ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Casa Árabe Is a Consortium Comprising
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ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Casa Árabe is a consortium comprising Casa Árabe 2009 1 Casa Árabe 2009 3 Letter from the President Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Overall, the activities of Casa Árabe in 2009 tioned because of their importance: Water in reflect the consolidation of this inter-institutio- the Arab world: global perceptions and local nal consortium with the participation of the realities; Islamophobia under discussion; Regional Governments of Andalusia and Islamisms in context: political participation, Madrid and the City Councils of Madrid and contestation and rebellion; Arts and education Córdoba alongside the Ministry of Foreign through new technologies; Towards a univer- Affairs and Cooperation and the Spanish sal moratorium on the death penalty. The Agency for International Cooperation for Case of the Arab countries; United States- Development (AECID). In just four years, we Maghreb: challenges and prospects. have brought the Arab and Muslim world clo- ser to Spain and to Europe, at the same time This year has seen the institution acquire greater as significant exchanges of knowledge have recognition as an educational establishment been established with their societies, cultures, with the successful development of the Arabic economies and political systems, promoting Language Centre, which registers increasing dialogue between civil societies and immi- numbers of students year on year, as well as grant communities. the programming of courses at the Diplomatic School and in universities inside and outside We have begun a process of mutual enrichment our country. in which the extension of Casa Árabe’s resources, namely the Edward W. Said media library and In 2009 Casa Árabe took a qualitative and the Baibars bookshop, have played a special quantitative step forward in the field of part, as have the international seminars and publishing, having decided to publish a new conferences, cultural and scientific activities, series of the journal Awraq, which it co- thus reinforcing its status as a landmark insti- publishes with AECID, and to launch such tution in Arab and European countries, as well important publications as: Los árabes en as among their institutional, social, cultural and América Latina: historia de una emigración scientific players. (Arabs in Latin America: a history of emigra- tion); Contribuciones árabes a las identidades The main research lines pursued at Casa Ára- iberoamericanas (Arab contributions to Ibero- be’s International Institute of Arab and Muslim american identities); Consecuencias económi- World Studies in Córdoba include political cas y ecológicas de los conflictos en el reforms and socioeconomic trends in Arab mundo árabe (Economic and ecological con- countries, Arab and Muslim women, Muslims sequences of the conflicts in the Arab world); of the West, and Islamisms in context. It also Musulmanes en España. Guía de referencia fosters research projects with international (Muslims in Spain. A Reference Guide). networks on: Woman and family in current Arab societies and Muslim traditions in secu- Casa Árabe’s 2009 Annual Report reflects the lar Europe. vitality, rigour and modernity of Spanish public diplomacy, at the same time as it high- Among the seminars and conferences under- lights significant advances in questions of taken by Casa Árabe in the course of 2009, programming, resources and institutional the following, among others, should be men- consolidation. Casa Árabe 2009 5 Letter from the Director General Gema Martín Muñoz Director General For Casa Árabe, 2009 represents a year of out by its International Institute of Arab and consolidation after moving in mid-2008 to our Muslim World Studies (IEAM), among which the headquarters at the Aguirre Schools in Madrid projects devoted to Women and family, and at the invitation of Madrid City Council. The Islamic movements in Europe are particularly permanent programmes (exhibitions, semi- noteworthy. nars, lectures, cinema, Arabic courses) provi- ded in the facilities of this magnificent building As an instrument of public diplomacy, ano- have made significant progress in terms of ther function undertaken by Casa Árabe both public attending and participants. It has since its inception, three very visible lines of also seen the birth of new spaces and projects. political, economic and cultural action have been pursued in 2009. Outstanding persona- In October, we inaugurated the Media Library, lities and Arab political representatives have which we have named after Edward W. Said, visited and learned how much importance in homage to the great Palestinian intellectual Spain grants to this part of the world through who died in 2003. This is the first media