Cultural Section of the Embassy of Spain
The primary mission of the Cultural Section of the Embassy of Spain in Beirut is the promotion of our country’s culture in Lebanon through the organization of cultural activities and the collaboration with other institutions and cultural centers in the country. Likewise, it seeks to promote educational exchange through the processing and granting of
MAEC-AECID
scholarships for applicants to pursue their studies in Spain.
Spanish-lebanese relations in the fields of Culture, Education and Science
Legal Framework
The legal framework for Spanish cooperation in Lebanon is the Scientific, Technical, Cultural and Educational Cooperation Framework Agreement, dated February 22nd, 1996, which was ratified by Lebanon in 2000 and has entered into force since then. However, the Agreement has not been implemented, especially in regard to the implementation of the bilateral Joint Commission, partially due to political instability and the absence of adequate government counterparts, at least until recently.
Joint Commission
Although the Agreement of 1996 provides in its Article VII the constitution of a Joint Commission to monitor and control the implementation of the same, which is supposed to meet periodically and alternately in the territory of each of the parties, it was never summoned to date.
Dissemination of Spanish
Inaugurated in August 2002,
Cervantes Institute Center in Beirut is having an extraordinary success especially when it comes to calls. It is classified top one in the world, according to the Institute itself, taking into account students number versus population of such a small country like Lebanon and, in absolute terms, it figures among the top ten in the world, ahead Centers like London’s or New York’s.
According to the Encyclopedia of Spanish in the world by Cervantes Institute, in recent years, the interest in learning Spanish in Lebanon has grown exponentially.
The headquarters of the Institute is located in the heart of Beirut, facing the Parliament, and it has a library with over 11.000 volumes as well as functional and adequate facilities. It also has two classroom buildings in Kaslik (suburbs of Beirut) and Tripoli (Safadi Cultural Center).
Moreover, the Spanish Contingent operating in the UNIFIL offers free Spanish classes to the inhabitants of the region of Marjeyoun, where the Spanish Base is situated, in collaboration with Cervantes Institute whose staff quarterly organize training courses for the military professors.
There are no Agreements for Cultural Centers.