Spain’s Instituto Cervantes is creating a Spanish-language center in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, the goal of which is to be the international point of reference for analyzing the progress of the Spanish language in the U.S.
The largest banking group in the Eurozone, Spain’s Grupo Santander, will contribute 1 million euros ($1.3 million) to the center over the next four years.
Cervantes’ director, Victor Garcia de la Concha, said these are crucial years for the consolidation of Spanish as the second language for international communication, which means that even greater efforts must be made.
Garcia de la Concha and Harvard’s president, Drew Gilpin Faust, are scheduled to sign the accord on Friday.
The center will be headed by Francisco Moreno, professor at Spain’s University of Alcala and ex-director of the Cervantes Institutes in Sao Paulo and Chicago.
It will also act as a venue to promote cultural initiatives, conferences, and lectures, as well as showcase Cervantes Prize winners and Latino writers living in the U.S.