More than 630 million people around the world can now communicate in Spanish and, for the first time, the community of native speakers exceeds 500 million. These figures place the language well beyond its cultural dimension: sharing a language on this scale has implications for international relations, trade, education, cultural industries and the presence of its speakers in the digital environment.
These dimensions will be the focus of the 4th National Culture Forum, to be held on October 2 at Madrid’s College of Civil Engineers. Titled Hispanidad in Geopolitics: Spanish as a Link of Community and Cultural Cohesion, the event will bring together representatives from institutional, academic, business and cultural circles to examine Spanish’s international influence from three perspectives: geopolitics, economics and culture.
The event is part of the Hispanidad 2026 program, which will take place in Madrid from October 2 to 12. Organized by the Cultus Foundation, it will also be held in the year marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, a circumstance the organizers have incorporated into the context of this fourth edition.
From Zaragoza to Madrid
The National Culture Forum arrives at this edition following a journey that began in Aragon. Its first gathering was held in Zaragoza in 2023 and focused on cultural innovation and the new challenges of the 21st century. The second, in 2024, addressed the position of Spanish culture within Europe, while the 2025 edition focused on cultural relations between Spain and Hispanic America.
The Aragon connection continues in 2026. The College of Civil Engineers said that its Aragon chapter is collaborating on the fourth edition, which will take place at the Agustín de Betancourt Auditorium at the College’s Madrid headquarters. The institution also places the event within the framework of its agreement with the Cultus Foundation to promote cultural activities and address contemporary challenges through different disciplines.
The opening is scheduled for 9:00 a.m., with the participation of Ricardo Martín de Bustamante, president of the College of Civil Engineers, and Mariano de Paco, Madrid’s regional minister for Culture, Tourism and Sports.
A language with more than 630 million speakers
The first panel will take the debate directly into the international arena. Titled Spanish as Global Leadership and Influence, it will examine the potential of a shared language as a tool for diplomacy, cooperation and international relations.
Manuel Campo Vidal will moderate a discussion whose updated program includes former Ecuadorian President Jamil Mahuad, Latin America specialist Carlos Malamud, and Venezuelan lawyer and political scientist Gilberto Carrasquero.
The debate is rooted in a significant demographic reality. The latest available annual report from the Cervantes Institute puts the number of potential Spanish speakers at more than 630 million and estimates the number of native speakers at about 520 million. According to the study, Spanish is now the world’s third-largest native-language community, after Mandarin Chinese and Hindi. More than 120 million potential speakers also live outside Spanish-speaking countries.
These figures help explain why the debate over the language has increasingly incorporated issues that go beyond philology. The Cervantes Institute’s 2025 annual report includes dedicated analyses of Spanish’s economic value, its presence in artificial intelligence and its use in international relations.
After the first panel, the program includes a two-person discussion on Hispanidad as a cultural community, featuring Miguel Ángel Cortés Martín and Javier Fernández-Lasquetty, according to the program published by the Madrid regional government.
The economic value of speaking the same language
The second part of the Forum will shift the discussion to economics. The panel Language as a Driver of Growth and Competitiveness, moderated by José Luis Latorre Martínez, will present Spanish as a factor shaping areas such as trade, tourism, education, cultural industries, innovation and the knowledge economy.
Announced participants include Javier Cremades, founder and president of Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo and president of the World Jurist Association; Eduardo Sánchez Pérez, associated with the management of publishing group ¡HOLA!; and Hilario Alfaro.
The approach expands on an idea that is often limited to the number of speakers: a linguistic community also creates networks of exchange. The existence of a common language can reduce communication barriers for companies, universities, creative industries and educational projects, while facilitating the circulation of content among markets separated by vast geographic distances.
The international dimension is particularly significant because Spanish can no longer be understood exclusively within the borders of countries where it is the majority language. The Cervantes Institute estimates that more than 45 million Spanish speakers live in European Union countries other than Spain, and also highlights the growing study of the language across different education systems.
From geopolitics to flamenco
The event will conclude by turning its attention to artistic creation. The third panel, Artistic Creation as an Expression of a Universal Culture, will examine Spanish’s international reach through such forms as literature, music, film, the performing arts and heritage.
Esther Ciudad, president of the Cultus Foundation, will moderate the discussion. The Madrid regional government’s program lists Judith Piquet, mayor of Alcalá de Henares; Jesús García Calero, director of ABC Cultural; and flamenco singer Arcángel as participants.
The choice of these three pillars—geopolitics, economics and artistic creation—thus outlines the Forum’s underlying question: what it means to share a language when that community spans numerous countries and brings together hundreds of millions of people with different realities, cultures and accents.
The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. on October 2 at the College of Civil Engineers on Almagro Street in Madrid. Attendance is free, although advance registration is required.
