CCS Bata

Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata

Cultural cooperation between Spain and Equatorial Guinea dates back to the 1980s and 1990s, when the Hispanic-Guinean Cultural Centre of Malabo promoted various activities that rapidly became an important aspect of sociocultural collaboration between the two countries. In the same period, in the mainland region of Equatorial Guinea, various cultural cooperation activities were implemented through the Cultural Action Programme, via Spain’s Technical Cooperation Office in the city of Bata. The creation of two Spanish cultural centres in Equatorial Guinea was a direct consequence of the increasing presence and promotion of Spanish culture in both areas; the first centre was inaugurated in 2001 in Bata, with the objective of projecting cultural cooperation throughout the country’s mainland region; the second was inaugurated in 2003 in Malabo, after management of the HispanicGuinean Cultural Centre was transferred to the local authorities. The activities of this Cultural Centre are focused on the island of Bioko. After 16 months of construction work, the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata (CCSB) was inaugurated on 9 July 2001 by the ambassador of Spain in Equatorial Guinea, Jacobo González-Arnao Campos. Since its inception, the CCSB has provided a major point of reference for artists, associations, institutions and other sociocultural groups, providing Bata with a wide range of cultural facilities and events, including library services, courses, workshops and the promotion of local artists. The Centre also presents cultural and artistic lectures and facilitates a platform for written and audiovisual publications of various kinds. In parallel to these activities, the CCSB has also consolidated its position as an inclusive institution that promotes diversity and defends fundamental values within the framework of a constantly evolving civil society. The CCSB headquarters, on the waterfront of Bata, near the historic city centre, is excellently located. The building has a surface area of over 2,500 square metres, distributed on three floors around a central courtyard which itself is a multi-purpose space where activities such as exhibitions, concerts and contests are held. The building also contains a large auditorium, an African crafts shop, a bookshop and classrooms. There are two libraries: firstly, a general one with a capacity for over 50 users, and which constitutes a repository of the intellectual and literary life of the continental region of Equatorial Guinea. This library has more than 5,000 volumes, including reference books and those available for loan; there is a specialised section on Africa and Equatorial Guinea, with more than 480 documents on the geography, history and customs of the region, and other sections for literature and magazines. The library also hosts programmes to encourage reading, and is used for lectures, book presentations and many other activities related to the world of culture. In addition to this general library, there is also one for children, with over 1,200 books, providing an invaluable educational environment for primary school children. Apart from this main building, the CCSB also makes use of Asonga Space, the former headquarters of Spanish Cooperation in the country, which is utilised as temporary accommodation for artists and others who collaborate with the institution on a regular basis. This space features various modules, including housing, offices, storerooms and pavilions, all of which contribute to the cultural activities performed. In one of the pavilions, and elsewhere within the site, activities for schoolchildren are carried out, as part of the Asonga Programme.

The CCSB is currently working on various projects aimed at meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, to ensure that the necessary development of our world takes into account the essential goal of sustainability. In this regard, over the last five years, the Centre has conducted a growing number of activities to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities, to foster equality between men and women, to combat gender violence and to encourage respect for diversity. Many of these activities have been carried out in conjunction with other organisations, public or private, such as ASAMA (Association for the Support of African Women), ASSONAMI (Association for the National Solidarity of Disabled Persons), ONCIGE (National Organisation for the Blind of Equatorial Guinea), as well as with educational institutions such as “Manos Felices” and “La Fe”, schools for students with hearing difficulties. With respect to artistic and cultural promotion, the CCSB collaborates with State institutions such as the AEGLE (Equatorial Guinea Academy of the Spanish Language), and has worked with a broad range of local artists in fields such as dance, music, painting and literature. The outcomes of the Centre’s work and its collaborations with other bodies are reflected in the themed weeks organised by the CCSB every year, including Women’s Week and Functional Diversity Week, as well as in training activities such as the Sign Language Workshop, held in the Bata building. In addition, the Centre hosts lectures, the presentation of books and other publications, exhibitions and courses. Inter-institutional collaborations also give rise to events such as Book Week, the Comic and Illustration Contest against Gender Violence, and micro-theatre sessions to urge the eradication of violence against women. The CCSB considers it very important to highlight the country’s rich and diverse heritage, both tangible and intangible. Therefore it has worked to rescue the heritage elements brought from the island of Corisco, identifying them, stabilising their condition, packing them and organising their delivery to the authorities of Equatorial Guinea. Moreover, the Oral Resources Laboratory of the CCSB has tirelessly

1. Christmas carol contest, part of the Conservatory project at the CCSB

2. Guitar workshop

2

3

3. Indigenous Languages Day 2018. Musical performance by Manuel Eyama with traditional instruments

supported initiatives to enhance the understanding, preservation and awareness of the intangible heritage of Equatorial Guinea. In the performing arts, the CCSB has fostered the presentation of theatre performances, with the collaboration of local theatre companies such as Ceiba Bantú, Biyeyema and the Millennium Actors. However, the Cultural Centre does not limit itself to supporting existing talent; it also inspires and instructs. Thus, students’ creative and expressive skills are encouraged and promoted through workshops in drawing, guitar, piano, percussion, poetry and writing. The graduates of these courses, in turn, have become cultural agents, producing a major impact in Equatorial-Guinean society. Some young writers have already published their texts in Spain, after perfecting their writing techniques in the workshop directed since 2017 by Matías Elé, writer and co-editor of the magazine Atanga, which in turn is published by the CCSB. Many of the artists who have emerged after passing through one of the Centre’s workshops

