the “extreme closeness” of the two countries because of their shared democratic principles and values.

Call for nominations open for the Ibero-American Narrative Award The publishing house Editorial Planeta and Casa de América have issued the call for entries for the 2012 Ibero-American Narrative Award. The deadline for submissions is November 30, and the rules can now be consulted on the Casa de América website, www.casamerica.es. Since its creation in 2007, the main objective of this literary prize has been to promote fiction in Spanish in all Iberian and Latin American countries.

Prince Felipe de Borbón presided over the tenth anniversary celebrations, where he expressed his conviction that Spanish society "has the talent and assets necessary" to overcome "the serious economic crisis" and called for a "collective effort from everybody" to "grow and create employment" again. At the closing ceremony of the tenth anniversary of the Elcano Royal Institute, of which he is honorary President, the Prince of Asturias asserted that "regardless of the difficulties and just as they have been able to do in the past, Spaniards must join efforts to face the challenges of globalization successfully and with an eye to the future." The heir to the Spanish throne highlighted the work of the Elcano Institute in analyzing and studying the big debates of the contemporary world in the context of globalization, and affirmed that this center "is called upon to play an important role in the face of the difficulties, always at the service of Spain and with the efficiency, strength and continuity necessary to defend the interests of our country in the world." The Elcano Royal Institute of International and Strategic Studies was established in December 2001 with Emilio Llano de Espinosa as its first director.

The Elcano Institute celebrates its tenth anniversary

HRH the Prince of Asturias during his speech at the anniversary celebration.

Trinidad Jiménez, during her speech.

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Opened by the Prince of Asturias and the UN Secretary-General. the communications base for peace operations is located close to Valencia airport and reaffirms spain's commitment to the United nations.

United Nations base opened at Quartde PobletPrince Felipe de Borbón, together with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, presided over the opening of a telecommunications

center for UN peace operations in Valencia. In his speech, the Prince of Asturias reiterated Spain's “firm, active and ongoing commitment”

to peace-keeping operations and highlighted the vital importance of this new facility. He also remembered two Spanish soldiers who recently lost their lives in Afghanistan, and offered “the strongest tribute of profound respect and recognition” to all those who have died serving the United Nations and the international community.

The Quart de Poblet Communications Base, together with the base at Brindisi (Italy), will provide support to more than 100,000 military and civilian forces deployed in the different peace operations currently being directed by the UN. The Center will generate 300 direct and 900 indirect jobs, many of them requiring “high qualifications”, and is the UN's most technologically advanced center, increasing its operating capacity “on the ground”. The UN Communications Center has been built in a former military facility and has a total area of 40,500 square meters. It is located close to Valencia's Manises Airport and is equipped with a Data Center (a circular building of reinforced concrete covering an area of 2,983 square meters), an antenna field for satellite communications, two 2800-square meter office buildings and a vehicle parking lot.

THE UNITEd NATIONS SECRETARy-GENERAL dURING THE OPENING. PHOTO: EFE

Promotion of the National Plan for Cultural Action AbroadThe beginning of April saw the launch of the National Plan for Cultural Action Abroad, designed jointly by the Ministries of Culture and of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, with the aim of promoting the "Spain" brand. The cultural sector currently represents 4% of national GDP and generates around 800,000 jobs, a clear sign of its contribution to economic and job growth. The promotion of the country's

artistic and cultural heritage, the internationalization of Spanish culture and the cultural industries, and the fostering of cultural cooperation as a key element of Spanish cooperation are the pillars of this plan, which will not have its own budget, but will be supported by the budgets of the two Ministries involved.

The Plan will be coordinated by the Council for Cultural Action Abroad, which will establish the guidelines and

criteria for action and receive support from civil society and the business community.

In terms of regional strategies, the Plan will give priority to actions in Europe, the United States, Latin America and the Mediterranean countries.

The promotion of the Spanish language also forms an essential part of this initiative, through the activities of the Cervantes Institute and the support of the Ministry of Education.


Recognizing haute cuisine The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation has awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to the chefs Ferrán Adriá and Juan María Arzak, and posthumously to Santi Santamaría, for their work in promoting Spain's image abroad.

Chile-Spain Foundation established The Chile-Spain Foundation was established at the end of May in Madrid, announced by the President of Chile on his recent visit to Spain as an initiative to promote cultural, social, economic and artistic exchange between the two countries. The Foundation's president will be the Chilean Juan Eduardo Errázuriz, while the Spaniard Alfonso Merry del Val will be its vice president.

The Alliance of Civilizations meets in Florence The Alliance of Civilizations, together with the Institute of European Studies in Florence, held a seminar in the Italian city on religious freedom, to discuss support for policies to prevent discrimination and allow religious minorities to freely practice their beliefs.

López Garrido at Europe's New Economy Forum The Secretary of State for the European Union recently took part in an informative breakfast at Forum Europe's New Economic Forum. At the event, Diego López Garrido reviewed the main achievements of the past 18 months and commented that more should have been done in the area of foreign policy apart from the launching of the European External Action Service. In this respect, he asserted that “there is no use criticizing the lack of leadership in Brussels if there is no real will on the part of the most powerful national governments to consolidate a common foreign policy.”

The Spain brand presents its new "Ambassadors". Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Asturias, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, presided over the ceremony to appoint the fourth series of Honorary Ambassadors for the Spain Brand, made up of Rafael Nadal, Inma Shara, Antonio Garrigues, the Cervantes Institute, the Vicente Ferrer Foundation and the national soccer selection.

Conference of Spanish Ambassadors in the Middle East and North Africa. The Ministers of Defense and of foreign Affairs and Cooperation also took part

Ambassadors analyze the situation in the MediterraneanThe events unfolding in North Africa and the Middle East were analyzed during a conference held in April at the Palacio de Viana, attended by the Spanish Ambassadors to the region. The meeting featured the participation of the Minister of Defense, Carme Chacón, Minister of Foreign Affairs

and Cooperation Trinidad Jiménez, and the Director of the National Intelligence Center, Félix Roldán. Trinidad Jiménez stressed the support that Spain needs to give to the processes of change in order to foster a space for freedoms and rights that will allow the free development of civil society.

Spanish exports see their biggest increase since 1994The foreign sector experienced a strong surge at the beginning of this year, according to a report from the Of-fice of the Secretary of State for Trade. The report reveals that the first quar-ter of the year saw a 23.4% increase in exports from Spain, surpassing 50 bil-lion euros.

This increase represents the big-gest growth in our foreign sales in 17 years, and has given Spain a surplus in its trade balance with the European Union for the second quarter in a row. In terms of geographical areas, exports to the EU grew by 19% and represent-ed 66.8% of total trade.

29A foreign action in brief

Spain to be the European headquarters for General Dynamics The US defense multinational has decided to establish its center of operations in Spain, thanks to the important work programs it is undertaking with the Spanish Ministry of Defense. The Spanish headquarters will now manage a business with more than 3,000 highly qualified employees operating worldwide.

Berlin, site of the 6th Spanish-German Forum Organized under the auspices of the King of Spain and German President Christian Wulff, the 6th Spanish-German Forum constitutes a meeting point to discuss politics, business, culture and journalism. On this occasion the debates revolved around the future of the economic and monetary union of the EU, control of markets and cooperation between the companies of the two countries.

Enagás goes international with the purchase of a regasification plant In early June, the energy company Enagás finalized what will is to become its first venture into the foreign market. Enagás has formed a partnership with the Dutch company Vopak for the purchase of a regasification plant in Altamira (Mexico), with the Spanish company holding a 40% share. This transaction will enable Enagás to develop a shared line of business with Vopak and to take advantage of the synergies between this project and its plants in Spain.

Organized by the Spain-United States Foundation. The round tables at the meeting focused on the economic outlook for both countries

Oviedo hosts the 16th Spain-United States ForumThe capital of the Principality of Asturias was the site of the Spain-United States forum in early June, with Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Asturias present for the opening ceremony. The meeting had a marked economic focus, with an analysis of the outlook for both countries in three round tables: “Trade and Investment: Opportunities in Spain and the US”, “Innovation as a Key to Competitiveness and Growth”, and “Challenges in the Renewable Energy Sector”.

On the Spanish side, the delegation was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Trinidad Jiménez, and the Minister of Science and Innovation, as well as the Secretaries of State for the Economy, Foreign Trade and Energy, and the Spanish Ambassador to Washington. Representatives of Spain's biggest companies were also present.

The US delegation was led by Senator Robert Menéndez, the Secretary of the Interior, the

Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, the Department of Energy's Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, the Department of Commerce Undersecretary and the US Ambassador to Madrid.

The Spain-United States Foundation, established in 1997, is sponsored by representatives of the business, political, cultural and academic worlds, and holds annual Forums to address topics of shared interest to both countries.

Spain attends the African Union SummitThe Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Trinidad Jiménez, attended the 17th African Union Summit, held in Malabo on June 29 and 30. With her presence, the Minister highlighted the African focus of Spanish foreign policy and at the same time underlined the importance of bilateral relations with the African Union. During her visit, Minister Jiménez

met with the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, with whom she discussed the international agenda and bilateral affairs. The Minister also met with opposition leader Plácido Micó. In Malabo, she opened the new premises of the Spanish Embassy, which has been designed with the aim of providing an open space for all Spanish and Equatorial Guinean citizens.

US Ambassador to Madrid Alan Solomont and Spanish Ambassador to Washington Jorge Dezcal-lar at the beginning of the Forum.

German President Christian Wulff greets the President of BBVA, Francisco González, in the presence of His Majesty King Juan Carlos. PHOTO: EFE


United Nations call for young professionals The Young Professionals Program (YPP) gives young people the chance to start their careers in the United Nations through an annual selection process. The candidates who pass the tests will hold P-1 or P-2 administrator positions in the UN. The pre-selection of Spanish candidates will take place in Madrid on December 7. This selection will take into account degree levels, knowledge of languages and also possibly professional experience. More information at the link: https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=NCEA

His Majesty King Juan Carlos attends the anniversary of Italian unification His Majesty King Juan Carlos traveled to Rome to attend the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, commemorated on the Day of the Republic on June 2. President Giorgio Napolitano expressed his gratitude for the visit and stressed the bond linking the monarch to Rome, the city where he was born in 1938. Attending the celebrations were close to 40 heads of state.

FCC joins forces with the company Commodore for its international expansion The Spanish company FCC is seeking new partners with whom it can reinforce its already strong international presence. To this end, it has joined forces with the infrastructure company Commodore with the aim of developing joint projects in the United Arab Emirates, chiefly in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The scale of the portfolio of projects ranges from 150 to 500 million dollars.

US Secretary of State visits Madrid Hillary Clinton recently visited Madrid, where she had the opportunity to meet with His Majesty the King, the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition, Mariano Rajoy. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Trinidad Jiménez, had a work meeting with her in which they discussed issues of shared interest. They subsequently offered a press conference at the Palacio de Viana.

Bernardino León, EU representative in the Mediterranean The 27 EU member states have given the green light to the appointment of Spanish diplomat Bernardino León as the new special European Union representative for the South Mediterranean region. His main mission will be to consolidate European support for the transition processes in the countries of the so-called “Arab Spring”.

López Garrido presents a book on the Trio Presidency The Secretary of State for the European Union, Diego López Garrido, participated in the launch of the book ‘El Trío de presidencias española, belga y húngara’ ("The Trio of Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian Presidencies") on the establishment of the European integration process for the coming decades, published by the Primero de Mayo Foundation, detailing the progress made by the Trio Presidency over the last 18 months.

Diplomat Miguel Alberto wins the Gil de Biedma Prize Diplomat and writer Miguel Albero has won the 21st Poetry Prize established in memory of Spanish poet Jaime Gil de Biedma, offered annually by the Provincial Council of Segovia with a monetary value of 10,000 euros.

