Casa Árabe Córdoba Casa Árabe Madrid

Casa Árabe Córdoba
Casa Árabe Madrid
Casa Árabe is a consortium formed by:
For yet another year, Casa Árabe has managed to strengthen its position as a model for
relations between Spain and the Arab world. To its role at the forefront of facilitating
dialogue and disseminating knowledge, Casa Árabe has added its role as an incubator of
synergies with other institutions working towards similar goals.
Our public diplomacy now has a distinctive style of its own, which is evident if we look
back at the frenetic activity which characterized the year 2014, with its conferences,
debates, courses, seminars, exhibitions, publications, film screenings and other events.
Similarly, the organization of events of a political nature, including both those with a
large outreach and others with a more discreet profile, holds a strategic place amongst
our activities.
Precisely, one central task which we perform is the integration of Casa Árabe’s programs and activities with those of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Cooperation (MAEC), as well as with the embassies of Arab countries in Madrid and
the various institutions which comprise the Casa Árabe Consortium (Spanish Agency
of International Development Cooperation [AECID], Municipal Government of Madrid,
Municipal Government of Cordoba, Autonomous Regional Government of Madrid and
Autonomous Regional Government of Andalusia).
Casa Árabe’s main fields of activity in 2014 were: Training and Economics, Governance
and International Relations, and Culture and New Media. These three areas often work
in a cross-cutting manner due to the very nature of the topics and our institution’s multidisciplinary focus. One clear example of this is the participation by Arab women in
economic, political and cultural life, a phenomenon undergoing constant change, with
many different facets of this subject matter occupying our agenda throughout the year.
Casa Árabe
This Annual Report for 2014 is not intended to provide a thorough list of all the activities held by Casa Árabe over the last twelve months, but rather an attempt at providing a
summary of the most representative achievements in our everyday work.
Eduardo López Busquets
Director general of Casa Árabe
Casa Árabe Madrid
Alcalá, 62. 28009. Madrid
Casa Árabe Córdoba
Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9. 14003. Córdoba
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www.casaarabe.es
EDUCATION
AND ECONOMICS
In today’s environment of economic tribulations in Europe and transformation in the
Mediterranean, it is essential that we maintain a steady flow of information and analysis,
as well as stimulating initiatives for economic exchanges and trade.
As in prior years, one highlight was the annual International Tourism Trade Fair
(FITUR) in January, held with the cooperation of the World Tourism Organization
(WTO) and the participation of several Tourism Ministers from the region. Tourism is
a key sector in the economic development of some of the region’s countries, such as
Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia, as well as having great potential in others such as
Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, but it faces a wide range of challenges
given the current political and economic atmosphere.
Spain is a unique destination in this sense, because of its great appeal to Arab and
Muslim tourists. However, in general the tourism industry is not very well-prepared to
offer specialized products adapted to Muslim consumers. Cordoba recently created a
platform to promote a halal business cluster in the region, and specialized agencies and
operators have been created, as well as completing the first studies to evaluate the industry’s opportunities. With the objective of debating these topics, Casa Árabe organized
a round table discussion in October, with the cooperation of the Universidad Rey Juan
Carlos and the Halal Institute, which specializes in certification, standardization and
training for the halal market in Spain.
As for our training initiatives, for the first time ever and with great success amongst the
public, we organized a course on business protocol and culture in the Arab countries
and Asia, with the cooperation of Casa Asia. The objective of this course was to provide
the professionals and companies that do business or are interested in doing business in
these areas with a series of reference points and tools which facilitate communication,
through knowledge about the features of the country with which they will be dealing, as
well as teaching them about the basic forms of social and economic behavior there.
Casa Árabe
Also this month, within the framework of the activities organized in Madrid on the occasion of the meeting held by the Bilateral Committee of the Spanish-Saudi Business
Council, led by the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and the Superior Council
of Chambers of Commerce of Spain, Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid hosted a
business gathering which included the presence of the Ministers of Industry from both
countries, along with a showing of Saudi cultural heritage products.
In Cordoba, the first edition of the Arab-Flamenco Music School was launched, bringing
together a group of young musicians from both of these musical worlds so that they could
share a series of training sessions together and become familiar with the foundations of
both these music systems, while exploring ways to bring the two styles closer together.
