On October 15th and 16th, the “8th Ibero-American and Iberophony Forum” will be held on the campus of the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO) in Santander. The event is organized by the Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER), the China Chair Foundation, and UNEATLANTICO, under the theme “The Future of the Ibero-American Community and University Cooperation with the People’s Republic of China” following its official presentation at the Real Casino de Madrid last June.
This event will bring together institutional representatives, diplomats, academics, and a broad cross-section of the university community in Spain, with the participation of institutions from FUNIBER’s International University Network, including the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana de México (International Iberoamerican University of Mexico, UNINI México), the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana (International Iberoamerican University, UNIB) in Puerto Rico, the Universidad de La Romana (University of La Romana, UNIROMANA) in the Dominican Republic, and the Universidade Internacional do Cuanza (International University of Cuanza, UNIC) in Angola, as well as other Spanish, Ibero-American, and Chinese universities.
The event is being organized in close collaboration with the Shandong University of Political Science and Youth (SDYU), the Academy of Diplomacy, the Gustavo Bueno Foundation (FGB), the Ibero-American Communication Association (ASICOM), and the Royal European Academy of Doctors (RAED). Furthermore, it enjoys the institutional support and sponsorship of the Government of Spain, the Autonomous Community of Cantabria, and the City of Santander, which consolidates a high-level cooperation framework among public administration, research centers, and academic diplomacy.
This new edition will build on the work begun at the 7th Ibero-American and Iberophony Forum, held in November 2025 in Beijing, which helped consolidate a space for collaboration aimed at strengthening academic, university, and cultural relations between China, the Ibero-American Community, and the Iberian World.
China and the Iberophone Space
This meeting is being held in response to the growing interest in fostering new avenues of cooperation between China and the Pan-Iberian or Iberophone Space—the multinational community of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, with approximately 900 million people spread across all continents. Together, China and this region comprise a population of more than 2.5 billion people, making their convergence a far-reaching opportunity for intercultural cooperation in the 21st century.
In this context, lingua francas go beyond their strictly practical function to become tools for public diplomacy and mutual understanding. The promotion of Spanish and Portuguese in higher education institutions in the Asian country is directly aligned with the vision of a “Global Community with a Shared Future” and the ideas of global governance and universal civilization—the latter linked to Chinese foreign policy approaches aimed at promoting multilateral stability and to the areas of focus of the FUNIBER Chair. University cooperation plays a key role here—it fosters the development of human capital, facilitates joint research projects, and helps build stable institutional ties between Asia and Iberophone countries.
In this regard, FUNIBER, together with its International University Network, has been developing various collaborative initiatives with Chinese institutions of higher education, such as the recently inaugurated Atlantic Institute of Digital Culture between Shandong University in China, and UNEATLANTICO—a joint campus that expands opportunities for academic cooperation between the two institutions. The initiative represents a new point of connection between the Chinese university sector and the Ibero-American and Iberophone Space, as it incorporates Spanish language instruction, joint training, and academic exchange as the cornerstones of a relationship aimed at strengthening ties between the two regions.
Similarly, last June, the FUNIBER Chair of Iberoamerican and Iberophonic Studies played a significant role in the Chinese city of Macau at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Portuguese-Speaking Universities (AULP), delivering a presentation on the Portuguese language as a “cultural bridge,” and marking the incorporation of Angola‘s Universidade Internacional do Cuanza (UNIC), into that network. The Chair also presented a keynote lecture titled “Articulation of the Intercontinental Space of the Portuguese and Spanish Languages: A Perspective from Asia” at the Rui Cunha Foundation.
In this context, the 8th Forum is intended to serve as a new forum for deepening these relationships and fostering cooperation initiatives in the academic, cultural, linguistic, and institutional spheres.
International Meeting in Santander
The program will begin on Thursday, October 15th, with a reception for officials, organizers, partners, speakers, and guests at the Gran Casino de Santander, featuring various institutional addresses.
The main event will take place on Friday, October 16th, in the UNEATLANTICO Auditorium, featuring the official opening of the Forum and a program focused on international relations, university cooperation, and the global reach of the Ibero-American and Iberophone Space, with a special emphasis on ties with China. Among the scheduled speakers are Wei Yanju, secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee at Shandong University, and Prof. Dr. Chang Fuliang, secretary of the Party Committee of the Faculty of Spanish and Portuguese Languages at Beijing Foreign Studies University, on strategic relations between China and Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries; and that of Qu Xun, minister at the Chinese Embassy in Spain.
These presentations will be complemented by a talk by Dr. Frigdiano Álvaro Durántez, director of the FUNIBER Chair of Iberoamerican and Iberophonic Studies, on the global reach of the Ibero-American Community, the Iberophone Space, and the educational partnership with China; a presentation by Marta Montoro, president of the China Chair Foundation, on coexistence amid diversity and the building of shared understandings; and a presentation by Prof. Dr. José Luís de Sales Marques, former president of the Institute of European Studies of Macau and the Municipal Council of Macau, which focuses on the city’s role as a potential gateway connecting China with the Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking world; and a presentation by Gina Magnolia Riaño Barón, secretary general of the Ibero-American Social Security Organization (OISS).
The program will also address other aspects of international relations and the development of the Iberophone Space. Prof. Dr. Alfredo Rocafort Nicolau, president of the Royal European Academy of Doctors, will analyze the strategic relationship between Ibero-America and the European Union. Dong Chen will moderate the session on international cooperation strategies and university development plans, with the participation of various higher education institutions from China. For his part, Prof. Rubén Calderón Iglesias, rector of UNEATLANTICO, will speak on the natural resources and economic potential of the Iberophone Intercontinental Space in the context of cooperation with China.
Historical and cultural dimensions will also be given prominent attention. Prof. Gustavo Bueno, president of the Gustavo Bueno Foundation, will reflect on the parallels, convergences, and complementarities between Hispanic and Sinic civilizations. In turn, Prof. Dr. Fernando Ignacio Ondo, a member of the Equatoguinean Academy of the Spanish Language and president of the International Center for Graduate Studies in Equatorial Guinea, will discuss the role of Equatorial Guinea and Ibero-Africa in the development of Global Iberophony. The program will also feature a presentation by Sol de la Quadra-Salcedo, director of the Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo Ibero-American Institute, on the voices that represent the Iberophony from Ibero-America to the rest of the world, as well as a presentation by Prof. Gloria Lago, coordinator of the Alliance for Spanish, which focuses on building a linguistic alliance to promote a more equitable globalization.
As part of the academic event, a signing ceremony for the General Agreement between FUNIBER, the China Chair Foundation, and UNEATLANTICO is also scheduled, which will help strengthen collaboration among the three institutions.
With the celebration of this eighth edition, FUNIBER, UNEATLANTICO, and the China Chair Foundation are reinforcing their commitment to creating spaces for dialogue and international cooperation and are once again positioning the university as a meeting point for cultures, institutions, and societies.