The Minister meets with Amnesty International representatives

The Ideas Foundation presents a report on Africa

On June 4, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation received a delegation from Amnesty International, led by Esteban Beltrán, director of AI's Spanish Section. During the meeting, they discussed the state of Spanish human rights policy, particularly in foreign affairs, and assessed the AI report ‘Voces contra el olvido’ ("Voices against Oblivion").

The IDEAS Foundation has presented the report “Ideas for Africa”, which offers an analysis of the social and economic reality of each country and suggestions for the production sectors where efforts should be concentrated. The report begins by rejecting the hackneyed notion that Africa is a homogeneous continent of nations all with similar problems and options for resolving them. On the contrary, the document clarifies that there is little in common in terms of development between countries like Nigeria, with its abundance of natural resources, Ethiopia, with its lack of sea access, and Senegal, where the fishing sector has become intrinsic to the country's identity. The document identifies some basic challenges that must be tackled: to consolidate food security, guarantee a minimum of health care, strengthen governability and improve transparency. To help the countries develop their economies, the Foundation has launched what it calls “product space”, an analytical tool that offers a picture of each country, of its economic and social reality, in order to establish a route that each country should take for its development.

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32 A analysis

— This year's celebration is a celebration of a great friendship that unites our countries. What do you feel, in general terms so far, have been the main achievements of the Dual Year?— The beginning was very positive. The official launching of the Dual Year held in Saint Petersburg in February with the participation of President Medvedev and His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain gave a strong boost to a range of cultural, scientific, economic and social activities planned in both countries that have developed at a very good pace. Apart from that, I think that a truly important achievement has been to stimulate the initiative of the civil societies. So far this year, there have been conferences and festivals of Russian culture held by a dozen Spanish universities and local councils. It seems to me an excellent response from Spanish society to the Dual Year initiative.— Has this celebration had the effect of strengthening economic relations between our countries in specific cases?— One of the greatest tasks of the Dual Year is to strengthen bilateral economic relations, which are not as close as they could be between the two countries. We cannot take the place of Russian and Spanish companies, but we can create an environment conducive to bringing them together and identifying areas of mutual interest. This was the objective

of the business meeting held in Saint Petersburg with the participation of the Heads of State. I hope that this and other forums held over the course of the Dual Year produce some concrete results. — Among the most significant cultural events scheduled is the exchange between the Prado Museum and the Hermitage. What kind of public response has there been to the first phase in Saint Petersburg? Are Russians aware of and interested in Spanish art?— Spanish art has always inspired interest and admiration on the part of the Russian public. I was able to appreciate this personally when I attended the opening of the Prado Museum exhibition at the Hermitage, which is the richest and most representative exhibition in the history of our cultural relations. I believe that this interest is reciprocated. Proof of this is the success of the Hermitage archeological exhibition that has just opened in Alicante.— Russia's participation as a guest country at ARCO 2011 has presented the innovative styles of its contemporary art to the world. How do Russian gallery owners view their participation in the fair and the response of Spanish collectors? — Russian gallery owners have commented to me that their participation in ARCO 2011 gave them the chance to establish highly beneficial relations with their Spanish colleagues. I think it is

2011, Dual Year of Spain in Russia and Russia in Spain. Alexander I. Kuznetsov, Ambassador of the russian federation to the Kingdom of Spain responds, in perfect Spanish, to the questions posed by Miradas al exterior regarding the Spain-russia Dual Year.

Alexander KuznetsovrUssian aMbassador to sPain

“The greatest merit of the Dual Year is the initiation of fruitful long-term relations”

33A analysis

precisely this that is the greatest merit of the Dual Year. In both countries we want the participation of our citizens in the different fairs not merely to be a one-off experience but the initiation of fruitful long-term relationships.— Energy efficiency is one of the priorities defined in the economic sphere. What kind of cooperation is being pursued between Russia and the EU in this area?— Energy efficiency is one of the key elements of our modernization strategy. On energy issues we have a very close relationship with the European Union. During the Spanish Presidency of the EU, an ambitious joint initiative was launched called “Association for Modernization”. Support for the development of a sustainable economy with low carbon emissions and high energy efficiency is one of the priorities of this initiative. Financial mechanisms are also being created to promote ecologically clean technologies. — How would you rate the progress on visa exemption between the EU and Russia?— The list of joint steps to achieve this objective has just been agreed on with the EU. We hope that once this agreement is in place, we can move forward to the complete elimination of visas. We appreciate Spain's support in this important initiative, which aims to establish closer relations between Russia and the EU through the free circulation of our citizens.

— Could you give us some news on the preparations for the Olympic Games in Sochi?— This internationally unprecedented infrastructure project is now in its final phase. We have only just over 1000 days to go until the opening of the Olympic Games in Sochi, and according to the experts, 70% of the work has been completed. I hope that this invaluable experience will help our country to carry out another ambitious project - the World Cup in 2018.— What activities will be held in Spain in the next few months as part of the Dual Year?—The month of June has been particularly busy and full of activities related to the Dual Year. One central event was the participation of Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg and his meetings with President Dmitry Medvedev, with business leaders, etc. Another important event was a scientific and cultural festival held in Tenerife to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight. In the next few months there will be several important exhibitions, including the Hermitage exhibition at the Prado Museum. We also expect further meetings between business leaders which, so far this year, have already given a strong boost to the development of economic and trade relations between our countries.

prOfIle. Alexander I. Kuznetsov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Spain and the Principality of Andorra, was born in 1951 in what was then Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). After receiving his bachelor's degree in 1974 from the State Institute of International Relations (Moscow), from that year until 1979 he worked for the Embassy of the USSR in the Argentine Republic. His career took him to Spain in 1982, to the United States from 1988 to 1990, to France from 1990 to 1992 and to Paris from 1995 to 2000, as Permanent delegate of the Russian Federation to UNESCO. Kuznetsov has also served as director of the department of Foreign Policy Planning in Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On June 9, 2005, he was appointed by the President of the Russian Federation as Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Spain and the Principality of Andorra with residence in Madrid. He speaks fluent Spanish, English, French and Italian, and has been a professor at Moscow State Linguistic University. He is married and has two children.

Negocio lecheroNegocio lecheroUna mujer arrea sus vacas en la aldea de Gourdaha, en Bengala Occidental, India. Todos los días, ella vende la leche en el mercado de Calcuta para mantener a su familia. Ella depende de los servicios de microfinanzas para manejar el pequeño negocio lechero que ha creado. F t fí S bh jit BFotografía por Subhrajit Basu

1Ganador 2008

Un negocio en el patio traseroUn negocio en el patio traseroMazarat, una ama de casa en Gambella, Etiopía Occidental, prepara café en el patio trasero para generar un ingreso para el hogar. El café se tuesta, muele y hierve con azúcar y se sirve negro. Todo el proceso dura dos horas y el café está excepcionalmente fresco. Mazarat ha dicho que su micronegocio le permite ganar un poco de dinero que usa para su familiapoco de dinero que usa para su familia.Fotografía por Boaz Rottem

4Ganador 2007

Un monstruo de yuteUn monstruo de yuteUn hombre lleva yute al mercado. Debido a que este producto es ecológico, la industria del yute está volviendo a tomar impulso. Fotografía por Jashim SalamFotografía por Jashim Salam

Ganador 2010 7

Preview of the world Microcredit Summit. The exhibition brings together the winning images from the international photography exhibition ‘Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’

34 ccooperation

The Global Microcredit Summit 2011, to be held in Valladolid (Spain) from November 14 to 17, is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness in our country of the diverse geography of microfinance action in the world and the opportunities presented for its beneficiaries.

To this end, during May, the Ministry of International Cooperation and the ICO Foundation have brought the "Portrait of Microfinances" exhibition to Madrid. This brings together the winning images from the international photography competition that the "Consultative Group to Assist the Poor" (CGAP) has organized for successive summits with the participation of more than 4,000 people.

A new round of the competition is open until August 31, and the winners

will appear in a new exhibition which will be part of the parallel events taking place during the Valladolid Summit.

The Microcredit Summit Campaign, inspired and led by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus, has Her Majesty the Queen of Spain as Honorary Co-President. Doña Sofia has been an enthusiastic participant for over ten years in several global and regional summits. The Valladolid Summit, expected to be attended by over 2,000 delegates from a hundred countries, aims to promote the development of financially sustainable institutions to empower this developmental instrument. To achieve this aim, partnerships between public and private agencies engaged in microfinance is fundamental. Virginia Castrejana

Exhibition ‘Portrait of Microfinance’, an opportunity to get to know the world of microcredit

Images from top to bottom and left to right. ‘Dairy business.’ A woman milking her cows in Gourdaha, in West Bengal, India. She depends on microfinance services to manage the small dairy business that she has established. Photo by Subhrajit Basu ‘A back yard business’. Mazarat, a housewife in Gambella, Western Ethiopia makes coffee in her back yard to generate household income. Mazarat says that her microbusiness provides her with a bit of money that she can spend on her family. Photo by Boaz Rottem‘A jute monster’. A man taking jute to market. As jute is environmentally friendly, the jute industry is going to gain momentum. Photo by Jashim Salam

THE CASTILE AND LEON REGIONAL GOVERNMENT AND THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT RATIFY THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE SUMMIT The Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Soraya Rodriguez, and the Di-rector of the Presidency of the Castile and Leon Regional Government, José Antonio de Santiago-Juárez, signed a letter of intent in mid-June in Valladolid, through which the regional government reaffirmed its commitment to the central government to support the organization of the V Global Microcredit Summit to be held in the city of Valladolid from 14 to 17 November. According to the document signed between the two governments, the Castile and Leon regional government which through Presi-dent Herrera is part of the National Organizing Committee, is committed to support-ing the organization of this event.

El MercadoEl MercadoLos microempresarios prosperan entre los colores y el movimiento vibrante(s) del mercado en Chichicastenango, Guatemala. Fotografía por Paul SnijdersFotografía por Paul Snijders

3Ganador 2007

Después de la pescaDespués de la pescaPescadores reparando las redes al mediodía en Talsari, Orissa, India. Su ingreso medio es de menos de $100 dólares al mes. Fotografía por Partha PalFotografía por Partha Pal

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La industria de las teneríasLa industria de las teneríasLas tenerías están prosperando en Bangladesh, estos pequeños negocios están generando oportunidades de trabajo para los pobres.pobres.Fotografía por Mohammed Rakibul Hasan

Ganador 2010 10

Reform of the FAD is now complete

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Boost to the Fund for Promotion of Development

The Government has recently approved a Royal Decree establishing the Rules of the Fund for the Promotion of Development (FONPRODE), which completes the reform of the Development Assistance Fund (FAD). The main changes introduced are the creation of an Fund management Office, attached to the AECID and the adoption of a new legal framework for financial cooperation, which until recently was an instrument of regular cooperation between the countries in our environment, but not in Spain itself.

With the creation of the FONPRODE an instrument is provided which is fully identified with the development cooperation goals, through State to State grant mechanisms, budget support, contributions to international agencies, concessional lending operations, contributions to microcredit funds and support for SMEs. By law, the Fund will have no links to commercial and globalization interests of Spanish companies. Moreover, credit transactions may not be used for investments in basic social services and may only represent 5% of total gross ODA.

The Development Assistance Fund was created in 1976 to support the globalization of the Spanish economy. Over the years, the FAD's remit has been extended to include activities related to humanitarian and emergency aid or capital contributions to international financial institutions.