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In 2014, we also began to offer Arabic classes for children, which have been very well-received
by both the children and their parents. Similarly, the Arabic Language Center continues to be a
reference in teaching classical Arabic and Arabic dialects in Madrid, with an annual increase of
3% in the number of students (1,187 students in 2014).
Also in 2014, the intensive courses and master classes continued, like those taught by calligrapher
Pablo Casado and the well-known Arabic oud player Naseer Shamma.
At the same time, with the goal of illustrating other alternative economic models, we also offered
a course titled “Microfinance in Arab Countries” (with a case study of the Occupied Territories) in
collaboration with the International master’s degree program on Microfinance for Entrepreneurs
(MIME) given by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), intended for students and the
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general public.
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GOVERNANCE
AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
As of the Arab unrest in late 2010 in Tunisia and Egypt, the alarming escalation of war and sectarian violence in Syria and Iraq, coupled with the increasing instability in Libya and Yemen, Arab
societies and governments face a period of turbulence and transition, in which the consolidation
of democratic systems has become quite a challenge. Within this context, it is essential to recover
the role of civil society and the functional operation of institutions, at times when the respect for
the rule of Law is being increasingly questioned.
The Syrian question has been a subject of special interest and has been followed throughout
the year. In January, a consultative meeting of the Syrian opposition was held in the city of Cordoba.
Proposed as an initiative fully forming part of the international community’s efforts to seek a negotiated political solution to the conflict, with full respect for Syria’s sovereignty, independence,
unity and territorial integrity, the meeting was held in a constructive atmosphere in which 130
Syrian citizens managed to reach points of consensus.
In October, a meeting by the Helsinki Policy Forum was held in Madrid. It is a forum aimed
at high-level parliament members, political leaders, civil servants and financial experts, from
both the West and the MENA region, to hold informed, confidential dialogue on the challenges
and opportunities faced by the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf region, and their potential
impact on international relations. Held with the cooperation of Forward Thinking and Finland’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In June, the representatives of the Election Authorities from Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt,
Tunisia, Sudan and Iraq met in Cordoba. The goal of this meeting, organized by the Regional
Center of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Cairo, was to strengthen inter-regional cooperation amongst the electoral institutions in the Arab world. In much the same
way, democratization processes on the southern shores of the Mediterranean and their ups and
downs in a large part of the region, as well as the strategies for supporting our EU neighbors,
were the main topics discussed at the meeting of the European Endowment for Democracy, held
in Cordoba in September.
Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, devoted to organizing strategic discussion forums. The
seminar “Women in the private sector in the Middle East and North Africa” took place at the
Cordoba headquarters and focused on the cases of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq and the
Occupied Territories of Palestine. Similarly, with the cooperation of the CIDOB and the SAHWA
Casa Árabe
Another important collaborator for us was Wilton Park, the agency associated with the United
project, a conference titled “Women and Youths Three Years After the Arab Spring” was given by
Hania Sholkamy and Larabi Jaidi in Madrid.
Meanwhile, Casa Árabe continues to host forums of exchange and analysis for specialists, scholars and political thinkers. This was the case of the international seminar Iraq at the Crossroads,
organized with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and FRIDE in November. The result of this seminar,
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in addition to plentiful sharing of information, will materialize in the form of a collection of
several articles in 2015. This is the second time in which the cooperation by these three institutions will have led to both a conference and a high-impact publication. The seminar Sunni
and Shia: Political Readings of a Religious Dichotomy, held in 2013, was taken to the prestigious
Brookings Institution of Washington in 2014 and its contributions were published in English
and Spanish.
Despite a lack of resources, support for research and youths continues to be one of Casa Árabe’s
objectives, which is why this October it sponsored the award given by the Spanish Society for
Arab Studies (SEEA) for Young Researchers in 2014.
The ties which link Spain to the rest of the Mediterranean and the increasing impact of Middle
East geopolitics on our surrounding environment force us to reflect constantly on developments
in international relations and, at the same time, on the complexity of our multicultural societies
in in Europe.
