Instituto Cervantes, the international cultural arm of the Spanish Government, will launch is first centre in Australia as the major sponsor of the 11th Spanish Film Festival. The sponsorship of the Spanish Film Festival, which screens nationally in May, launches a calendar of cultural events presented by the Instituto, which includes art, photography, music, film, literature, the arts, theatre, and thought.
The Instituto Cervantes is currently setting up its Australian headquarters in Sydney – in the heart of Sydney’s academic and cultural district, on City Road, Chippendale, which will house the language classrooms, multimedia rooms, the library, exhibition space and state-of-the-art theatre. The Instituto is planning to start its activities in the second half of the year.
The Instituto Cervantes, created by Spain in 1991 is the world’s largest institution dedicated to the teaching of Spanish and to increasing knowledge of the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. With Australia, Instituto Cervantes has centres in almost 60 cities in 40 countries throughout the non-Spanish speaking world.
‘The Instituto Cervantes collaborates with cultural organisations in Australia to promote and spread the creativity of culture in Spanish. But it is not limited to organisations – we will work with individuals such as artists, writers, scholars and so on. We are proud to launch in Australia in collaboration with the Spanish Film Festival, which has been promoting Spanish culture and presenting the modern face of Spain through cinema in Australia for 11 years,’ said the Director of the Instituto Cervantes, Isidoro Castellanos.
‘The Instituto Cervantes will provide a platform for celebrating Spanish and Latin-American culture in Australia. Almost 500 million people speak Spanish in the world, a language which is spoken in more than 20 countries – the world’s fourth most commonly spoken – and the second language of international communication. We think of Spanish as the language of dialogue,’ said Isidoro.
‘In addition to cultural activities, the Instituto offers services including language classes in all four of Spain’s official languages – Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician. The Instituto Cervantes will collaborate on cultural events, not only from Spain, but from all the countries where Spanish is spoken, for instance Peru, Argentina, Mexico and so on’ he said.
‘I worked in Australia for six years in the mid-80’s which I loved, before returning to Spain. When I joined the Instituto Cervantes in 1992 I held the hope that one day a centre would open in Australia and I might be able to return. When I arrived back, more than 20 years later to establish the Instituto in Sydney, I walked around the Opera House and up George Street, and it was my dream come true. Australia has given me a lot, professionally and personally, and now I have the opportunity to give it something back. To promote Spanish language and other languages of Spain, and the cultures from all the Latin American countries is like a debt I had with Australia.’
Director and Founder of the Spanish Film Festival, Natalia Ortiz said ‘I am thrilled to welcome the Instituto Cervantes to Australia and look forward to working with them in raising the profile of Spanish and Latin American culture in Australia. Spanish and Latin American countries have a proud cultural history and strong traditions in the arts – literature, poetry, fine arts and film. I personally look forward to enjoying the work of eminent writers and artists being brought to Australia by the Instituto and it is an honour to have such an important international cultural organisation launch in Australia as the major sponsor of the 11th Spanish Film Festival.’
Services to be offered by the Instituto Cervantes:
Teaching of Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician languages. Small-group classes with qualified teachers and access to self-study rooms. Students receive an Official Instituto Cervantes Certificate. Every year around 100,000 study Spanish internationally through the Instituto Cervantes.
Spanish Virtual Classroom (Aula Virtual de Español, AVE) – Spanish language courses available via the internet
Courses for Spanish Teachers – the Instituto Cervantes is the main organization for the training of teachers of Spanish as a foreign language – training more than 11,000 teachers per year.
Diploma in Spanish – the opportunity of obtaining a Diploma in Spanish as a Foreign Language (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera, DELE) – an official and internationally recognised qualification – every year some 30,000 candidates sit the examination.
Cultural Programs – the Instituto Cervantes collaborates with the official Spanish cultural bodies to promote and celebrate Spanish culture
Libraries and Documentation centres internationally contain more than 700,000 volumes in all sorts of media: books, periodicals, video and audio tapes, discs, CD ROM and more. The Library includes works of classical Spanish & Latin American literature; works in Catalan, Basque and Galician; specialised journals; works on history, art, economics, politics and social affairs; translations of writers’ work; and film, video and music.
Hispanic Studies Database – all the information on Hispanic studies worldwide, collected and organised on one website.
The Instituto Cervantes is the permanent Secretariat for the International Spanish Language Conferences – a forum for thought where hundreds of experts look at the current situation of Spanish and the challenges to be confronted. His Majesty the King Juan Carlos is Honorary President.
The Yearbook El español en el mundo (Spanish Around the World) is published annually since 1998 as a reference and consultation source for anyone with an interest in the language.
The Cervantes Virtual Centre (cvc.cervantes.es) was created by the Instituto Cervantes in 1997 and is today one of the main internet reference sites on Spanish language and culture, with more than 100,000 pages, and divided into Reference Works, Cultural Events, Language Class, Forums & Debates and Search Engine.
Television Program Palabra por palabra (Word for Word) is a weekly entertainment program on Televisión Española which also available at the Cervantes Virtual Centre, and allows viewers to participate.
Radio Program – on Radio Exterior de España (Spanish Overseas Radio), the Instituto Cervantes collaborates in the teaching program Un idioma sin fronteras (A Language Without Borders) which has since 1993 been reporting on Spanish and the culture and literature of Spain and the Spanish-speaking countries.
About the Spanish Film Festival
The 11th Spanish Film Festival screens the best in contemporary Spanish cinema throughout May.
Sydney: 7-18 May at Palace Academy Twin & Palace Norton Street Cinemas
Canberra: 7-11 May at Dendy Canberra
Melbourne: 14-25 May at Palace Como & Palace Westgarth
Brisbane: 21-25 May at Palace Centro
Perth: 22-28 May at Cinema Paradiso
Tickets and information: http://www.spanishfilmfestival.com/
The 2008 Spanish Film Festival is presented by Instituto Cervantes with the support of the Embassy of Spain, España Cooperación Cultural Exterior, the Consulate General of Spain in Sydney and in Melbourne, and the Instituto De Cinematografia Y Artes Audiovisuales.
[release from CG Publicity]