Agreement between FUNCI and CEMOC

Funci signs an agreement with the Centre for Contemporary Middle-Eastern Studies (CEMOC).

On Monday April 2nd in Madrid the General Secretary of the Islamic Culture Foundation  (FUNCI), Encarna Gutierrez, signed a cooperation agreement between our Institution and the Centre for Contemporary Middle-Eastern Studies (CEMOC) whose head offices are in Cordoba (Argentina) and who upon this occasion was represented by Paulo Botta, Director of CEMOC.

The CEMOC is the first institution of its kind in Latin America to be exclusively devoted to the analysis of political, strategic, social and economic problems currently affecting the Middle East. In May 2002 a group of young professionals joined forces to create this research centre, whose objective is to approach this analysis from an academic perspective.

According to the members of the group, despite the importance of the Middle East in international politics, in Latin America very little research on contemporary middle-east-related issues has been developed. There are only a few personal initiatives worth mentioning, and there is an absence of any academic specialisation in the field. With this in mind, the group decided to promote this initiative with the intention of creating a forum for those interested in the subject, not only in Argentina but throughout the whole of Latin America.

This agreement between the FUNCI and the CEMOC paves the way for other projects aimed at promoting a greater awareness in Argentina regarding some of the cultural activities organised by FUNCI and vice-versa. It also provides a platform for other joint initiatives, particularly in the field of exchange of publications, studies and information, and academic cooperation.