The AECID Tirso de Molina Theater Prize. The Spanish dramatists Antonio Tabares, for 'The tip of the Iceberg' and Fernando Epelde, for 'You're not here', have been awarded ex aequo the Latin American Tirso de Molina Theater Award, organized annually by the AECI to promote the development of dramatists in Latin American countries and to boost cultural cooperation in the field of theater. 229 works were presented for the 37th competition, 150 from Spain and 79 from overseas (mostly from Latin America).

Friends of the Central American Security Conference The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Trinidad Jiménez, and the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Soraya Rodriguez, met with the Friends of the Central American Security Conference to ratify the commitment of Spanish Cooperation with improved global security in the region as one of the keys to development. This improvement requires strong involvement of the public authorities throughout the region as organized crime acts across national borders.

Social housing in Old Havana As part of the proceedings for housing improvements in Old Havana renovation of a building for social housing has started. This work, co-financed by the Andalusian Regional Government under its collaboration agreement with the Historian of Havana's Office, with AECID also participating as a partner, concludes the renovation of the existing architectural heritage of the Cuban capital's Plaza Vieja.

‘The Market’. Micro-entrepreneurs thrive among the vibrant colors and bustle of the Chichicastenango market Guatemala. Photo by Paul Snijders‘After fishing’. Fishermen repairing their nets at mid-day in Talsari, Orissa, India. Their average income is less than 100 dollars a month. Photo by Partha Pal ‘The tanning industry’. Tanneries are thriving in Bangladesh, with small businesses creating employment opportunities for the poor. Photo by Mohammed Rakibul Hasan

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‘Hebrón Exhibition: architecture and identity of a people’ Since early May, the San Marcos de Lima (Perú) Cultural Center has hosted the exhibition‘Hebrón: architecture and identity of a people’ which shows through photographs and drawings, the renovation and architectural preservation projects for the old town, considered a jewel of Palestinian heritage, carried out by the Hebron Renovation Committee with support from the AECI.

In late June the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Soraya Rodriguez, traveled to Palestine, the main recipient of Spanish cooperation in the Middle East. Accompanied by representatives of various NGOs and international organizations she visited AECID programs in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jericho, Nablus and Hebron.

Soraya Rodriguez met the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Salam Fayyad, and reiterated Spain's commitment to the Palestinian people, both in humanitarian aid and direct budget support. Later the Secretary of State visited emergency projects in locations such as Susya and Khirbet Tana, where the proximity of Israeli settlements

is a challenge for the provision of basic social services, and she toured the old town of Hebron, where the AECI is supporting restoration of its architectural heritage, training of young Palestinians and reactivation of the tourism dependent micro-enterprise fabric.

Together with representatives of ONUMUJERES, Soraya Rodriguez also visited the Ramallah prison women's section, run by the PNA, where AECID works for the improvement of basic hygiene and sanitation. Finally, Jerusalem Rodriguez met with representatives of Spanish NGOs, who explained the nature of their work in the area, especially highlighting the difficulties faced both in Gaza and in the so-called Area C of the West Bank.

Meeting of Latin American female parliamentarians Female legislators from thirteen Latin America and Caribbean countries met in Uruguay to analyze the gender situation in the region and join efforts to achieve greater political representation. The meeting, entitled 'Gender equality in Latin America and the Caribbean', was organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and UN Women, with the support of AECI.

Expert debate issues in sexual and reproductive rights In order to analyze the current situation in Africa and Spain as well as future challenges, 60 female experts from various African countries and Spain gathered in July in Seville, to participate in a conference organized by the Andalusian Women's Institute and by the African and Spanish Women's Network for a Better World, to discuss sexual and reproductive rights.

The Water Fund launches its new website. The Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation has launched a website with details of its objectives, operations and the aid it manages.

The Rosario Cultural Center launches its new facilities AECID's 'Cultural Park of Spain' Center in Rosario (Argentina) has opened a new amphitheater seating 500 people, which is intended to be used to improve services for all users of this renowned cultural institution in the region.

Accompanied by NGO representatives, Secretary of State for International Cooperation visited AECID programs in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jericho, Nablus and Hebron.

Soraya Rodríguez visits the Palestinian Territories

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Convened by the EFE agency and the AECI

King of Spain journalism prizes awarded

Start of the Venice Biennial

Journalists from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Portugal and Spain have been awarded the King of Spain International Journalism Prizes, convened annually by the Efe Agency and the AECI. The winning entries range from a report on "the war children" who fled Spain during the civil war, to another on African and Asian illegal immigrants arriving in the Colombian region of Uraba as they try to reach the United States, or the large number of people

who disappeared during the internal conflict in Colombia. The Haitian disaster was also reflected in two of the winning works. The Digital Journalism award went to an extensive multimedia report published in elmundo.es on the centenary of the Gran Via in Madrid, and the Don Quixote Journalism Prize went to the Spaniard Javier Ortega Vizcaino for an article published in the "Ideal" newspaper in Granada on the undying character of the tango.

“L’Inadeguato, Lo Inadecuado, The Inadequate”. This is the title of a proposal by artist Dora Garcia to represent Spain at the 54th Venice Biennial. It is a unique work, devised as an "extended performance", which will be open from June 4 to November 27. The concept of the work revolves around the idea of "inadequacy" and marginalization, with which Dora García has been working for several years. "I don't see myself as

an outsider, but I am a 'groupie' of the marginalized", said Garcia, citing the American sociologist Erving Goffman and his vision of the wrong or the improper as something dangerous, as a major influence. The title of the work, moreover, is repeated in three languages to add some general strangeness and at the same time cover the Italian of the Biennial, the Castilian of the Spanish exhibition space and English as an international language.

Communication for development

Latin America

A network for solidarity and cooperation is born

Education and employment to fight poverty

FaceCoop.org has recently been presented. This is a social network that specializes in solidarity, cooperation and participation for social change. Developed at the initiative of International Solidarity, co-financed by the AECID, with the goal of bringing together people, institutions or companies working on issues such as gender equality and the fight against poverty. The network is structured around 4 key themes: citizen participation, gender equality, environment and the fight against poverty and hunger.

The Mexican Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world, is committed to investing in quality education and job creation as the "best way" to ensure that millions of people leave poverty in Latin America. "I think that the way in which people will finally be able to leave poverty is through quality educational training and employment," Slim said at the IV Ministerial Forum for the Development of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in New York by UNDP and AECID. UNDP's Executive Director, Helen Clark, acknowledged that the region's economies have recovered from the crisis, but called for greater efforts to end the "persistent levels of inequality," as "economic developments in the region have not brought about a reduction in poverty".

DORA GARCíA DuRING HER PRESENTATION FOR THE SPANISH PROPOSAL AT THE BIENNIAL. PHOTO MIGuEL LIzANA.

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Interview. For four years AECID has been developing a collaboration agreement with the specialist news agency InterPress Service (IPS). Together they have launched numerous activities for discussion of the future of communications in the field of Development Cooperation. IPS's director, Mario Lubetkin, was recently in Madrid to present the book Policies, Networks and Communication Technologies for Development, and spoke to us about the impact of new media on communications and forthcoming joint projects.

Mario LubetkinDIRECTOR OF INTERPRESS SERVICE

"If the mainstream media want to maintain their position, they will have to get to grips with information that was previously considered marginal"

but to see how they are used with specific development content - that is the crux of our debate. What is clear is that no contradiction should set up between social media and traditional media. We must use all the tools we have to hand to transmit the content. — Seminars have also been held with AECID that brought Spanish media directors face to face with their counterparts from other developing countries.— Yes, last year we organized a discussion for African and Latin American communications media executives with Spanish media executives on the role of Communication in Cooperation. By organizing it we put an end to the myth that the Spanish media have no interest in these issues, because senior officials from these media were all involved. And we also created a channel for dialogue that did not exist, as the Spanish media had no interaction with first level actors from in the South; they limit themselves to contact with other European and, to a lesser extent, American media. And this year we will continue to work in the same direction.— ¿Have the seminars borne fruit yet?

- If you had to sell this book that has just been presented in a couple of sentences what would you say?—I would say it is a book that seeks to address a set of trends and contradictions that impact on Cooperation for Development. Development Cooperation says a lot and says nothing at all, and this book aims to identify which messages need to be communicated and how. The book does not have the answers for every case, but it does provide a set of general reflections that can help establish answers for every circumstance. — ¿So, who is its target readership?— All actors in Communication for Development, both at official level, and at regional level or in civil society ... it intends to provide everyone with conceptual elements on how to communicate or network better. This book concerns all those involved in Cooperation who operate, run, think and transmit information, something that not only communicators are responsible for.

The book is the result of the conference held with AECID last summer at the Menéndez Pelayo University at which -months before the so-called Arab spring - issues such

as the important transforming role of Wikileaks, or the advent of social media, were already being addressed. It must be a source of great pride to see that the current debate is moving in the right direction.

Yes, it's satisfying. Every initiative that we have organized with AECID has been successful, and that means that the work we are doing is on the right track. To present the book we have more than a hundred people from different fields of development, which shows the interest we are generating. Today the events of the Arab spring come to mind, but we've also launched many other initiatives that show our reflections to be valid both in Spain and outside its borders. - What other debates that have emerged in the forums have been confirmed by recent events, and what questions still remain?— In the case of North Africa, these countries used social media because they had no other way to communicate. They resorted to these media because they were difficult for the dictatorships to block and when the dictatorships themselves tried to use them for their own benefit it was too late. But it is not a question of discussing new communication tools,

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PROFILE. A journalist by training, Lubetkin was born in Montevideo in 1959 and has always been interested in issues "unrelated" to the global news agenda, such as human rights or analysis of processes that affect development. For most of his career he has been linked to the IPS agency, created in 1964 and which he joined as editor in 1979. Since then, his ascent in the organization (he has been CEO for nine years), has been linked to the growth of the agency. IPS, which has based its development on a strong commitment to the Internet, now has a presence in 140 countries, a network of 400 journalists and the ability to report in 27 languages as part of its goal of offering alternative information to the agenda driven by large media conglomerates and offered in the major languages.

— So far, we have seen greater coverage in the media, and we've entered into contact with partners with whom we previously had none. Furthermore, some of the media invited to the debates are going to participate again in the conference this summer in Santander and in the Madrid seminars in September. No one here wants to waste time, and the fact that they continue shows that they consider the above considerations to be valid and they want to remain part of the process.- One of the problems that you notice is that of striking a balance between today's journalism, where the ad hoc and the immediate are what count there is little follow-up of news, with some proposals offered in the book, which defends reporting on long-term processes converting them into news.

— Journalists need to be trained to decode something complex and make it simple for the reader. One of the major innovations is that some of the typical development issues are now part of the global agenda. Climate change, alternative energy, food crises, emerging countries ... five or ten years ago, these issues were completely marginalized. These are complex issues, but the citizen wants to receive information on the effect of climate change in his life, and the journalist should be able to decode it for him. Should the media not be interested in ensuring that these topics reach the reader, because that way they will gain more readers? It's pure market logic, because otherwise the customer will find the desired information elsewhere. This has made major agencies such as Reuters offer lines on the environment, or on women,

because it is economically profitable. If the mainstream media want to maintain their position, they will have to reckon with this information that was once considered marginal.— ¿And in this new communication scenario, what is the role of the journalist?— I think to respond to new needs multimedia journalists need to be trained with greater knowledge and capacity to go deeper into facts and causes. Readjusting to a new media context is not the same as giving birth to multimedia, which means that my generation is not going to achieve it. It needs University training to be deep enough to meet all these needs, and this is a challenge. At the moment we're really behind, which means the University faculties keep churning out young journalists without the right training.