library this representative institution dedicated to in Spain to specialise in Arab and Islamic their countries. Likewise, our institution countries. In June and July, Casa Árabe opened makes every effort to facilitate economic rela- up its garden (the hadiqa) with a summer pro- tions and investment between Spanish com- gramme including concerts and open-air panies and the Arab financial and economic films. In addition, we have engaged in a line of world, organising Hispano-Arab entrepreneu- work on educational and intercultural pro- rial forums on respective business opportuni- grammes for children carried out with schools, ties in substantial areas such as tourism, Muslim associations and organisations focu- renewable energies, Islamic banking, etc. sing on issues relating to migration. We have Finally, through culture we are building brid- disseminated a great deal of scientific work ges between the creative world and the con- through discussion panels and book laun- temporary arts, turning culture into a political ches. All this activity has made our institution instrument of mutual rapprochement and dis- an open space enjoying considerable partici- covery. Our exhibitions, cinema and music pation from the citizenry. programmes are intended to disseminate the rich creative dynamics that exist nowadays in Topics and questions of great political, econo- Arab countries, bringing our society into con- mic and social importance, related to the current tact with their creators, little known in Spain situation of Arab and Muslim countries (migra- or more generally in the West. tion, water, the death penalty, Islamophobia, Islamisms, etc.) have been analysed and discus- Thus, in keeping with the significant place that sed in seminars by leading Arab and Western the Arab and Muslim region occupies in Spain’s figures, academics and policy makers, so that international relations and foreign policy, Casa Casa Árabe has also emerged as a landmark Árabe continues to grow and strengthen institution contributing expertise, analysis and itself as a landmark institution at the service recommendations. This work is supported and of knowledge, communication and relations strengthened by the research projects carried between States, societies and individuals. Casa Árabe 2009 7 Governing Bodies 8 Governing Board President Alfonso Lucini Mateo Director General of Foreign Policy Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Fidel Sendagorta Gómez del Campillo Director General of Foreign Policy for the Mediterranean, Maghreb and Middle East Vice Presidents Carlos Alberdi Alonso José Antonio Griñán Martínez Director of Cultural and Scientific Relations President of the regional government of Andalusia Carmen Moreno Raymundo Director of Cooperation with Africa, Asia and Esperanza Aguirre Gil de Biedma Eastern Europe President of the regional government of Madrid Juan Díaz Muñoz Meeting of the and High the Board of Trustees Adviser of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Governing Board Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez Cooperation Mayor of Madrid Mª del Mar Moreno Ruiz Andrés Ocaña Rabadán Minister for the presidency and spokesper- Mayor of Cordoba son of the regional government of Andalusia Members Ignacio González González Vice president, Minister for Culture and Soraya Rodríguez Ramos Sports and spokesman of the regional Secretary of State and President of the government of Madrid Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development Ana María Román Martín Councillor for Coordination of Studies and Ángel Lossada Torres-Quevedo External Relations of Madrid City Hall Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Rafael Blanco Perea Esperanza Aguirre Gil de Biedma José Antonio Griñán Martínez President of the regional government of President President of the regional government of Andalusia Diego López Garrido First Deputy Mayor and Delegate for Institutional Madrid Secretary of State for the European Union Relations and Culture of Cordoba Town Hall Director General Gema Martín Muñoz Doctor in Arab and Islamic Studies and Professor of Sociology of the Arab and Islamic World at the Autonomous University of Madrid Andrés Ocaña Rabadán Mayor of Cordoba Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez Mayor of Madrid Casa Árabe 2009 9 Diplomatic Board HRH Prince Saud Bin Naif Bin Abdelaziz Mohammed Ridha Kechrid Al- Saud Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Chucri Abboud Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon Omar Azziman Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco Hissa Abdulla Ahmed Al Otaiba Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Zaid Al-Lozi Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Hamad Bin Hamad Al-Ibrahim Al-Attiya Jordan Ambassador of the State of Qatar Mohammed Haneche Ajeli Abdussalam Ali Breni Ambassador of the Democratic