The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, today chaired the first meeting of the plenary session of the Global Observatory for the Spanish Language, which is one of the flagship elements of the "Valley of the Language" in La Rioja. A project aimed at harnessing the potential of Spanish as a tool for territorial development in a context marked by digitalisation processes and transformations in knowledge technology.
The meeting, held at the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute in Madrid, allowed its members to review the preparatory work carried out so far and to discuss and approve the proposed three-year action plan (2025-2027), which was agreed upon by the Observatory’s permanent executive committee on 28 October in Logroño.
The plenary session of the centre highlighted the strategic importance of Spanish as a line of action in Spain's foreign policy, emphasising the relevance of its planning and design being rooted in obtaining clear and precise data regarding the international and socioeconomic importance of the Spanish language.
Addressing the Observatory plenary, Albares recalled that, for the Government of Spain, our language is a strategic axis of our foreign policy. Therefore, there is a need for organisations that can help us obtain better assessments of its global influence and that complement, support, and reinforce the work carried out by the Cervantes Institute. The minister also emphasised the impetus given by the authorities of La Rioja in May 2022.
After the plenary session, a public presentation of the Global Observatory for the Spanish language took place, in which Minister Albares explained that this Observatory is conceived as a research centre. It will have a human team of professionals dedicated to analysing and studying the status of Spanish worldwide, especially in the context of the new digital economy, and therefore aims to become a key tool for knowledge and understanding.
Key tool
Albares explained that this Observatory aims to become a key tool for shaping strategic actions to promote and spread our language, particularly in relation to its connection with the new digital economy and the opportunities it creates. To achieve this, it will be essential to define the areas where the development of studies, as well as the collection and analysis of data, can provide relevant and necessary information for defining the most effective strategies.
The minister also emphasised that it is a tool open to international collaboration, starting with the brother countries of Ibero-America, with whom we share cultural and historical ties, as well as a common heritage: the Spanish language. In this regard, he pointed out that, in recent few months, Spain has signed bilateral Memorandums of Understanding for the promotion of Spanish in diplomacy and international organisations with Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Uruguay and Chile.