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WRITER DIPLOMATS (7th Installment) He cut his teeth in the League of Nations, where he was always viewed as the perfect diplomat. Just when it seemed he would carry on in that same post until retirement, the Spanish Civil War catapulted him to the embassy in London, where he put into practice everything he had learned in Geneva... unfortunately, to no avail. by Jacobo García

Pablo de azcárateFronton diplomacythe extreme rationality and good sense of Pablo de azcárate (1890-1971), the typical product of an education in Spain's experimental Institution of Free learning, are clearly evident in his historical works, which are a model of order, simplicity, logic and objectivity. these features are particularly visible in Wellington y España ("Wellington and Spain", 1960), where military and diplomatic history are mixed in perfect proportions, the narrative is impeccably structured and personal feelings are kept out of the interpretation of the facts.

the case of Mi embajada en Londres durante la guerra civil española ("My embassy in london during the Spanish civil War", 1976) is different, because the story it tells is a personal experience, a stage in his life when he was forced to give up his role as a diplomat specializing in the protection of minors to become the representative of a government threatened by a domestic aggression that internationally was supported by some and tolerated by others. the book recounts the efforts made by the greatest talents of the republic to untie the Gordian Knot created by the Non-

Intervention committee, designed to bring about its military suffocation. Insofar as doing so was inevitable, he recounts the part that he played in the whole thing. What he doesn't tell is what happened to the man inside the ambassador. renouncing the pathos so typical of the memoirs of those defeated in the civil War, he speaks of what the ambassador did without ever speaking of himself. He tells of the notes he wrote, the conversations he had, the works of diplomatic engineering he orchestrated in conjunction with the Government... and, of course, the complete failure of all these efforts.

His work in london seemed much like a solitary game of fronton. In the game of fronton, you throw the ball against the wall, and if you throw it well, it will bounce back to you. but if your throw is off, you lose. and on and on it goes, until you tire out. azcárate never tired out, but the republic did, and that was what ended the game.

a historian to the end, he never makes mention of his moods, his probable moments of depression, or the hope that kept him in his post right to the final moment, when he handed

the embassy over to the british Foreign office so as not to have to give it up to the duke of alba, who was waiting in the next room. Never did he lose that individualist streak that President azaña became aware of when he was told that his ambassador in london had said not to count on him to ask for an armistice.

the reader is left with the impression that azcárate must have been an exceptionally good ambassador, in a constant fight against the unbearable material force of power, the desperate need for formulas that could prolong the torture that realpolitik was inflicting upon the republic, and the sad realization that diplomacy, without a protective force behind it, is little more than a decorative art.

Negrín and his supporters (and azcárate was one of them) have been accused of having been tools of the Soviet Union. Madariaga even described them as pawns of Stalin, which, without evidence to support it, should not be taken too seriously. according to Manuel azcárate, son of the ambassador and himself a communist for thirteen years, his father remained ever faithful to the liberal

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ideals of his youth. Hugh thomas also describes him as a “broad-minded liberal”. but would a conservative liberal have refused to condemn the crushing of the Hungarian uprising in 1956 by Soviet tanks, as Madariaga says azcárate did, with the excuse that the only source of news on what was happening was US propaganda? Would a conservative liberal have asserted in 1960 that cuba had finally achieved its full independence?

on a more personal level, Madariaga accuses his old friend of betraying him for ideological reasons. as an aside, he informs us of his personal limitations, such as his excessive seriousness and his total lack of a sense of humor. In other times, these would have been insurmountable obstacles to playing a major role in courts like those of charles II of england or luis XV of France. but in the United Kingdom of the 1930s, on the eve of the second perfect storm of the century, a sense of humor was something of secondary importance, if not completely dispensable.

Much more useful, at least to his government, would have been his common sense, the seriousness and probity he acquired from his days at the Institution of Free learning, his sense of duty impervious to worldly temptations, his lack of “internal sirens” that might have frightened him away from his obligations, his sincere respect for those around him and the invaluable diplomatic experience he gained in Geneva, where among the most important lessons he learned was clearly to remember that the mission of the diplomat is to loyally serve your government, while never losing sight of the principles acquired before donning the uniform.

Recommended reading:> Viñas, Ángel (ed.): "Al servicio de la República. Diplomáticos y guerra civil" ("At the Service of the Republic: Diplomats and Civil War"). Madrid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation / Marcial Pons Historia, 2010.

Above: Pablo de Azcárate in a picture from 1936, when he held the post of Spanish Ambassador in London.Left: picture from March 1988, when Pablo de Azcarate's heirs delivered the files of the Ambassador to London during the Civil War to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Fernandez Ordoñez.PHOTOS: EFE

Nestled right in the heart of the historic center of Valladolid is the Colegio de San Gregorio National Museum, reopened two years ago after a thorough restoration. It is one of the most representative public museums in Spain, both for the quality of its collection and the historic value of the buildings that house it. A true jewel of a museum hidden in the heart of Castilla y León, a must-see for art lovers, where they can enjoy the best selection of pieces from the golden age of Spanish sculpture. by Julio Loranca

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The Colegiode San Gregorio National Museum

PUBLIC MUSEUMS

between 1835 and 1837, the minister Juan álvarez de Mendizábal carried out what came to be known as the “confiscations of Mendizábal”, the seizure from the church and the various religious orders of the assets that they no longer made use of. the result of this measure was the accumulation in Valladolid of a significant collection of works, most of them taken from monasteries and convents in the capital and other towns of the province. this led to the official opening in 1842 of the Provinicial Museum of Fine arts, one of the first of many such museums established around the country over the course of the 19th century. It was originally located at the colegio de Santa

cruz, a renaissance-era building in the city, which at the time already housed a collection of around 1,000 paintings and 200 sculptures. at the beginning of the 20th century, the Museum became a magnet for intellectuals, scholars and art lovers, in a period of exploration of historical, popular and literary sources of "all things Spanish". but it was in 1933, with the establishment of the Second republic, that the museum received a decisive boost through its categorization as a national museum and the reinforcement of its specialization in sculpture. From that moment, it came to be considered the National Museum of Sculpture and moved to its current location, the colegio de San Gregorio.

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Since then, the focus at the museum has been to enhance the territorial and representative ambition of the collection, to give it a scientific and secular orientation and to highlight the rich and unique artistic heritage of the country. the arrival of democracy and the creation of the Ministry of culture gave Spain's network of museums a renewed impetus. as a result, the collection continued to expand with public purchases and private donations and a comprehensive upgrade of the museum was planned.

In 2008, a royal decree was enacted to rename the museum the colegio de San Gregorio National Museum. the evolution of the museum culminated with the re-opening of its historic location at the colegio de San Gregorio on September 17, 2009, upon completion of the renovation and expansion works. In addition to being expanded by almost 2000 square meters, the facilities of the museum were renovated and adapted to contemporary needs, with new technological and security equipment, climate control, etc. the renovation work won the National Prize for conservation and restoration of cultural Property

Main picture: stairway in the cloister of the Colegio. Above: detail of one of the Museum rooms and the facade of the Colegio de San Gregorio.PHOTOS: COLEGIO DE SAN GREGORIO NATIONAL MUSEUM.

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The renovation work won the National Prize for Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property in 2007, for its highly successful implementation

in 2007. but most importantly, the works allowed the restoration of the building itself, one of the most beautiful examples of 15th-century Iberian architecture. the colegio was built on the initiative of bishop Fray alonso de burgos in 1487 as a theological college for dominican monks, and it fulfilled an important political and religious role in 16th-century Spain. It was declared a historic monument in the 19th century, and its importance is such that several rooms within the museum itself are dedicated to the narration of its history and evolution. apart from the colegio de San Gregorio, the premises of the museum include other historic buildings located on the same street as the main site. these are the Palacio de Villena and the casa del Sol, two 16th-century aristocratic residences, and the Iglesia de San benito el Viejo, the family chapel of the casa del Sol. the Palacio de Villena is the venue for temporary exhibitions, educational activities and public programs. It also houses the library, the assembly room and the restoration and photography workshops. the planned renovation of the casa del Sol and the Iglesia de San benito will allow the first to be used for different educational and research programs, while the old chapel will house a room dedicated to religious floats.

Sculpture, its distinguishing mark. If anything characterizes the colegio de San Gregorio National Museum and distinguishes it from other fine arts museums, it is its specialization in sculpture, particularly religious sculpture, as most of its collection is the product of the confiscations of church property. Its collection is made up mainly of sculptures of religious images and other objects carved in polychrome wood, dating back to the most outstanding period in the history

of Spanish art, the Golden age of the modern era, covering the period from the 15th to 18th centuries, including the work of prominent Spanish artists like berruguete, Juan de Juni, Gregorio Fernández and Pedro de Mena. the range of the collection is extremely varied: free-standing figures, reliefs, choir stalls, religious floats, and, above all, altarpieces, some of them monumental. the museum also owes its uniqueness to the predominance of themes of devotion and sacred

images from the days when religion and the church were determining factors in the private life and social reality of the country. these two factors, which characterize the whole permanent collection, make the museum collection clearly representative of historical and cultural memory both within the country and in its connections with the rest of europe and the americas.

a tour of the museum's viewable collection begins

in the funeral chapel of alonso de burgos, sponsor of the colegio, erected in 1486. the collection is divided into two clearly distinguishable routes: the first, and perhaps most extensive, is the historical-temporal route, covering the 15th century, renaissance and baroque periods. the second route is organized thematically, exploring specific aspects of the collection and of the museum itself one by one, such as the religious floats, the rooms dedicated to the history of the museum and the colegio de San Gregorio and, finally, the spaces dedicated to everyday personal belongings, artworks and images for prayer and meditation that were used in studies, chambers and oratories. the collection offers a complete, exhaustive overview of the sculpture in Spain from the lower Middle ages to the 20th century, with a focus on the Spanish Golden age, featuring artists and works of national and international renown.

tHe JeWeLS of tHe CoLLeCtioNThe building of the Colegio de San Gregorio: The first piece of the collection and an exceptional space for its capacity to interact harmoniously with the artwork.

Germanic piety. Represents the period of artistic searching and innovation throughout Europe, which opens the collection, but, also, because it symbolizes the appearance in art of human tenderness and pathos through religious imagery. Alonso de Berruguete's "Sybil": part of a monumental altarpiece, with its disturbing beauty, central to the introduction of artistic modernity in Spain. Sybil represents a departure from classical canons and expresses a grace and aesthetic sense of rhythm, far from common in Spanish sculpture.

Juni's "Holy Burial": notable for the collective force that can be achieved by a sculpture conceived of as a large theatre set. Zurbarán's "Holy Face": An example of the equally interesting pictorial collection. This canvas is notable for its sober atmosphere, its muted color and its delicate subtlety.

a Museum with a strong personality

A strong personality is what characterizes the Colegio de San Gregorio National Museum in Valladolid. Concealed behind this name are one of the most original collections of European sculpture, a jewel of 15th century Iberian architecture, the memory of past events that make up our national history and a dynamic, plural and modern museum.

The collection, made up of religious sculpture in polychrome wood from the 15th to 18th centuries, is much more than a mere assortment of artworks. As a support for devotion in a society where religion was everything, the sacred image found great possibilities in sculpture, because its corporeal realism invested it with a mysterious presence. This primacy of the emotional continues to carry a force today that strikes the contemporary observer, irrespective of his or her beliefs.

The figurative core of the collection extends to other related genres that enrich it. In the rooms of the museum, the surroundings never leave the pieces "alone"; the visitor's gaze moves in an inspiring environment that finds its culmination in the architecture itself. Because it is, in reality, a museum within a museum.