For instance, the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation (with its Observatory of Religious
Pluralism in Spain), with the cooperation of Casa Árabe, the KAICIID Center for Dialogue, the
Canada Foundation, the Embassy of Canada in Spain and the Embassy of the United States,
organized the First International Congress on Managing Religious Pluralism in January. The
objective of the congress was to provide public leaders with a space to share methods, strategies
and experiences in public management in relation with religious diversity in an international
framework.
Framed within this same context was the visit by Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, a well-known
professor and anthropologist from American University in Washington, D.C., to Casa Árabe’s
headquarters in Cordoba, where he held meetings and work days with experts and representatives from the Muslim community in Spain. This visit in the month of June formed part of a field
project called “Journey to Europe: Islam, immigration and empire,” the objective of which was
to study Muslims in in Europe and Europeans’ attitudes and perceptions about these communities. Another important activity along these lines was Casa Árabe’s participation in the financing
and presentation of the book “Plural Citizenry and the Mixture of Cultures in Melilla in the Era
of Globalization: Keys to entering post-modernity,” the research work of which was carried out
thanks to aid offered by the Institute of Cultures and the Autonomous City of Melilla for projects
Casa Árabe
to research intercultural space.
Regarding the more specific topic of security, the increase in terrorist entities like the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (known in Arabic as Daesh, or as ISIS based on
its initials in in English) concerns governments and societies alike. In October, the Public AntiTerrorism Prosecutors of Morocco, France, Belgium and Spain held a summit in Cordoba to
seek greater cooperation to eradicate Jihadist terrorism, with a special emphasis on the threat
created by the Islamic State. The topics discussed included new systems for cooperation and different prevention policies, as well as the role of the Internet and new information technologies
in the expansion of international terrorism.
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In this same area, we must highlight the second Elcano Forum on Global Terrorism, which took
place in Madrid in the month of November. It was organized by the Real Instituto Elcano and
the Embassy of the United States with the cooperation of Casa Árabe. The event was attended
by a large audience and included talks by noteworthy specialists for two days about the recent
transformations in global terrorism, as well as their implications for the Western Mediterranean.
We would also like to highlight another event on which Casa Árabe placed a special emphasis during the year of 2014: the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of
World War I. Our institution has enriched historical debate by contributing a more international
viewpoint to the events, delving further into how the region of the Middle East was involved in
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the war and what repercussions it has had on our current era.
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CULTURE
AND NEW MEDIA
Having taken on a pioneering position in the promotion of Arab culture aimed at the Spanish
public, Casa Árabe has stood out thanks to its film series, exhibitions on contemporary art and
educational work and its activities related with the latest in publishing and book presentations.
A variety of concerts were given throughout the year, some of the most notable of which were
the concerts that took place in July in both Cordoba and Granada, held with the cooperation of
the Embassy of Iraq. The group was brilliant, with universal master of the Arabic oud, Iraq’s
Naseer Shamma, the sitar played by Pakistan’s Ashraf Sharif Khan, the flamenco guitar of Carlos
Piñana and the Miguel Angel Orengo’s cajón. It was a unique convergence of great figures in
Arab, South Asian and flamenco music, who offered us the natural elegance of virtuoso performers and improvisation.
Another spectacular event with musical production by Casa Árabe was the concert by Ali Khattab
at the Temple of Debod, organized with the cooperation of the Embassy of Egypt in Madrid.
