For Spanish Cooperation, culture IS development

This publication presents the model created and describes how it evolved to become a paradigm for cultural initiatives. The English-language version, furthermore, introduces us to international organisations and the institutions with which we work. In it, we first reflect on our points of departure and indicate some directions for future development. Then, each cultural centre is presented in turn, in the manner of a yearbook, with a description of what it is, where it is situated and what it does. Finally, rather than highlighting our own milestones, successes and failures, from a standpoint that would inevitably be subjective, we ask others to describe the centres and to give their opinions. Firstly, we hear from the users of the centres, together with local co-workers, who have endowed the physical spaces with content and observed their evolution at first hand. We also seek the views of leading figures from Spanish culture who have visited the centres, taking their art and their knowledge overseas, not only teaching but also learning from the experience. The reality of the cultural centres is illustrated with two concrete examples that have emerged from two well-established experimental laboratories, institutions with a life and spirit of their own: La Casa Tomada in El Salvador and the Laboratorio de Ciudadanía Digital in Mexico. Finally, we thank all those who have contributed, over the years, to the creation of this model and its unique personality; the AECID staff at the headquarters in Spain, the personnel, both Spanish and local, working at each of the centres, and above all, the users, the people who have brought these facilities to life, showing us the way forward and ensuring that the centres achieve their full potential. This, let us not forget, was the original goal, the reason for their existence. Without this local involvement by those most directly affected, the centres would literally have no purpose. May the network continue to evolve and prosper. Hopefully, it will preserve what has always been one of its defining aspects, an indispensable element of the model – something that is intangible, hard to describe, but nevertheless contagious – whoever works with the centres or merely comes into contact is rapidly entranced. To paraphrase Lope de Vega, we can safely say that whoever has tried it, knows. Anyone who has interacted with one of these centres during their professional career will agree, its work is not defined merely by the task at hand, but is almost always based on commitment and enthusiasm. May this never falter.

Network of Cultural Centres of Spanish Cooperation. Culture as a crucial element of the framework for sustainable development

Network of Cultural Centres, Spanish Cooperation

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) is an offshoot of the Institute of Hispanic Culture, which was created in 1946 to foster relations between Spain and its former colonies in Latin America. AECID forms part of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation, and is responsible for carrying out Spanish policies for international development cooperation. It was created in 1988 to combat poverty by promoting, managing and implementing public policies aimed at achieving sustainable human development in developing countries, particularly those included in the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation. To carry out its projects and activities, AECID has established a wide-ranging structure of Technical Cooperation Offices (TCOs), Training Centres (TCs) and Cultural Centres (CCs) in the countries in which it operates. The Network of Spanish Overseas Cultural Centres is one of the main instruments of Spanish Cooperation to implement cultural cooperation policies for development. The Agency is currently present in fifteen countries, with eighteen cultural centres (sixteen in Latin America and two in Equatorial Guinea). The geographic distribution of the network demonstrates the strength of the historic, cultural and linguistic ties between Spain and these areas. AECID views culture as a key factor in achieving sustainable human development, in eradicating poverty, in actively pursuing peace building and in fostering the full and universal exercise of global citizenship. Within this framework, the network of cultural centres, as part of the Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations, works to strengthen the potential of culture in assuring a sustainable world for us all.

I. The Network of Cultural Centres in the framework of the 2030 Agenda

The implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN General Assembly, 2015), as a frame of reference for the Government of Spain – and, especially, for Spanish Cooperation – invites us to reflect on the role played by the Network of Cultural Centres (NCC) in the context of the policies implemented by the Agency.