The Instituto Cervantes

Instituto Cervantes is an institution that was founded by the Spanish government in 1991 to promote and spread the Spanish language and Spanish and Hispanic-American culture. The central head office of the institution is located in Madrid and in Alcalá de Henares ( Madrid), birthplace of the writer Miguel de Cervantes.

Instituto Cervantes is present on five continents with more than 70 centres spread out across many different countries.

Our institution is also responsible for:

• Organising the DELE exams - Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera – (Diploma in Spanish as a Foreign Language), as well as issuing official certificates and diplomas for the participants of our courses
• Organising Spanish courses
• Organising training courses for teachers
• Supporting Hispanists in their activities
• Encouraging cultural activities in collaboration with other organisations

The work of Instituto Cervantes is directed by representatives from the academic, cultural and literary world within the field of Spanish and Hispanic-America. In Dublin, the Institute collaborates with museums, galleries, theatres, publishing houses and other Irish cultural institutions, as well as Spanish and Latin-American organisms.