And an original approach to fusion occurred at the “Algarabía” concert during the White Night
of Flamenco held in Cordoba, which increased awareness about the relationship between Arab
music and flamenco, opening the way for new styles such as samais with soleares, tangos with
longas, yuruk rhythms for fandangos, alegrías with maqamat, and even Sufi music with tonás. In
the meantime, our close cooperation with the Berklee School of Music has been very productive and highlighted Arab talent: Jordanian violinist Layth Al-Rubaye, Palestinian cellist Naseem
Alatrash, and the concert by Christiane Karam, accompanied by Fares Btoush on the Arabic
oud and Firas Hassan on percussion. Casa Árabe also strove to accompany its artistic initiatives
with social commitment, as seen in its concerts in Madrid and Cordoba by Kurdish Arabic oud
player Gani Mirzo, whose new work was dedicated to the Syrian refugee camp of Domiz, located
in Iraqi Kurdistan. Along the same lines, “Singer-songwriters for Palestine” brought together
Navil, Najla Shami and Marwa, three artists of Palestinian origin who performed on the occasion
of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Another original concert was “Oceans and Moons” by Venezuelan-Lebanese performer Elizabeth
Ayoub, as part of the event Amrika: Arabs in America, a set of activities which was planned in
Casa Árabe
conjunction with the Casa de América. It must be pointed out that, when scheduling concerts,
Casa Árabe pays close attention to providing access to cutting-edge music, regardless of commercial criteria, including such performances as the one by Egyptian singer and lyricist Maryam
Saleh along with electronic music producer Zeid Hamdan, known as the godfather of underground Lebanese music.
In terms of the stage arts scene, Casa Árabe has promoted the creation of a new choreography
by Dani Pannullo’s company, with dancers and b-boys of Moroccan origin who reside in the city
of Madrid. This occurred within the framework of the festival Madrid en Danza, and the show
made it possible to increase the visibility of these youths’ talent.
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The success of our two traveling exhibitions continued in 2014, including “On a Journey:
Spanish Architecture in the Arab World,” a display of projects by Spanish architecture firms
and studios carried out in Arab countries, organized with the cooperation of the Superior
Council of Architects’ Associations of Spain (CSCAE). The exhibit has been shown in Lebanon,
Morocco, Qatar and Jordan. “From Qurtuba to Córdoba” is a photography exhibition that traveled
to Palestine, Morocco, Jordan and Mauritania. To our efforts to send these exhibitions abroad
we must add the showcase which Casa Árabe provides for the contemporary Arab art scene. The
exhibition Threads of Light by Iraqi artist Hanoos reached Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid
in the spring of 2014, with the cooperation of the Qattan Foundation and the Mosaic Rooms of
London, where it was exhibited in early 2014. The exhibitions in 2014 included showings by
other artists residing in Spain, such as Teresa Esteban and Matug Aborawi, as well as important
artists from the contemporary Arab world like Qatar’s Faraj Daham (presented in Spain for the
first time ever with his exhibition Cities, with the cooperation of the entity Katara) and Egyptians
Ibrahim El Dessouki and Sameh Ismael.
With the mission of contributing to greater appreciation of Spain’s Islamic past, in 2014 Casa
Árabe organized a series of conferences to analyze the artistic and architectural value of the
Aljama Mosque in Cordoba, the largest construction from the Umayyad period on the Iberian
Peninsula, a monument which also served to claim and consolidate the establishment of an independent caliphate. The parallels between the great mosque in Cordoba and those in Damascus,
Medina and Jerusalem were also studied.
Another clear example of this was the seminar and conference series on Al-Andalus and the
1000th anniversary of the Kingdom of Granada (1013-2013), which Casa Árabe, with the cooperation of the Board of Trustees of the Alhambra and Generalife, and The Legacy of Al-Andalus
Foundation, organized as the final golden brushstroke on the exhibition Art and Cultures of
Al-Andalus: The power of the Alhambra. The same conference series on the Alhambra traveled
outside of Spain to the British capital (May-June 2014), thanks to the Victoria & Albert Museum
and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.
Also held were “Ramadan Nights,” a series of activities (music, theater, children’s activities and
cultural tours to celebrate the ninth month of the Muslim calendar) organized by Casa Árabe
with the cooperation of the Urban Environment Delegation and the Special Delegation for
World Heritage and the Historic Center of the Municipal Government of Cordoba, and the Halal
Likewise, as part of our scheduled film series, in addition to continuing to screen new films at
both Casa Árabe headquarters, we also furthered our collaboration with cultural institutions
such as the 14.4 kms film exhibition and the African Film Festival of Cordoba.
Casa Árabe
Institute.