4

are now household names in the country’s cultural landscape, and epitomise the work carried out by the CCSB and its dedication to local culture. Apart from these initiatives promoted directly by the Centre, it also undertakes a wide variety of projects in collaboration with governmental agencies and institutions, or with other cooperation organisations or private bodies, which are invited to make use of the Centre’s facilities for the performance of seminars, courses, awareness-raising activities, drama, film screenings, etc. The CCSB is also an important source of information about scholarships, competitions and announcements, by Spanish and local authorities, regarding activities taking place in Equatorial Guinea and abroad. Information on cultural and artistic interest is disseminated both through its bulletin board and via its presence in social networks. With respect to the Centre’s work elsewhere in the continental region of Equatorial Guinea, the Cultural Extensions Programme is of particular importance. This programme is one of the means by

5

which the CCSB seeks to decentralise its activities, towards other areas of the city and even inland, ranging from Ayamiken to Kogo and from Mbini to Nsork. These extensions of the Centre’s work include activities such as cultural tours, support for festivities in city neighbourhoods, visits to schools and itinerant programmes to encourage reading.

4. Asonga Space, students from the National School, celebrating Mothers’ Day, 2019

5. Concert of female voices, during Women’s Week, March 2019

Women in Africa

Anastasia Nzé Ada President of IDHMA

The non-governmental organisation For Equality and the Human Rights of Women in Africa (IDHMA) has been collaborating with the CCSB in Bata since 2012, with excellent results. Specifically, IDHMA has worked with the Centre on capacity-building projects for civil society organisations in the continental region of Equatorial Guinea, focusing on human rights for women and girls. For the last seven years, as part of the national campaign “16 days of activism against gender violence”, which begins on 25 November every year with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and continues until 10 December, Human Rights Day, IDHMA has held seminars at the Cultural Centre in Bata. The issues discussed in these meetings include violence against women and girls, underage pregnancies, early or forced marriages and the link between gender violence and AIDS. In this respect, too, the Regional Training Seminar on Sensitivity to Gender Equality and Violence Against Women in Equatorial Guinea was held as part of the 7 th National Campaign. During the First National Women’s Week, focused on the celebrations of 8 March, IDHMA held a seminar at the Cultural Centre on gender equality. Another seminar, on equality and African regional instruments for the protection of the human rights of women and girls, was held during the First PanAfrican Week of Women, in commemoration of 31 July. Finally, a seminar on human rights and human trafficking was organised in March 2019, in the context of the Ven Amiga (Come Friend) project to provide comprehensive assistance to women and girls subjected to people trafficking in Equatorial Guinea. The opening ceremony of this event was attended by the Consul of Spain in Bata and the director of the Centre. The IDHMA is truly grateful for these collaborations and for the assistance provided, for the space and materials made available, and for the contributions made by the staff at the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata.

As the Head of an Educational Institution

Maria Luna Escribano Cabrera

Director of Carmen Salles School of Ebinayong

As the Head of an inland school, in Ebinayong, I would like to confirm that during the last four years the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata has been a window onto a cultural landscape through which we have perceived broader horizons and a world elsewhere, observing a novel outlook. Violin and piano concerts, puppet theatre performances, activities for Book Day, traditional and modern dance, the exhibition “The Prado Museum in Bata”, comic exhibitions, book donations, etc…. these activities and more have opened our eyes to a world of culture that in our environment would not otherwise be easily accessible. Let me relay what our students have said about these activities: the Cultural Centre encourages us to learn more and to better ourselves, and also enables us to discover other cultural realities, which motivate us still further; the Centre inspires us to undertake new learning paths, to do things differently, and to realise that what other young people are doing, so can we. The Cultural Centre offers great enjoyment, leisure, happiness and friends. That is why we wish to continue enjoying this “window to the world” for many years, this opportunity to live a little more opened up to culture.

Functional Diversity in the CCSB

Hilario Engonga Eló Oyana

Secondary school teacher. Vice President of ASSONAMI (Association for National Solidarity with Persons with Disability)

In our collaborations, I have always enjoyed an interesting and fruitful relationship with the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata. The CCSB has offered me the opportunity to attend various training courses, to apply what I have learned and to share it with others. In addition, I have been able to visit exhibitions, attend lectures and presentations of drama, literature and music. Over the past few years, our bond has grown stronger, with events such as the annual celebration of the Week of Functional Diversity, dedicated to persons with disability. The CCSB and my own Association have cooperated in organising the activities involved in this Week. Its success has brought us great satisfaction and has allowed persons with disabilities to step into the light, to enjoy the capabilities they have and to exchange opinions and experiences. These types of initiatives make society more aware of the problems of reduced mobility or other disability and stop these issues from being considered taboo or something to be concealed. Lastly, it would be very useful for the members of our Association for the Cultural Centre of Spain in Bata to address our request to reduce or eliminate the architectural barriers to mobility within the building.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA Cultural Centre of Spain in Malabo

Address

Carretera del Aeropuerto, s/n, Malabo

Opened

2003

Web

http://www.ccemalabo.es/