The Colegio de San Gregorio, which reopened its doors in 2009, fully renovated, is the "first work of art" in the collection. And it is important not only in the history

of architecture, as an example of the transition to modernity of the late 15th century, but also as a “document” of the atmosphere of political euphoria and cultural cosmopolitanism of the Castile of the Catholic Monarchs, an atmosphere reflected in the building's facade (which exalts nature and wildlife), in the elegance of its courtyard, and in the obsessive presence of the symbols of the Great Ones who sponsored its construction. It constituted an exceptional combination of art, religion and politics, heralding the role that Valladolid would play in the Modern Age as the residence of the monarchy, a focus of patronage for the nobility and the religious orders and a magnet for artists and writers, setting the stage for the most magnificent period for the arts in Spain. This great richness of perspectives and historical convergence, the intersection of the aesthetics, religion and politics of the nation, makes the Colegio de San Gregorio a museum with a much stronger personality than we would expect of a fine arts museum, as it preserves within its walls the memory of events and ideas that determined the course of Spanish history.

However, the Museum is not conceived of as a mere archive of antiques, but as a center for projects. It is this national dimension of the museum that has prompted its increasing integration into an international

dynamic, with a focus on two major areas with which it has a historical relationship: the European cultural tradition, and the unjustly unrecognized Ibero-American cultural heritage, in a costly but tenacious bid to recover the normal status it enjoyed in the first decades of the 20th century, when the Museum was founded as a National Museum. This integration has been expressed in temporary exhibitions organized in collaboration with museums in London and Lisbon, in scientific meetings with major European museums and in other collaborations.

A modern spirit inspires all of its cultural and educational initiatives. Its activities, exhibitions and educational programs promote modern theoretical and interpretative approaches to the collection, the development of emerging themes, the interrelation of the arts, geographical connections, the recovery of alienated voices and images, and the intersection of different disciplines (poetry, science, painting, music, theater).

The Museum views itself as the repository of a cultural asset that belongs to everyone, and it seeks to offer itself to the public as an open and plural space for enjoyment and the formation of aesthetic taste, for the promotion of knowledge and education, debate and critical reflection, and, finally, for the discovery of ways to interpret our art and our past.

The Museum is not conceived of as a mere archive of antiques, but as a center for projects. A modern spirit inspires all of our cultural and educational initiatives

María BolañosDIRECtOR OF tHE COLEGIO DE SAN GREGORIO NAtIONAL MUSEUM

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Among the top ten groups in the fishing industry worldwide and one of Spain's major food companies, Pescanova has been filling our freezers for 50 years. Won over by the quality of its products, consumers continue to remain loyal despite the rise of cheaper brands. The company's current focus is to maintain growth by sustainably and sensibly managing its marine resources. This philosophy is making the company once more a pioneer in the sector, helped by investment in aquaculture, a large down payment on the future. by Javier Hernández

Pescanova, casting nets into the future

Constant innovation seems to be the central leitmotif of Pescanova's business philosophy. In 1960 José Fernández López started his business in the port town of Vigo, which quickly became a pioneer with its use of deep freezing. As soon as they were caught, the fish were cleaned, filleted, frozen and packaged while still at sea on board the company's factory ships. This prevented any deterioration or loss of the product's nutritional value. The use of this unprecedented technology was fundamental to the company's rapid and sustained growth, as well as a revolution for both the fishing industry and industrial refrigeration throughout the world. Among the company's other revolutionary milestones were the discovery of new fishing grounds and the creation around the world of fishing companies in partnership with the countries bordering these areas.

Pescanova is now tackling a new business challenge, which once more puts it ahead of both its Spanish and international competitors. This is aquaculture, a technique for the cultivation of aquatic plants and animals, which enables it to provide fresh, high quality produce at any time of the year and adds further value to its production value chain. The company has committed to aquaculture as the only way to sustainably exploit current marine resources. Access to the fishing grounds of coastal countries has become increasingly difficult and the number of consumers in the market continues to grow. This has led to a biological and legal shift, which is being propelled by the accelerated growth of aquaculture

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worldwide. This means of cultivation now makes up more than a quarter of the current total catch around the world. Aquaculture produced 10 million tons of fish in 1990. This figure had risen to 50 million by 2009. Pescanova will double its aquaculture production by 2014 with investment in facilities beyond Spain's borders into Latin America and Portugal. In Spain, Pescanova runs aquatic production facilities in Galicia, where it farms turbot, in Andalucia where it cultivates sea bream, sea bass and sole in Huelva and at a shrimp farm in Cadiz. With this commitment to aquaculture, Pescanova is responding to the supply needs of markets around the world. Italy, Germany and France are currently its largest customers, accounting for more than half of the company's fish-based exports.

At the same time Pescanova has an ongoing commitment to fishing species such as hake, squid and shrimp in open waters, both international and those governed by other countries. The company's fleet operates in the fishing grounds of a dozen countries, including those of Australia, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia. Chile, Argentina and

Peru. The company is also keen to explore deep sea fisheries, which make up 60% of the ocean's surface and remain an untapped resource.

A presence in 21 countries.Another of Pescanova's keys to success is its strong positioning in international markets. The Spanish fishing group has a strong international structure, dedicated to fishing operations and product marketing, with a presence in 21 countries. The company's fishing fleet comprises more than 130 boats spread throughout the main fishing grounds of five continents. Many of these vessels are equipped for deep freezing at sea, Pescanova's hallmark. Its fish and seafood products are complemented by other frozen food ranges such as vegetables, pizzas and pre-cooked and ready-to-eat meals on sale in several European countries. The quality of Pescanova's products, meeting current demands for healthy, low fat diets, which are easy to prepare or aimed particularly at children, has built brand loyalty even further and opened up new markets. Along with frozen products in which it is a sales leader, the company

has diversified its business, selling fresh fish to the U.S. and Japan, having made strong inroads into the latter market. It also sells fish at local markets in various international ports.

Pescanova currently sells around 380,000 tons of fish annually, a quarter of Spain's entire consumption. Of this number around 120,000 tons is caught from its own boats, around 67,000 tons comes from aquaculture production and the rest is purchased from other suppliers on the market. In Spain the firm has 24% of the fish product market. The Spanish market accounts for 53% of Pescanova's sales, while the rest of the European Union makes up 24% and the U.S. 12%. In 2010 the group's main company posted a net profit of 36.29 million Euros, a 13.1% rise on the previous year. Turnover rose to 1,564.8 million Euros, 6.2% higher than the 2009 figure. These figures only confirm the company's buoyant current position, with its aquaculture investment offering an even more promising future, maintaining and strengthening its position among the sector's leading companies worldwide.

AquAculTure, good vAlue for PeScAnovA.Pescanova is strongly committed to aquaculture production, which is growing at a rate of 40% worldwide. The Spanish company exports 57% of its aquaculture production to the European Union, while the remaining 43% is consumed within Spain. Italy is its main client for this type of product, comprising 30% of total sales.


— ¿What is UN women and what are its main objectives?— Let me start by saying that UN Women is an old legacy of the United Nations' system and its member countries, which deals with gender equality issues and advocates for the rights of women and girls throughout the world. With this new structure we will coordinate and promote the work of the entire United Nations' system of organizations, programs and funds to drive gender equality in every country in the world.

Our mandate is to support the UN's Member States and work with their governments and broad sectors of society to design the laws, policies, programs and services necessary to make gender equality a reality and to advocate for the rights of women and girls.

In these first months we have gone ahead with a broad consultation on the proposed Action Plan that we are going to promote over the next 3 years. This plan has benefited from the input of governments and social organization from the majority of our Member States. I am convinced that issues such as as the role of women and respect for their rights, which are so relevant to the development and consolidation of democracy, require participation and collaboration to legitimize the plans proposed.

We will soon be submitting our Action Plan to the Executive Council of UN Women for approval. The plans has five priority areas: eradication of violence; greater leadership and participation; the participation of women in all aspects of the peace and security process; economic empowerment and support for governments in planning and budgeting in relation to women's issues.— In a speech at the UN Women

Advancing the rights of women. A new united nations body begins its work under the direction of the former chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, with the aim of promoting the rights of women and girls around the world.

Michelle Bachelet DIRECTOR GENERAL OF UN WOMEN

“un Women is the fruit of an enormous consensus”Profile Michelle Bachelet was born in Santiago, Chile in 1951. A doctor, she was a student leader and took part in the Socialist Youth movement. In the year 2000 she was named Minister of Health in the Administration of president Ricardo Lagos and two years later took over the defense portfolio. During her term, important changes were made to mandatory military service and the role of the Ministry and its government in military matters was strengthened. Equality of opportunity for women was instituted in the army and the police force. Between 2006 and 2010 she was President of the Republic of Chile. A defender of women's rights throughout her political career, she has always promoted gender equality.


Spain, Chile and other Latin American countries. We already have Spanish cooperation on common areas of work in this field.

We are going to see, as never before, an exercise in solidarity between South-South countries, an exchange of experiences between South American and African women that I am sure will bear fruit. — In a previous issue of "Miradas al Exterior", Ines Alberdi referred to various actions that UNIFEM would carry out in the coming years with Spanish funding. Do the agreements signed at the start of the year remain in place, despite the current economic crisis? — The economic crisis has dealt a very powerful blow to our finances and has hit the economies of Europe and developing countries very hard. But it has also been a devastating blow for emerging economies and definitely for the poorest countries. Now more than ever aid and solidarity is required from donor countries.

We are at a point where the development work and the advances we've made could easily go backwards without the necessary financial resources.

As for the Agreement you referred to, it is a multi-year agreement that extends until 2012. At UN Women we are grateful for the role that the Spanish government plays at a multilateral level in this regard. We are also grateful for the great solidarity the Spanish people have shown, maintaining their support for foreign aid even in difficult times, aware of budgets, as demonstrated by the broad popular support for development cooperation.

Spanish society as a whole, with the long term work that its political and social forces have carried forward, has achieved consensus on urgent matters such as gender equality, the fight against violence and the solidarity that represents an extraordinary social capital for the Spanish people

inauguration ceremony, you committed to a new dynamic in the global dialogue on gender equality. Do you feel as though the upper echelons of the United Nations are backing you? And your former colleagues heading the governments of the main countries ? — My impression is that the creation of UN Women is an encouraging result because it is the fruit of an enormous consensus between the various countries that make up the United Nations and because of their unanimous approval of it in July 2010.

Since I began my work I've had the support of the various countries on the Executive Council, which comprises 41 countries from different geographical and cultural spheres. They have all supported and looked favorably on the consultations and proposals that we have entered into.

The issue of respect and the participation of women has progressively gained ground in each of our countries. There is still a long way to go, however, and we are going to need more support. All the support and alliances we can get to come up with ideas, join forces and create broad strategies to not only recognize the potential of gender equality but also to accelerate the process by which we achieve it.

I am an optimist by definition, so I'm sure we will have social activism's crucial support for this undertaking.— Several of the eight Millennium Development Goals refer explicitly to women. Do you think we can reach these goals in the time planned? — Fulfilling these goals, agreed to by everyone and defined as a social minimum for our peoples, is an enormous challenge for a great many countries. And experience shows that better welfare for women improves the welfare of the rest of the family and, by extension, the community and the country as a whole.

If we want to reduce poverty among women, we have to work so that they have equal access to productive resources, such as land, finance, knowledge and the labor market. If we want to reduce the AIDS pandemic, we have to recognize that gender inequality and violence against women feeds this pandemic and take the necessary legal measures. To reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, where progress has been very slow, we have to improve the status and wellbeing of women and guarantee them access to proper sexual health and reproductive care.

Countries' development strategies need to urgently strengthen their focus on gender. To this end, UN Women will play a fundamental role in coordinating the action of sister agencies of the UN system to work together on these shared objectives. — What role does this new gender body have to play in the situation faced by women in Arab countries and those of North Africa?— We have worked for many years with social movements along with women and youth organizations in this region. Our colleagues in those countries have clearly and effectively articulated a relationship with society as a whole, with women's movements and with institutions, in order to make equality an ongoing theme in the areas of change, discussion and social transformation.

