Spain and the United States - Real Instituto Elcano

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SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES
Exhibit 6.5. Fulbright Grants in Europe by Selected Countries, 1949-2003
Other institutions have created permanent links with US universities,
Two private sector sponsors funded chairs at Georgetown University and
the University of New Mexico, and the Complutense University of
Madrid established a permanent centre at Harvard University. New York
University created the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Centre in 1997, probably
the leading centre in the United States for the study of Spain and Latin
America, which is funded by various Spanish and American companies, and
Harvard created an Iberian Study Centre within the Minda de Gunzburg Centre
for European Studies.
The Culture Ministry began a programme in 1983 to foment the spread of
Spanish culture in US universities, including funds for the translation of classic
literature into English, promoting films, visits by teachers and writers and
research on little explored areas in the sphere of Hispanism. In the first 20
years of the programme the ministry contributed around $4.6 million.
Internet is also playing an increasingly important role in promoting
Spanish culture and linking Spanish and American university students. The
Miguel Cervantes Virtual Library (www.cervantesvirtual.com), created in 1999
by the University of Alicante, with the sponsorship of Grupo Satander and the
Marcelino Botín Foundation, has the largest on-line collection of Hispanic
works and is the most visited Spanish literary website. The central core of the
library are the institutional and thematic portals. The former are the result of
cooperation agreements with some of Spain’s and Latin America’s main
institutions, such as the Royal Spanish Academy and the National Libraries of
Spain, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. The thematic portals cover literature,
history, geography and cinema. Universia (www.universia.net), created in
2000 by the Conference of Spanish Universities, the Higher Council of
Scientific Research, 32 Spanish universities and Grupo Santander, is the