On Friday, 30 October, the Euroarab Foundation hosted a visit from a delegation of six representatives of the Al-Rasheed Center for Development (Iraq). The delegation is visiting Spain under the scientific and research cooperation agreement and the Spain–Iraq Youth Leadership & Cultural Diplomacy 2026 programme, both coordinated by the AIISD Association, which was founded in Spain and now has a presence in Iraq.
The Al-Rasheed Center for Development is based in Baghdad and works on national dialogue, citizen participation, democratic strengthening and civil society development. The aim of this first meeting was mutual understanding and institutional exchange.
The Foundation was represented by its Executive Secretary, Antonio Sánchez, who gave a brief presentation of the organisation, and by Hassan Laaguir, Director of Cooperation and of the Amazigh Chair, who presented both areas together with the Foundation’s training programmes, developed jointly with the Princess Al-Anood Foundation. Daniel F. Pérez, Project Coordinator, outlined the research lines of the Research and International Projects Department.
Researcher Lucía Alonso highlighted the Foundation’s commitment to combating hate speech through the development of educational tools in projects such as ECLIPSE and Hatedemics, and its participation in collaborative networks that promote civic resilience, support victims of hate and strengthen social cohesion. Researcher Javier Montilla presented the projects on the protection of places of worship and local initiatives, such as the Interfaith Dialogue Roundtable of Granada. The «Diálogos de la Euroárabe» series was also discussed, in particular its reflections on social cohesion.
The meeting laid the groundwork for continued exchange of experiences and for exploring potential synergies between the Euroarab Foundation, the Al-Rasheed Center for Development and AIISD, especially in the fight against hate speech.
