The London School of Economics and the Spanish Leading newspaper in the world launch The Observatory Of the Spanish-speaking World
Coinciding with the Spanish king’s visit to the UK, The London School of Economics and Political Science and El País -Spanish leading newspaper in the world- launch the Observatory of the Spanish-speaking world. The presentation will take place today in the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies of the London School of Economics and Political Science (Clement’s Inn, Tower 2), at 6pm and relevant academic figures such as the historian and Hispanist Paul Preston or Julio Crespo MacLennan, historian and Director of the Instituto Cervantes in London (equivalent to the British Council), will attend.
With more than 500 million native Spanish-speakers, including 50 million who live in the United States, and 22 countries in total having Spanish as their official language, it is the second most spoken language worldwide and one the fastest growing. Apart from Spain and the Americas, the Spanish-speaking world is also present in Africa and Asia as a result of Spain’s colonial legacy and the Spanish-speaking diaspora.
After English, Spanish is the most international language if we consider the number of countries that have it as a native language. This explains the extraordinary demand for Spanish as a foreign language both in the UK and in the world in general.
The Observatory is born to carry out three main activities: research, seminars, symposiums and conferences and publications.
The research will include a history of the Spanish-speaking world since 1492, the political and economic development of the members-states of the Spanish-speaking world and future perspectives and opportunities in this community and the rest of the activities will mainly be based on the results of researchs.
London has attracted the most important Spanish and Latin American companies, as well as a lot of talent from all over the Hispanic world. With the mission of becoming a bridge between cultural communities, The Obsevatory will liaise Spanish-speaking embassys, companies and talent with the UK’s academic and business world through the London School of Economics, who will become one of the very few internationally renowned academic institutions to focus on the phenomenon of the Spanish-speaking world and on the opportunities that it implies, specially in a post-Brexit scenario.
