On April 23, “Spanish Language Day at the United Nations” is celebrated to raise awareness among the Organization’s staff, and the world in general, about the history, culture and use of Spanish as an official language.
The choice of the day takes place on the anniversary of the death of the great genius of Spanish letters, Miguel de Cervantes. Coincidentally, the date of his death coincides with that of the most prestigious English playwright, William Shakespeare. Hence, both languages share the day.
The United Nations has always looked for creative ways to promote official languages in all spheres of its work, among which, of course, Spanish could not be missing.
The Secretariat uses formal and informal means to reach both the global public and its staff. From interpretation and translation services, to language and communication programs for your employees or multilingual external communication services ( web , news and social networks ).
In the case of Spanish, there is also another extraordinary tool: the Group of Friends of Spanish , a team founded in 2013 by the 20 Spanish-speaking Member States to coordinate and carry out activities aimed at promoting the use and dissemination of Spanish in the work of the UN.
This group was created due to the growing interest of Spanish-speaking people in the mission of the United Nations, which has been impacting the activities of the Organization through greater and sustained consultations, interactions and demands from the Spanish-speaking public throughout the world. planet.