Casa Árabe’s published materials have continued with the semi-annual publication of AWRAQ,
a journal of analysis and thought on the contemporary Arab and Islamic world. In 2014, issue 8 was
published of “Sunni and Shia: Political interpretations of a religious dichotomy”; issue 9 “Islam
Today,” an examination of the past and present in relations between Spain and the Arab-Islamic
world; and issue 10, “Translating Citizenship,” which deals with the concept of citizenship
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through different disciplines. The various parts of this publication continue to form the backbone for the narration of the multidisciplinary work performed by our institution, dealing with
a wide range of themes from a varied, critical viewpoint. Similarly, our yearly participation in
Madrid’s Book Fair was maintained, with arrangements made by Casa Árabe’s Balqís bookstore.
Our presentation of books which give us a closer look at Arab literature and thought reached
new heights with appearances by authors of the standing of Youssef Ziedan, Tahar Ben Jelloun,
Abdellah Taïa and Yasmina Khadra. This has also provided opportunities to collaborate with
such excellent publishing firms as Turner, Alianza and Cabaret Voltaire, as well as partners such
as the Institut Français of Madrid and La Central bookstore. No less important is the key role
played by Casa Árabe in increasing awareness of Spanish culture in Arab countries, not only
by collaborating with the Cervantes Institutes, but also through publications like “Intelligible
Spain” by Julián Marías, which was translated into Arabic thanks to our institution’s support.
Highlights amongst the conferences which were memorable due to their innovative format and
content included “Tea with Nefertiti,” “New Art Market Scenes: The emerging scene in Saudi
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Arabia,” “Magic and Poetry in the Alhambra” and “Living in Gaza.”
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AWARDS
In September, Casa Árabe and the International Sheikh Zayed Book Award organized the conference “Arab Culture in the Spanish Language,” given by Ali Bin Tamim, the Secretary General
of the Sheikh Zayed International Book Award; Saeed Madan, Director of the Sheikh Zayed
International Book Award; professor and well-known Arabist Pedro Martínez Montávez, and
Eduardo López Busquets, the General Director of Casa Árabe. The event took place on the occasion of the presentation of the Sheikh Zayed International Book Awards, which included the
category of “Spanish” for the first time ever, in the section of “Arab Culture in Other Languages.”
And as Casa Árabe disseminates information on other awards throughout the world, in early
December of 2014 it received an award of its own for its notable work in this sense. The Subdelegate of the Government in Cordoba, Juan José Primo Jurado, gave out the ninth “Plaza
de la Constitución” Awards, on the occasion of the Thirty-Sixth Anniversary of the Spanish
Constitution. They were awarded to Casa Árabe, the Cordoba Soccer Team and Cordoba lawyer
Casa Árabe
Francisco Muñoz Usano.
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COMMUNICATION
AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
Our Communication unit works closely with the three areas and two headquarters of Casa Árabe,
thereby allowing for efficient dissemination and a full overview of all the institution’s activities,
as well as external news related with our fields of interest. Moreover, Casa Árabe takes its role
as a point of reference for the Arab world in Spain very seriously and channels a wide range of
requests from the media.
In terms of its presence on social networks, Casa Árabe has continued to undergo exponential
increases. On Facebook (www.facebook.com/Casaarabe), the institution had more than 14,000
followers in late 2014, a 66% increase compared with the preceding year.
As for Twitter (@casaarabe), in 2014 Casa Árabe had more than 6,770 followers, a 70% increase
compared with 2013. In terms of the institution’s channel on the YouTube, it has 857 subscribers
who played a total of 415 videos 84,738 times in all, including videos of conferences, concerts and
exhibitions organized by Casa Árabe (amounting to 530,505 estimated minutes of viewing time
in all). The three most watched videos have been seen more than 3,000 times. Throughout these
twelve months, there were 496 subscriptions to this channel’s contents, which are constantly
being updated. Last of all, our Issuu channel has 85 followers, with 14,559 reads, 46 “likes” and
182 shared documents.
As a final note, it is important that we point out the production of an institutional video which
portrays the added value created by Casa Árabe in impressive detail and with excellent use of
resources, from its magnificent installations to its role as a mediator, showing what a cultural
beacon Casa Árabe has become thanks to its wide range of offerings. The video is a very useful
tool which has worked to build a brand name and make it clear, in just a few minutes, how
many possibilities our institution offers to those entities which cooperate with it both inside and
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outside of Spain.
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