This explains how during the so-called "Arab revolt", UN Women stood alongside women's organizations. There are two fundamental areas of focus to our work in the region: economic empowerment for women and support for their political participation.

In Egypt and Tunisia we are already supporting initiatives along these lines and are organizing a workshop for an exchange of experiences with Latin America.

These countries look with great interest towards the transitions in

The embassy in Germany presents 'Destination berlin' The Spanish embassy in Berlin has opened the exhibition 'Desti-nation: Berlin’, which is showing the works of 21 Spanish artists who usually work in the German capital, now an avante-garde enclave in the European artistic scene. The selection of works from this 'cultural migration' movement is located in one of the most cutting edge buildings on the artistic circuit: Studio 1 in Bethanien.

Spanish airports, leaders in electric cars With the recent acquisition of 10 cars for the Madrid-Barajas airport, AENA now has the big-gest fleet of electric cars of any airport authority in Europe, with a total of 33 vehicles throughout its network.

Victor García de la Concha, Menéndez Pelayo Prize The honorary Director of the Real Academia Española (Span-ish Royal Academy), an institu-tion he has led for 12 years, has been awarded the Menendez Pelayo International Prize, one of the most important literary and scientific prizes in the Span-ish and Portuguese-speaking world.


Created in 1984. This year the work of octavio enríquez, carlos Martínez d’Abuisson, cristóbal Manuel Sánchez and Moisés naím was recognized.

Image from the show 'Destination: Berlin’.

Group photo of the award presenters. The event was attended by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, leader of the PP Mariano Rajoy and winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, Mario Vargas Llosa, among others.

The Ortega y Gasset prizes acknowledge free journalismThe Ortega y Gasset Awards celebrated their 28th edition this year with a marked emphasis on the defense of free journalism. The ceremony held at the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, awarded tenacity and the courage to pursue the truth without giving way to pressure, along with independence and faithful adherence to journalism's values. Octavio Enríquez was awarded in the print journalism category for his articles in the Nicaraguan daily 'La Prensa'. In the digital journalism section, the award went to Carlos Martínez D’Abuisson for his blog published in the El Salvadorian daily 'El Faro', while the prize for pictorial journalism was awarded to Cristóbal Manuel Sánchez Rodríguez for the

photograph ‘Joven paseando desnudo en Puerto Príncipe’ (Naked youth walking in Port au Prince), taken after the earthquake in Haiti. The career award went to Moisés Naim for his independence and analytical capacity.

The Ortega y Gasset Awards brought together significant names from the fields of journalism, politics, economics and culture. The Awards were created in 1984 by the newspaper 'El Pais' in memory of the thinker and journalist José Ortega y Gasset. Their mission is to recognize the best works published in Spanish in the media throughout the world, promoting the defense of freedom, independence, rigor, curiosity and passion as values fundamental to good journalism.

Balenciaga Museum opens in Getaria The Cristobal Balenciaga Museum, the first in the world dedicated to a fashion designer, was opened on the 7th of June. Its aim is to promote, spread and drive the work of one of history's greatest designers, an

international benchmark in fashion and haute couture. Highlights among the collection include Queen Fabiola of Belgium's wedding gown and several of the costumes worn by Grace Kelly.

Spanish chef José Andrés, named best chef in the U.S.. The James Beard Foundation in New York has awarded the Spanish restaurateur Jose Andres with the United States' most prestigious food award. Andrés, who has restaurants in New York and Las Vegas, enjoys great status in the U.S. where he has popularized tapas.

Spanish embassy in Senegal commemorates Women's Day. The Spanish embassy in Senegal, together with UN Women and the Malabo Cultural Center, has opened an exhibition in Dakar titled ‘Femmes-Mujeres-Women-Jigeen’. The exhibition brought together works by Senegalese artists and images by photographer Arturo Biang.

Spain will have a population of 52 million by 2060 According to projections from the EU statistics office, Spain will have 52 million inhabitants in 2060, compared to the current figure of 46 million. The study also warns that Spain will have one of the highest populations of octogenarians, making up 31.5% of the total population, compared with 16.9% currently.


The biodiversia.es portal launched

Spanish natural heritage and biodiversity now on the webBiodiversia, a platform promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation (part of the Ministry of the Rural and Marine Environment) was launched at the beginning of May, enabling people to access, in virtual form, information from the Spanish Inventory of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity. This

website will provide information, knowledge and photographs to enrich the platform. The portal functions as a data base and includes a social network. The contents are geo-referenced on a map on which the viewer can look up species, habitats, fires and soil erosion.

Spanish franchises have built up close to 11,200 establishments in more than 112 countries. Given the slow down of new openings in Spain, the sector has made significant gains through international expansion, which reports growth of 9.7% for 2010 for a total of 992 new establishments. Nevertheless, the sector is highly concentrated as 77% of the new openings are concentrated amongst just 18% of brands. The fashion business Mango had one of the widest spreads in 2010 with almost 1,100 stores in 100 countries, similar figures to Zara, which has a similar number of outlets in 80 countries.

The fashion sector stands out, with a total of 2,774 establishments spread across 58 firms, including Zara, Mango, Pull&Bear and Bershka. However, the Spanish franchise leader abroad is the supermarket chain Dia, with 3,661 establishments throughout the world.

Spanish franchises succeed abroad, with a presence in 112 countries

Number of openings up by 9.7% in 2010. The pull of the big national brands drives a sector which now has 11,200 establishments around the world.

MAin SecTorS By nuMBer of locATionSFood 3.661Fashion 2.774Hospitality and catering 1.161Beauty products 495Home furnishings 472Numbers abroad

deSTinATionS By nuMBer of locATionSPortugal 2.300France 1.475Turkey 754Mexico 599Brazil 543

Portugal, France and Turkey are the markets hosting the highest number of Spanish franchises. The sector is now looking to countries with good growth prospects such as Poland, Colombia and Peru, along with the African market.

One of Biang's photo portraits.


Universia extends its network into Chinese campuses Universia, the network which groups together 1,216 universities in 23 countries across Spain, Portugal and Latin America, has set a priority target of extending its radius of action into China. This is an attempt to respond to Chinese interest in Spain and Latin America.

Spain to encourage renewable energy The Ministry of Industry's 2011-2020 Renewable Energy Plan predicts an investment of around 60 billion Euros in the next decade.. This money will double the amount of photovoltaic power installed and grow solar thermal power by almost 700%.

Six Spanish companies amongst the 100 most promising The award identifies the 100 most promising technology companies in the Europe, Middle East, Africa region Its 2011 awards have recognized six Spanish companies: Transactional Track Record, Anaxomics, Anboto, Incita, Justinmind and Sustainable Referente.

Record Spanish pharmaceutical exports The Spanish pharmaceutical sector has consolidated itself as one of the world's main production centers, both for multinationals as well as for domestic laboratories. As proof of this, exports have risen by around 13% in the past year. Currently this sector is responsible for 4.8% of Spain's exports.

Hydroelectric projects worth 5.2 billion Euros

In Chile Endesa wins largest overseas project for a Spanish company

This leading Spanish company owns 51% of the corporation responsible for building the Hidroausen hydroelectric project. The project involves building five dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers in Chilean Patagonia, which will generate a third of the country's energy consumption.

Worth 5.2 billion Euros, the project surpasses other important works being undertaken by Spanish companies such as the Messina Bridge or the expansion of the Panama Canal. With this new project, Chile becomes entrenched as Endesa's largest investment destination in Latin America.

A date with 2016. The bid beat five other Spanish bids: Burgos, cordoba, las Palmas, Segovia and Zaragoza. San Sebastian will share the bid with the Polish city of Wroclaw.

San Sebastian to be European cultural capitalSan Sebastian will at last join Madrid (1992), Santiago de Compostela (2000) and Salamanca (2002) in the club of Spanish cities which have been European capitals of culture. This initiative, which begun in 1985, is a fantastic opportunity with important benefits for tourism, infrastructure and international prestige for the chosen city. This sparked the interest of 16 Spanish bids, the most ever presented by one country. After a selection process which has run over the past year, just six cities were left in the final straight, vying for an opportunity that will not return to Spain until 2031.

San Sebastian, which at first glance seemed to have less chance than the other candidates (Burgos, Cordoba, Las Palmas, Segovia and Zaragoza), was chosen on the basis of a project called 'Culture for co-existence'. The project opens innovative spaces to reform current cultural policies, by importing

and exporting creative ideas and participation to and from Europe. The Spanish city will share the title with the Polish city of Wroclaw. San Sebastian 2016 is a project with a budget of 89 million Euros, to be invested by 2010, 75% financed by public institutions, 20% by the private sector and with a 1.5 million Euro contribution from the European Union.

Official logo of the San Sebastian bid.


With thanks to... Adolfo Suárez

The bow and the arrowThe eleven years that saw his name go down in history started long ago in 1969, when as civil governor of Segovia, he met the Prince of Asturias, a man who by then had a rather uncertain future. They ended in 1981, when he handed in his resignation as head of the government to His Royal Highness, the King.

The only possible way of summarizing his role in those decisive years of transition is by saying that, along with King Juan Carlos, he was the key figure in the sophisticated and audacious political operation that saw dictatorship give way to democracy.

For this to happen two things were necessary. In themselves they occur very rarely but when they happen together it verges on a miracle. These were: a more enlightened, sensible and flexible political class than is usually the case, and a society prepared to pay a high price to cast off

the lethargy into which it had sunk at the hands of Franco's regime ,

Those who had met him previously knew of his intelligence, courage and capacity for work as well as, it must be said, his very real ambition. But it is unlikely that they could have predicted the ease with which he renounced the principles of the Movement that had shaped him, to adopt a pragmatism that, without which, no politician ever gets far. The long-term program that he and his mentor designed was a plan at least as sensible as it was brilliant. It was not some abstract scheme dreamt up to be propounded from on high, but designed for a society politically catatonic after forty years of dictatorship. One by one the points plotted in advance were reached, despite resistance from those loyal to the regime, destined to disappear, and the all round inexperience of everyone else when it came to the details of the new brand

of politics that he wanted to establish. If the Prince (later the King) was the bow, Adolfo Suarez was the venture's arrow - a venture so bold and yet at the same time cautious, brilliantly planned and managed. The arrow hit the target and the successful result was a country once more master of its own destiny. This is not to say, of course, that everything done back then turned out well. Nor was the responsibility all his.

The historical importance of the swift and certain arrow that was Adolfo Suarez also grows over time for another reason. Because he was not given time to immortalize himself in power, to be burnt onto our retinas in that expression of his, a bullfighter adjusting his breeches - or perhaps a Roman senator adjusting his toga. Because we never got to see him torn between principles and compromises, nor betraying the values that he had defended come hell or high water under the greatest of pressures - what were then

called factual powers - nor learning to circumvent the law for some form of personal gain.

An illness that could have been designed by ruthless Gods. It saved him from all those mistakes and us from all those deceptions, which were not perhaps inevitable but which, judging by what happened to others of whose honesty there was initially no doubt, might well have eventuated. Wrapping him in its cloak, the illness took from him the memory of those triumphs, elevating him directly to the pedestal that the future had reserved for him. And there it is, that marble statue that reminds us with its presence alone that there are men who seem made of something better than the rest of us. The only thing lacking is a brief Latin quote capable of summarizing the inestimable importance that Adolfo Suarez has today to his compatriots, including those who, at the time, didn't believe in him.

