Created by the Spanish government in 1991 the Instituto Cervantes is a worldwide non-profit organisation dedicated to the teaching of Spanish as a second language, as well as the promotion of Spanish and Hispanic American culture throughout non-Spanish-speaking countries. Its head offices are located in Madrid and Alcalá de Henares.

The Instituto Cervantes is present in over twenty different countries with 42 centres in all.

Overview

The Instituto Cervantes:

• Organises general and specialised Spanish-language courses
• Organises exams for the Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera (DELE) (Spanish as a second language diplomas) in conjunction with the University of Salamanca
• Promotes methods of teaching Spanish
• Supports teachers of Spanish
• Organises and promotes programmes aiming to spread the use of Spanish
• Organises libraries and documentation centres at its various locations

Locations

The Instituto Cervantes operates Centros Cervantes (full-fledged centres) and Aulas Cervantes (smaller "lecture halls") as well as a network of associated institutions. Its locations can be found:

• Centros Cervantes:
  • Algeria (Algiers)
  • Austria (Vienna)
  • Belgium (Brussels)
  • Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo)
  • Egypt (Cairo)
  • France (Bordeaux, Lyon, Paris, Toulouse)
  • Germany (Berlin, Bremen, Munich)
  • Greece (Athens)
  • Hungary (Budapest)
  • Ireland (Dublin)
  • Israel (Tel Aviv)
  • Italy (Milan, Naples, Rome)
  • Jordan (Amman)
  • Lebanon (Beirut)
  • Morocco (Casablanca, Fes, Rabat, Tangier, Tétouan)
  • Netherlands (Utrecht)
  • Philippines (Manila)
  • Poland (Warsaw)
  • Portugal (Lisbon)
  • Romania (Bucharest)
  • Russia (Moscow)
  • Syria (Damascus)
  • Tunisia (Tunis)
  • Turkey (Istanbul)
  • United Kingdom (London, Manchester)
  • United States (Albuquerque, Chicago, New York)
• Aulas Cervantes:
  • Bulgaria (Sofia)
  • Croatia (Zagreb)
  • Czech Republic (Prague)
  • Serbia and Montenegro (Belgrade)
  • Vietnam (Hanoi)

Publications

Since 1998 the Instituto Cervantes has published the annual El español en el mundo highlighting the state of Spanish in the world, and current trends. The Instituto has also run the Internet-based Centro Virtual Cervantes since 1997.

Origin of name

Instituto Cervantes is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of Don Quixote and perhaps the most important figure in the history of Spanish literature.

See also

• Alliance française
• British Council
• Goethe-Institut

External links

• Instituto Cervantes website (in Spanish)
• Centro Virtual Cervantes (in Spanish)