The Foro Iberoamericano y de la Iberofonía’s (Iberoamerican and Iberophony Forum) main objective is to promote integration, strengthen ties, and highlight the great potential of Ibero-America and all the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries in the world.
On September 27 took place the presentation of the Foro Iberoamericano y de la Iberofonía, promoted by the Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER) and the Asociación Iberoamericana de la Comunicación (ASICOM, Ibero-American Association of Communication), at the Torre de Los Lujanes, in Madrid, headquarters of the Real Sociedad Económica Matritense de Amigos del País (RSEMAP, Royal Matritense Economic Society of Friends of the Country).
The event, which was opened by Pablo Aguilera, member of the board of directors of the host institution, counted with the participation of F. Álvaro Durántez Prados, director of Institutional Relations of FUNIBER and director of the Chair of Ibero-American Studies and Iberophony (professor at UNEATLANTICO); Carlos Fernández Collado, president of ASICOM; Santos Gracia Villar, president of the Iberoamerican University Foundation; Laura Galguera García, vice-president of ASICOM; Marlon Brevé Reyes, ambassador of Honduras; Antonio Cristovão, minister counselor of the Embassy of Angola; Liz Coronel, chargée d’affaires of the Embassy of Paraguay; and Victor Velho, first secretary of the Embassy of Mozambique.
The main objective of this Forum is to promote integration, strengthen ties, and highlight the great potential of Ibero-America and all Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries on all continents in the acquisition and strengthening of shared principles and values. Its vocation, through periodic meetings, is to position itself as a reference meeting in the Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking multinational space, promoting the important role of the different countries in the field of culture and civilization.
900 million people
The event addressed issues related to the multinational space of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, which is made up of some thirty countries from all continents and nearly 900 million people. This geolinguistic space (which basically corresponds to the Comunidad Iberoamericana de Naciones y la Comunidad de Países de Lengua Portuguesa (Ibero-American Community of Nations and the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries)) is based on the substantial affinity between Spanish and Portuguese, the only two major international languages that are, at the same time and in general terms, mutually intelligible.
“The Iberophony area,” as Dr. Durántez —a pioneer in the so-called “pan-iberophony-iberianism” trend— emphasized in his opening speech, “covers a tenth of the planet in demographic terms, the fifth in surface area, and is the first geolinguistic block in the world. This space in turn promotes horizontal and triangular cooperation between countries and societies in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia.”
Likewise, the president of the Iberoamerican University Foundation, Dr. Gracia Villar, highlighted the role of FUNIBER and its network of universities in the articulation of the Iberophony space through higher education and cultural and scientific-technical cooperation, promoting the mobility of professors and students, the training of teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, and the knowledge of different cultures.
“We are here for an idea of progress and cooperation that is not in an abstract sense but, on the contrary, has a very practical and concrete meaning and application. Culture and education are fundamental pillars throughout the world. A multinational space of Portuguese and Spanish languages can contribute to balancing the globalization process,” said Santos Gracia Villar.
For his part, the president of ASICOM stated that the organization he has presided over for the past decade has been working hard to strengthen ties between Ibero-American countries.
“Every year, in collaboration with the University of Oviedo, we present the ASICOM awards with the aim of recognizing institutions and professionals who have excelled in different disciplines, helping with their works to build this historic region,” said Carlos Fernández Collado.
The second part of the event, led by high-ranking diplomatic representatives from Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries in Africa and America, was presented by Professor Laura Galguero, vice-president of ASICOM, and constituted a specific tribune that addressed the subject of Iberophony from the particular perspective of each country. The ceremony ended with the signing of two collaboration agreements between FUNIBER and the Embassy of the Republic of Honduras, on the one hand, and the Iberoamerican University Foundation and ASICOM, on the other.
F. Álvaro Durántez, Carlos Fernández, Pablo Aguilera, and Santos Gracia make up the first session. 
Laura Galguera, Antonio Cristovão, Marlon Brevé, Liz Coronel, and Victor Velho make up the second session. 
Representatives of FUNIBER and the Embassy of Honduras sign a collaboration agreement. 
The presidents of ASICOM and FUNIBER sign a collaboration agreement. 
Representatives of FUNIBER and ASICOM, the institutions organizing the forum.