It was just eleven years but it could just as well have been a century. Future historians have more than enough material to return over and over to the most obvious question: How was it possible? by Jacobo

García. JournAliST

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● La crisis económica en América Latina. José Luis Machinea. Published by Siglo XXI University of Alcala. Fundación CarolinaLast May 11, IELAT (the Institute of Latin American Studies) at the University of Alcala in Henares organized the presentation of the book ‘La crisis económica en América Latina’ (The economic crisis in Latin America). The work by Jose Luis Machinea, Prebisch Chair at IELAT had great reach and impact. Along with the author, the event was attended by Rosa Conde, director general of the Fundación Carolina, Virgilio Zapatero, ex- vice chancellor at the university of Alcala, and Joaquín Estefanía, director of the “El País” school of journalism.Machinea's book reviews the recent international financial crisis which has short and medium term consequences for the whole world. Latin America was no exception although, surprisingly, it was not affected as badly as supposed. It also examines the impacts of the crisis on the economic, social and political areas, as well as

the reasons why it was less damaging than expected. . In effect, the world crisis created a short recession in Latin America and had a mild impact on social conditions.

● Alerta 2011! Informe sobre conflictos, derechos humanos y construcción de paz. Escola de Cultura de PauThis annual publication analyzes the state of the world in terms of conflict and peace building from six angles: armed conflict, tension, peace processes, humanitarian crises, human rights and transitional justice and gender in the peace building process. The document attempts to be a tool to help better understand the dynamics of current conflicts and peace building, with the aim of exposing the relationship between various factors in the conflicts and their possible resolution. The Escola de Cultura de Pau (Pau Cultural School) has also published the sixth edition of the ‘Anuario Procesos de paz’ (Peace Process Yearbook), which analyzes conflicts for which there are attempts to negotiate agreements, whether they be formalized, in an exploratory phase, satisfactorily concluded or stalled or in crisis.

● Biography. Félix Grande. Círculo de LectoresThis book collects the poetry of Felix Grande since 1958, and includes a book written in 2010 called 'La caballera de la Shoa',

which is a surprising and shocking work. Considered one of the most important Spanish wordsmiths from

the movement known as the children of the war, Felix Grande (Merida, 1937) is also an independent voice on the literary scene who has followed a very personal literary path, always steering wide of the social norm. Rooted firmly in his Extremaduran origins, his poetry was open to other influences, such as jazz and flamenco, on which he is one of the highest authorities.

● De Mayrit a Madrid. Madrid y los árabes, del siglo IX al siglo XXI. Various authors. Casa Árabe-IEAM/Lunwerg. Madrid is the only European capital whose origins and name are linked to the Arab world. This legacy has been forgotten however, because the Mayrit medina, a defense and a border, left no physical footprint, making it easy to overlook history and forget the seven centuries of Madrid's Arab-Islamic past (Andalusian, Mudejar and Morisco). Revisiting and understanding the past is

the aim of this original work by a range of well-known specialists - experts on the Arab world, historians and others. It seeks to revive knowledge about a relationship between Madrid and the Arab world that did not end with the Middle Ages. La villa y corte (Madrid) maintained various long term links with the Arab world via diplomatic delegations, Arab identities received by the city, valuable collections of manuscripts and coins, a romantic architectural style that dotted the city with a range of neo-Islamic buildings and hispano-arab scientific and cultural institutions. And lastly, the cosmopolitan and intercultural reconversion of the city, which has received new Arab and Muslim immigration that once again gives a human face to Madrid's relationship with the Arab world.

● El derecho al desarrollo y la cooperación internacional. J. Daniel Oliva. CIDEALThis book focuses on the impact that the right to development has on international cooperation, with particular emphasis on Spain. It starts from the premise that the right to development is a multi-

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dimensional human right, internationally recognized and closely linked to civil, political and, particularly, economic, social and cultural rights and moves on to cover the idea of development cooperation. There are few current publications on the

right to development written by Spanish authors, and even fewer that cover the link between this right and international cooperation. This is one of the main features of the book. Its author links updated content about this right with development cooperation in practice, over which it exerts an increasingly profound influence.

● Israel. Crónica del país del Libro. Alberto Masegosa. Los Libros de la CatarataThe Israeli people are still yet to decide whether their country is the result of a divine promise or a very tight vote at the UN. Nor whether they want war or peace; whether they opt for the Tel Aviv model of indifferent secularism or Jerusalem's religious fervor. It is an existential conflict which has devastated the Palestinians and kept the most delicate region on earth in a state of permanent instability. The Bible created the Jewish people more than two millennia ago and, in recent terms, this led to the creation of the State of Israel six decades ago. It was founded as a homeland for the Jewish people, hitherto a diaspora. However today there are more Jews living outside the State than within it and modern Israel functions as a religious democracy of theocratic origin, governed by a growing conservative majority which stands in

the way of a solution to the other drama, the Palestinian question. The author Alberto Masegosa has been a correspondent for the EFE Agency, in various parts of the world, for over twenty years.

● La Realidad de la Ayuda 2010. Intermón OxfamOne year on, Intermon Oxfam analyzes the political events that will shape cooperation between Spain and the international community in the coming months. 2010 was the year of the earthquake that struck Haiti, exposing the

vulnerability of one of the world's poorest nations in the face of natural disaster. It was also the year of Spain's Presidency of the European Union. In the words of Ariane Arpa, head of Intermon, the greatest economic convulsion we have lived through remains unresolved and events of the last two years have afforded us a bitter lesson: While unemployment and poverty devastate a large part of the most vulnerable communities across the length and breadth of the planet, the response from governments and international institutions is more concerned with saving those responsible for the crisis than in helping its victims.

● Los derechos humanos en la sociedad global. Fernando M. Mariño, Manuel Gómez-Galán y Juan Manuel de Faramiñán (Coords.) Foreword by Fernando Savater. Editorial CidealWe are currently going through a "cloudy" period

● Memoria y esperanza. Relatos de una vida. Marcelino Oreja. La Esfera de los librosThis publication summarizes the life of Marcelino Oreja, through his school years, university education, diplomatic career in the cabinet of minister Fernando Maria Castiella and political activity before and after the Transition. This set of fascinating and vital responsibilities led him to cross paths with statesmen such as Jimmy Carter, Valéry Giscard d´Estaing, Willy Brandt, Andrei Gromyko, Simon Peres and Lech Walesa. There were spiritual leaders such as Simone Weil, Pedro Laín Entralgo, Kurt Waldheim and the Dalai Lama; various popes, from Paul VI to Benedict XVI; leaders of various African countries, such as Hassan II and Gaddafi, and Spanish politicians such as Felipe González, José María Aznar and Javier Solana, amongst others. This is a fascinating read, full of entertaining and original anecdotes, which offer a better understanding both of Spain's international endeavors and of the lesser-known intricacies of domestic politics, and leaves the reader admiring the loyal diplomatic service of Marcelino Oreja.

✱... a must read

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● Memoria de cuatro Españas. Carlos Robles Piquer. Editorial PlanetaIn this vast biography, Carlos Robles Piquer, a career diplomat turned politician, reveals the immense political, social, and economic changes that took place in Spain during four key periods: the

Second Republic, the civil war, the Franco regime, and democracy. He describes how his life has been one of constant adaptation to the times, and affirms that there are more communication channels than are usually acknowledged between the differing visions of the

political parties, the press, and diplomacy. An objective observer of Spain's reality, he breaks down the history of our country from the standpoint of its numerous diplomatic destinations and political posts, revealing a self-portrait of a tireless worker in the service of Spain.

✱... a must read

with regard to human rights. The growing extent to which such rights are subordinated to interests of varying types, and justified by broad and influential sectors on the international stage, is troublesome. Society must develop mechanisms to try to counteract this tendency, since it is also the responsibility of all citizens to defend human rights, and along with them respect for the dignity of all. Beginning with this premise, this book approaches

several of the most sensitive fundamental rights from an original perspective: it approaches its content from an informational standpoint, by presenting specific cases

and pointing out practical ways to act in the face of possible violations.

● Sostenibilidad en España. Informe 2010. Observatorio de la Sostenibilidad (OSE)

In the face of the current crisis, it has become clearer than ever that we must create reports that analyze as objectively as possible, on the basis of the best information available, whether we are progressing towards true sustainable development. This need provides the context for the sixth annual report of the OSE, ‘Sostenibilidad en España 2010’, whose purpose is to approach simultaneously, and in an integrated fashion, the economic, environmental, social and institutional aspects of progress towards sustainable development, taking into account the variety of dimensions, sectors and territories, while attempting to make available to society a relevant body of knowledge for decision making in the face of

changing realities and possible future scenarios.The way out of the crisis will involve establishing processes that allow for an absolute disassociation of economic growth from environmental degradation and resource usage, while at the same time incorporating " sufficiency" criteria for rational consumption. But the bases must also be established for a collective survival economy to combat the most serious inequalities on the world scale, such as those set out in the Millennium Objectives.

● Guía poética de Albania. Manuel Montobbio. Editorial IcariaIn this book, diplomat

Manuel Montobbio, the first Spanish Ambassador to live in Albania, invites the reader to embark on a journey that is also a journey to oneself, in which, through a poetic filtering of the experiences of everyday life, we can draw near to the essence and soul of Albania, its drama, myths, and symbolic universe. A journey into, and back out of that land through the five stations or stages in which is is structured: Guide to Albania, Tirana, Búnkeres, Women-men and Heavens of Albania-, a symphony in five movements allowing us to penetrate the reality and the experience of the great defining facts of contemporary Albania and its collective reference

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57c publications

points, and in the great questions and aspirations that we confront in our daily walk through life, in the journey towards essences, towards fully becoming all that we can be, the return to Ithaca that is found in the journey.

● España, el Mediterráneo y el mundo arabomusulmán. B. López García y M. Hernando de Larramendi. Icaria EditorialThe current challenges facing Spain as it seeks to define its policy towards the Mediterranean and the Arab-Muslim world, force us to take a global view that brings together the knowledge and experiences of those who know the region first hand. This book reflects upon the history of relations between Spain and the Arab-Muslim world during the past two centuries; from the 18th and 19th centuries to the creation of the Barcelona Process, stopping along the way to examine the policies of the Franco regime and the changes brought about in democratic Spain, including the return of our country to the CEE.

● El espacio público como ideología. Manuel Delgado. Los libros de la CatarataWhile urban planners, architects and designers may conceive of public space as a gap between structures that must be properly filled to meet the goals of developers and public authorities,

that is, as a complement to urban operations, there is alternative discourse in which this concept is understood as the embodiment of an ideological value. In this view, public space is a place for the materialization of a variety of abstract categories such as democracy, citizenship, coexistence, civic responsibility, consensus,

● Crónicas de un médico en el mundo (Chronicle of a doctor to the world) Jaume E. Ollé. Editorial IcariaThroughout his thirty-year career, Jaume E. Ollé has centered his professional and personal life around a conviction of the need to go to work wherever health and medical care is in a precarious situation. Haiti, Santo Domingo, Bolivia, Djibouti, Mali, Uganda and Ethiopia are some of the countries where he has rendered his labors as a physician, always with an attitude that refuses to accept that quality medical care is only for the rich. The articles that make up this book, as well as the work as a whole, are yet another way in which Dr. Ollé helps to reveal the critical medical situation in which Third World countries find themselves, as well as providing a space where he can share the life experiences and reflections that justify the challenging

path he has chosen, a path that, in spite of frustrations and outrages, has provided him with the immense satisfaction that informs this work. As Eduardo Eduardo Mendoza states in the prologue, "this short book is like no other, and it can be read in many different ways, including as a fabulous novel or a series of fascinating individual stories. It can also be taken as a reflection or an accusation, something to unsettle our conscience and to set our ideas on their heads. The most sensible way to read it is as all those things, and whatever else you want it to be."

