Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres
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Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo
The Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo (CCSM) and its counterpart in Bata (CCSB) are part of a historic productive process dating from 1979, when a massive international response was mobilised in support of the country, after a decade in which the emerging state of Equatorial Guinea had collapsed. Cooperation at this initial stage took the form of humanitarian aid. As if the country had been hit by a hurricane, international agencies not only collaborated with the local authorities but on occasion even replaced them in order to meet urgent needs. The Cooperation Office in Equatorial Guinea was created within this context of urgency, a full decade before the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) took shape. Throughout the country, the Office carried out multi-sector programmes, many of which (such as culture, heritage and education) were involved in the restoration of the historical Cardenal Cisneros Institute, and the consequent creation of the Hispanic-Guinean Culture Centre. During the next twenty years, this bi-national institution, associated with the Organisation of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture, dynamised the cultural scene in Equatorial Guinea, generating a network of decentralised cultural facilities across the country, with classes in various artistic disciplines, a successful publishing house and even an educational radio station (Radio África 2000). The CCSM made a significant impression on the “generation of the Equatorial Guinean renaissance” and those who were young then often say, “you aren’t from Malabo if you didn’t go used to go to the Hispanic-Guinean film shows on Sunday mornings”. Despite this considerable history, the CCSM is still relatively young: its re-establishment in 2003
lacked the urgency of the previous reconstruction work, but arose during the inclusion of cultural policies as part of the cooperation agenda. This circumstance was almost inevitable, as the Centre came into being during the period in which Spain was a leading proponent of 2001 Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, at the UNESCO General Conference, which was later followed by the arduous discussions resulting in the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expression, and the AECID’s Culture and Development Strategy Paper, published in 2007. Fundamentally, therefore, the CCSM continued a path that had been previously mapped out, whilst adapting it to the new challenges facing the cultural centres. In terms of geography, the CCSM is characterised by its island location, off the African continent. However, it works in close coordination with the Cultural Centre in Bata to make a nationwide impact, transmitting Spain’s cooperative efforts within Africa and the Ibero-American Cultural Space, thus facilitating fruitful exchanges among creators and enabling local artists to make their mark on the international scene. The twin focus of Spanish activities in Equatorial Guinea is reflected in the Centres’ efforts to incorporate local creative diversity into the programmes and activities promoted, and also in generating conditions that will enable local cultural activities to be extended further afield, and even the promotion of exchange programmes with Spanish and Ibero-American artists. Perhaps the most notable aspect of this expansion of the cultural horizon is the support provided by Casa Africa for the Vis a Vis festival, an encounter between Spanish cultural promoters and African musicians, but other important initiatives include the tour of
