Floro Mercene
Instituto Cervantes is a worldwide non-profit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991.
It is the largest organization in the world dedicated to the teaching of the Spanish language and increasing knowledge of culture in Latin American countries. At present, Instituto Cervantes has 65 centers in 20 different countries.
Instituto Cervantes’ mission is to promote the teaching, study and use of Spanish as a second language, and to contribute to the advancement of Spanish and Latin American cultures throughout the world. The library and cultural programs of the center aim to enhance and provide a clear, global and updated version of Spanish culture.
***
Instituto Cervantes in Manila has been in operation since 1993. It was first inaugurated in its former site in May of 1994 by the Spanish Princess Doña Elena, and is the first center that was opened in Asia.
Interestingly, the Philippines is the only country with strong Hispanic roots which has an Instituto Cervantes center. It confirms Spain’s mission to strengthen its cultural presence in Southeast Asia.
The new center of the Instituto Cervantes, inaugurated in June of 2006, is a newly constructed building with a modern architectural design of 1,800 square meters with WiFi ready classrooms, a library, a multimedia room, a cafeteria, an exhibit hall and an auditorium which can seat 100 persons.
The center is located at 855 Kalaw Street in the historic district of Ermita, not far from Intramuros.
***
The current director of the center is Jose Rodriguez, a very popular and likable man who counts with thousands of friends in the Philippines. Pepe has a Filipina wife, Lulu Coching, a noted portrait artist. He used to be bureau chief in Manila of the Spanish news agency Efe.
With regards to the academic area and the teaching of the Spanish language, it is essential to have in mind that there exists a growing demand to learn Spanish in the Philippines. The expansion of the call centers which service clients in the United States and Latin America has made Spanish synonymous to employment opportunity.
***
Indeed, the demand has caused the need for more resources and a greater number of professors. This is evident in the extraordinary growth that the center experienced in 2007, which resulted in a total of 7,000 students studying Spanish in Metro Manila.
In addition to maintaining collaboration agreements with universities, Instituto Cervantes also works closely with other institutions and employment agencies. In December, 2006, a memorandum of agreement to organize Spanish language and culture courses was signed between Instituto Cervantes and the Department of Labor and Employment.
|