✱... a must read

etc., and therefore a place where one would hope to see movement of an orderly mass of free and equal beings, who use that space to come and go from and to activities involving work or consumption, and who in their free time pass through such space unworried, as through a paradise of courtesy. Nevertheless, as affirmed by Manuel Delgado –professor of

Religious Anthropology at the University of Barcelona- when we analyze that dream of a public space build upon dialog and harmony, it collapses the moment we see the external signs of a society whose raw material is inequality and failure.

● Manual para una economía sostenible. Roberto Bermejo. Los libros de la Catarata. Even though the message of a future of progress is constantly being conveyed to society, the loss of purchasing power and social cohesion, precarious employment, and huge and growing inequality of income, serve only to increase the sense that society's well-being is deteriorating. In addition, although the communication media may have expanded their coverage of these problems, the information they provide tends to be partial; the causes of these phenomena are not shown with clarity or they are simply wrong,and are jumbled with optimistic messages about the abundance of resources and the ability to quickly solve problems with new technologies. Through an analysis of resource scarcity and of what the author considers the only authentic form of sustainability (that which imitates nature), the reader can familiarize himself with those transformations necessary to achieve sustainability in the economic system, energy, transportation, and modes of production and consumption.

Rosa Montero"reading has always been a minority pursuit, but that minority is larger today than ever"“If I knew why I write, I might never write again," said Jorge Semprún. Or as Antonio Tabucchi put it: “We write because we are here, but would rather be there." “I am not very sure –Almudena Grandes confessed-, but I think I write because I feel an irresistible need to write”. Rosa Montero (Madrid, 1951) affirms that she writes

because she cannot stop the relentless whirlwind of images that pass through her head. Some of those images, she says, move her to the point 'that I feel an overwhelming need to share them.' In a special interview with El País, the newspaper that publishes her column, about the motives that keep the best writers in our country 'pounding the

keys' - she goes on to say that "I write so that I'll have something to think about as I lie in bed at night, in that world of half-light between wakefulness and sleep, as my fears and anxieties attack me. I write because when I do, I am so full of life that my death no longer exists: while I write I am untouchable and eternal. And, most of all, I write in an attempt to

Journalist and author Rosa Montero defines herself as an 'organic' writer: 'For me, writing is like breathing or drinking. It's what gives me structure.' Montero shares her thoughts with Miradas al Exterior about 'that exoskeleton that keeps me standing,' about literature and about a journalism that 'in Spain is sometimes too committed’.by beatriz beeckmans.

58 e interview

59e interview

give a meaning to evil and pain that, in reality, I know they do not possess." — We'll ask you once again: ¿why does Rosa Montero write? — I always like to say that I am an organic writer, because my writing is like breathing or drinking. Like most novelists, I began to write fiction when I was still a child: my first stories, some

horrid pieces about little talking rats, I wrote when I was only five years old. So, for as long as I can remember myself as a person, I remember myself writing. It's what gives me structure. Call it a sort of exoskeleton that keeps me standing. Without it, I think I would fall to pieces. And, in any event, I write in an attempt to give a meaning to evil and pain that, in

reality, I know does not exist. — A famous contemporary observed that writers write "to return to past lives, to the readings and the old setbacks that we all carry in our backpacks." May I ask you, Mrs. Montero, what is it that most weighs down your backpack? — In my backpack? My people. My

60 e interview

friends. The people that I love and have loved. Moments of beauty and peace. Shared laughter. The books that I have read and written. — How did you come to writing? Did you enjoy writing compositions in school? — Yes, I have always enjoyed writing. And reading. Every novelist is, first and foremost, a passionate reader. — The Madrid Book Fair recently ended. In our opinion, is book publishing in a healthy state in Spain? — It goes without saying that it is in quite robust health, even though the crisis has been hard on everyone. Reading has always been a minority pursuit, but that minority is larger today than ever. — Where do you place Spanish

literature on the world stage? Do you think we are being read and enjoyed in other countries? — We are gaining respect day by day, after having been largely invisible for a very long time. — What reading would you recommend to a child? — A child today? Harry Potter, of course. As reading material it ensures success, and as literature it is superb. — How does what you read influence what you write? — We are all the children of our mother and father, or in other words, the books we have read form a part of our imaginarium, a part of the essence of who we are. But that doesn't mean that there is a direct influence. — At the risk of being trite, who is your favorite Spanish author, and why? — Heavens! I don't have just one, I have many. Setting aside the classics, and we all know who they are (for me, besides Cervantes, I love Quevedo, Pardo Bazán, Clarín, Galdós...), there are many of my contemporaries that I find fascinating: Martínez de Pisón, Elvira Lindo, Juan Marsé, Atxaga, Ovejero, Clara Sánchez, Gándara… — Your style is direct and committed. What things do you plan to keep writing about, to keep attention focused on them? — What do you mean by "committed"? A narrative writer's only commitment is to the work itself... What I mean by that is you don't write to teach anything, only to learn. What they call social commitment seems to me more of a betrayal of the true function of narrative, which is to find the meaning of existence. And while we're on the subject, let me say that you don't choose the stories that you tell; rather, the stories choose you. In other words, I don't know what I'm going to write about until I write it. — Your most recent novel, ‘Lágrimas en la lluvia’ (Tears in the Rain) (Seix Barral) alludes from the very first page to the melancholy of loss, but also to the joy of living. How do you

Every novelist is, first and foremost, a passionate reader.

She would recommend Harry Potter to a child, as superb literature

To mature as a writer is to become more and more free

61e interview

What they call social commitment seems to me a betrayal of the true function of narrative

You don't choose the stories that you tell, the stories choose you

Unfortunately, in Spain journalism is practiced with far too much "commitment," as they call it

I suppose I also write to try to combat the perpetual gnawing of time

reconcile those two emotions in your life? — Well, your observation is spot on, because that is, in fact, the essence of my relationship with life.... Life is both beautiful and dark (the title of another of my novels), paradoxical, ephemeral. It is impossible not to feel at once its beauty and its fleeting nature. I suppose that that is also precisely the reason why I write, to try to combat the perpetual gnawing of time. — You have said that with this novel, you wanted to recover the pleasure in writing that you had when you were a child. Had you lost that along the way?— Yes. To mature as a writer is to become more and more free, and it is very difficult to conquer that inner freedom. The hardest thing for us to know in life is who we are and what we want, because we live to give others what they want from us. Then comes the pressure of wanting to "be somebody", the vanity, the outside pressures, because writing is more and more a marketplace. Even my mother says to me: 'Daughter, you dropped one spot on the best-seller list.' Almost all of us novelists have written since we were children, because it is how we live, how we deal with the blackness of life. And that pure emotion can become twisted. — Is sadness inspiring?— Melancholy can give you a very lucid and well-defined view of things. Happiness also serves to create, but sadness does not. That whole business about having to suffer to write well is a sort of bohemian legend, as if one had to be an alcoholic in order to create. The whole idea that suffering allows you to create is a lie. Suffering destroys. It paralyzes.— Does your experience as a journalist influence your fiction? — In a different way, and after the fact. There are writers who tell the story of their own life, and if they are good enough it becomes something universal. And then there are others, myself included, who are not interested

in telling our own story because what is truly marvelous is to be able to live the life of another. For example, when the replicants in my novel purchase artificial memories, in order to live lives other than their own. — On June 18 we celebrated "E Day", or Spanish Day, to celebrate the fact that more than 500 million people in the world now speak Spanish. How can we take better advantage of this resource that allows us to reach so many people? What is your favorite word in Spanish? — We need to foster cultural communication in every country…. Novels, films, music and theatrical works need to travel around and be shared. My favorite word is "compassion," because it is the only one of the great words that cannot be betrayed. Many people have been imprisoned in the name of freedom, jealous husbands kill in the name of love, and horrific injustices have been committed, and bloody repression unleashed in the name of justice... But you cannot betray the meaning of the word compassion, you cannot use it to subjugate your fellow man, because it is a word that speaks only of the ability to "feel with" someone and place oneself in his or her place. — Your column in the El País Weekly is a privileged forum from which you can address society. How do you choose the subjects that you write about there? — Well! This is where I try to achieve that "commitment" that you spoke about earlier in the social context. I try to be attentive to the quiet voices of people who have little access to the communication media and who are the most vulnerable. And I also try to think things through and express some of my own ideas, however small they might be. — Creating opinion is a huge responsibility. Do you think that committed journalism is practiced in Spain? — Unfortunately it is practiced with far too much "commitment," as they call it…. By that I mean there is too much

62 e interview

ProfileRosa Montero was born in Madrid in 1951. She studied journalism and psychology -“I didn't stick with it, because it claimed to be an exact science, which it is not”- and worked for several communications companies (Hermano Lobo, Posible, Fotogramas, etc.). An interviewer and reporter, she developed her career with the daily El País, where she is now a columnist. In 1978 she won the Premio Mundo interviewing prize, in 1980

the National Journalism award, and in 2005 she was awarded the Rodríguez Santamaría Journalism prize in recognition of her lifelong career. She was recently awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the University of Puerto Rico. She is the author of several novels: ‘Crónica del desamor’ (1979), ‘La función’ Delta (1981), ‘Te trataré como a una reina ‘(1983, Seix Barral), ‘Amado amo’ (1988), ‘Temblor’ (1990, Seix Barral), ‘Bella y

oscura’ (1993, Seix Barral), ‘La hija del caníbal’ (1997, Primavera Prize), ‘El corazón del tártaro’ (2001), ‘La loca de la casa’ (2003, What to Read Prize for the best book of the year in Spanish and the Grinzane Cavour prize of 2005 for foreign literature), ‘Historia del Rey Transparente’ (2005, What to Read Prize for the best book in Spanish) and ‘Instrucciones para salvar el mundo’ (2008). She is also the author of a book of stories, ‘Amantes

y enemigos’ (1998), and of works dealing with journalism, ‘España para ti para siempre’ (1976), ‘Cinco años de país’ (1982), ‘La vida desnuda’ (1994), ‘Historias de mujeres’ (1995), ‘Entrevistas’ (1996), ‘Pasiones’ (1999), ‘Estampas bostonianas y otros viajes’ (2002) and ‘Lo mejor de Rosa Montero’ (2006), and of children's books, ‘El nido de los sueños’ (1991) and the ‘Bárbara’ series. Her works have been translated into more than twenty languages.

From top to bottom and left to right. Rosa Montero on the Jury of the thirteenth Prince of Asturias Prize in 1993, with Octavio Paz, Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, Emilio Alarcos and Luis María Ansón, among others. Montero in 1997, posing with José María Carrascal and Antonio Gala, as the best-selling authors at the Madrid Book Fair. In the year 2005 with the Prince and Princess of Asturias, during a luncheon preceding the awarding of the Cervantes Prize.

partisan content. I am referring to the fact that one of the problems in our society during the past, say, ten or fifteen years, is that the communication media have allied themselves much too closely with political groups, and between them all they are driving us crazy.... — Speaking of diversity of opinion, and since you know about the subject from family tradition, what do you think about the debate on

bullfighting? — I am the daughter of a professional bullfighter and I understand how complex this subject is. I think it is a tremendously violent spectacle, not only for the bulls but also, of course, for those who fight them. It is an antiquated sort of raw violence that is no longer consistent with our social and cultural development in every other aspect. But I am against banning it, because it seems

to me all that would do would be to give a second wind to something that is already rapidly fading on its own. — You have described yourself as "pleasure-seeking" and "hypertechnological." What else defines Rosa Montero? — I see myself as curious, nervous, (excessively) vehement, (more than excessively) argumentative, passionate, impatient, reflective, and empathetic.

63e interview

Miradas al Exterior is an official diplomatic information publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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