The twentieth-anniversary celebration served as the central theme for the activities held at our locations in Madrid and Cordoba from January through June. Using the slogan “Twenty Years Together,” Casa Árabe sought to reflect on the journey taken since 2006 without losing sight of the future, restating just how important its mission remains still today: giving Spanish society a closer connection with Arab society through culture, philosophy, education and public diplomacy. 

One way we have done this is through our exhibition “Time Together: 2006-2026, 20 Years of Casa Árabe and friendship between Spain and the Arab World,” designed to be the major commemorative event for our anniversary during the first half of the year. Through photographs, documents and shared memories, the exhibition takes us on a journey through two decades of institutional activities and cultural cooperation between Spain and the Arab world, while paying tribute to the people, institutions and artists who have formed part of this shared history.

In Cordoba, our anniversary also coincided with the ninth centennial of the birth of Averroes (1126–2026). The Averroes Universe program, in which Casa Árabe took part alongside five other institutions in Cordoba, turned the city into one of the main venues for this international commemoration through conferences, seminars, workshops, concerts and exhibitions, which highlighted the ongoing relevance of the Cordoba-born philosopher’s thinking even today, as well as his influence on the intellectual history of the Mediterranean. 

The production of knowledge has continued to play a central role as a result of Aula Árabe Universitaria, our conference series organized with the cooperation of Spanish universities. This year we completed its seventh edition. Over the course of these six months, the program brought together international specialists and local experts during seven session in order to analyze both historical factors and some of the major political, social, economic and cultural challenges faced by the contemporary Arab world, thereby strengthening the connection between academic research and society.

In Cordoba, we also organized two conference series on very specific, under-explored topics. First there was Amazigh Spaces allowed us to explore the Maghreb and the history of the Amazigh peoples over the course of a dozen sessions. The series was further complemented by an exhibition with the same name, featuring photographs related to the topics discussed in the conferences. Held at the same time, a series titled “Seven Women Speak About Al-Andalus” provided a pluralistic, innovative perspective on the history of Al-Andalus from a gender-based perspective, addressing the presence of women in various realms during that era. 

Our commitment to education continues through our Arabic Language Center (CLA), which has continued to expand its course offerings for all levels and profiles. In addition to our regular Arabic language and Arabic dialect courses for children and adults, both in-person and online, we have added intensive summer programs and have also resumed our Arabic urban summer camp, an initiative designed to introduce children to the Arabic language and culture through workshops, games and creative activities. 

To explore the Arab world’s diversity in depth, we devoted our Country Focus during this first semester to Iraq, with an extensive multidisciplinary program that offered new perspectives on contemporary Iraqi creativity. Literature and film complemented one of the year’s major exhibitions, From Babel to the Last King of Iraq: An age-old civilization,” by Iraqi artist Hanoos Hanoos, whose work fosters dialogue between the legacy of ancient Mesopotamia and the country’s recent history. 

Also holding prominence within our schedule has been the special program Yemen: A journey to the gates of Arabia, an invitation to discover one of the least-known countries in the Arab world through its heritage, history and cultural diversity. Over the course of a week, conferences, book presentations, films, children’s activities, and the photography exhibition “Hadramaut: Persistence and Memory” provided an intimate glimpse into the country’s cultural and human wealth. 

Alongside Iraq and Yemen, Palestine has taken center stage amongst our events. As we do every year, we have commemorated the significant date of the Nakba by looking at literature and film; we participated in the initiative Citizens’ Agora for Palestinian Culture, and we hosted an exhibition by the artist Rehab Nazzal at our Madrid headquarters, which is still open to the public. 

Exhibitions have once again been a cornerstone of Casa Árabe’s programming. In addition to those already mentioned, we held the exhibition From Alif to Zain: Calligraphic Art and in Motion, which, after its run in Madrid, brought to Cordoba the works of a dozen artists from the region and the diaspora who use various techniques to express the significance of avant-garde Arabic calligraphy. As part of this exhibition, and to mark World Art Day, the Italian-Egyptian artist Mosa One created a mural that can still be seen in our Palm Courtyard. Last of all, the exhibition Lo que queda entremedias / What Lies in Between, which we organized in 2025 in with the cooperation of PhotoEspaña, will remain on display at our Andalusian headquarters until mid-October. 

Book launches and talks by authors have rounded off a program of activities which has remained committed to contemporary creation without neglecting reflection through leading publications devoted to analysis of the region, including afkar/ideas and Hesperia. For a broader, non-specialized audience, our Book Club has continued to meet every other week to discuss, comprehend and appreciate some of the most representative examples of novels, poetry and essays by Arab authors. 

Alongside these efforts, cinema has allowed us to take a look at the diversity of the Arab world on the big screen. As part of “Movie of the Month” series, we have taken a closer look at the reality in Iraq (The President’s Cake and A Happy Day), Sudan (Goodbye Julia), Palestine (The Voice of Hind Rajab), Yemen (Socotra: The Island of the Jinn), Egypt (Life After Siham, in collaboration with the Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival) and Lebanon (A Sad and Beautiful World). 

Music has continued to be one of the primary languages of intercultural dialogue, with concerts that have introduced audiences to the musical diversity of the Arab world and the Mediterranean. As part of the Ramadan Nights, we were treated to a combination of Arab and Persian music with Western arrangements by the Cardamom Trio, whom we also had the chance to hear at the Córdoba Guitar Festival accompanied by singer Linda Alahmad. Another female voice (in this case, that of the Tunisian singer Monia Abdelali) was our featured artist for Cordoba’s White Night of Flamenco, at which she performed with a quartet. And it was a third woman, Algeria’s Neila Benbey, who presented the recital “Cuando caiga la tarde” (“When Evening Falls”) in Madrid, where, in addition to introducing us to Algerian musical tradition, she paid tribute to the female poets of Al-Andalus. 

In addition to this constant cultural activity, Casa Árabe focused throughout these six months on economic diplomacy through specialized meetings designed to serve as a space for networking, guidance and support for the internationalization of Spanish companies in Arab countries. To achieve this, we have dedicated meetings to Libya and Mauritania, as well as to economic diversification and technological cooperation in the Gulf. We have also published, in collaboration with the consulting firm Strategic Gears, the Arab Economic Intelligence Reports, with a first issue focusing on the impact of the war in Iran on mobility and tourism in the Arab world. This will be an area we explore in depth throughout the second half of the year. 

To conclude this review of the first half of the year, some good news: the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts of Spain’s Ministry of Culture has begun processing the application to designate Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Cordoba, an architectural complex known as the “Casa Mudéjar,” as a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC) in the “Monument” category. As a result, both Casa Árabe locations would enjoy the same level of protection. 

In summary, these first six months of 2026 reflect the spirit with which Casa Árabe is celebrating its twentieth anniversary: it is an institution which, two decades after its creation, continues to provide spaces for cultural exchange, fostering mutual understanding, while offering a program that combines thought, education and culture to better understand an Arab world as diverse as it is dynamic. Our anniversary celebrations will continue over the coming months with new activities that will further highlight a legacy that we have all built together.