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Dr. Gabriel Carranza, director of the Office for Latin American Programs, visited the Mexico Center on March 17-19, 2008 in order to attend meetings with the Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico as well as the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), Mexico’s equivalent of the National Science Foundation. Ms. Tere Hurtado, assistant director and general manager of the Mexico Center, also participated in these meetings.
During the morning of March 18, Dr. Carranza and Ms. Hurtado attended meetings related to the Mexico Center’s Digitalization of Historical Materials Program and a bilateral digitalization proposal being developed by Texas A&M University and colleagues in Mexico. They met with Father Morales to discuss the status of the Mexico Center’s program with Provincia del Santo Evangelio as well as the digitalization proposal.
Following this meeting, Dr. Carranza and Ms. Hurtado, along with Father Morales, met with Mr. Jesus Oymaburu, director of the Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico. The Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico serves as one of the official representations of Spain in Mexico. In conjunction with the Embassy of Spain in Mexico and the Technical Office for Cooperation, the Cultural Center of Spain promotes and supports activities of cooperation that address economic, social, cultural, ethnic, scientific and professional development issues in Mexico and Spain. An example is “Convocatoria Abierta y Permanete”, or Open Call.
Its primary objective is to fund projects or activities in the field of development cooperation, which may take place either in Spain or abroad. Open Call is released on an annual basis. Texas A&M University will have the opportunity to submit a proposal during this year’s Open Call through the Mexico Center, which as a Mexican organization is eligible to submit the proposal.
The primary purpose of the meeting with the Cultural Center of Spain was to provide Mr. Oyamburu with an overview of Texas A&M’s proposal as well as to receive advice on how to develop and submit the proposal. The proposal, which is being developed in Mexico by the Mexico Center and Provincia del Santo Evangelio, and at Texas A&M University by the Department of Hispanic Studies, the Department of Architecture, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, the Center for Heritage Conservation, the Cushing Memorial Library, and the Office for Latin American Programs, will be submitted in May.
The proposal addresses the rescue, preservation, and dissemination of historical and cultural materials currently in the possession of religious orders in Mexico and unavailable to the general public.
On the afternoon of March 18, Dr. Carranza and Ms. Hurtado attended a meeting with Dr. Luis Mier y Teran Casanueva, associate director of science for CONACYT. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the final details of the TAMU-CONACYT Research Agreement before its signing and implementation. This agreement is a renewal agreement based on the 2001-2006 Memorandum of Agreement between TAMU and CONACYT. Under this agreement, over 92 bilateral research projects were funded. The new research agreement provides opportunities for similar bilateral research projects.
On March 19, Dr. Carranza attended additional program related meetings at the Mexico Center.
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