More than 80 Spanish teachers from Sardinia gathered in Cagliari for a training event organized by the Junta de Castilla y León through its Consejería de Cultura, Turismo y Deporte. The campaign aims to establish the region as a leading destination for Spanish-language study and attract more Italian students to its universities and language schools.
Rebeca Arroyo, director general of the Fundación Siglo para el Turismo y las Artes, led a team from universities and Spanish schools based in Salamanca, Burgos and Valladolid, alongside officials from the Ayuntamiento de Salamanca. They aimed to beat rival destinations in attracting future student groups from Italy, where nearly 900,000 secondary students already choose Spanish as their foreign language.
The event featured nine hands-on workshops covering new teaching methods and the use of music in class. Other sessions focused on emotional skills and intercultural lessons through advertising. Europa Press reported that organizers expected more than 700 professional meetings between Spanish institutions and Italian educators. A networking area hosted the meetings, each with the potential to lead to student recruitment.
Salamanca took center stage with its own exhibition space. Teachers learned about academic resources and language immersion programs, and organizers held a scholarship draw at the end of the event. Italy is one of Salamanca’s basic sources of international students. As Spanish grows quickly in Italian schools, competition for students is heating up.
The campaign extended beyond the basic event. The day before, Arroyo and her team visited the Liceo Scientifico Statale 'Pitagora', home to Cagliari’s international Spanish section. Run with the Spanish Embassy, the bilingual program teaches subjects such as Language and Literature in Spanish, along with Geography and History. Arroyo and Antonio Jesús Sanz Carmona, technical advisor to the Spanish Education Office in Italy, met with school leaders to discuss expanding exchanges and encourage Sardinian students to consider Castilla y León for further study.
La Razón reported that the Cagliari initiative is part of a broader European campaign by Castilla y León, which began in Brussels and intensified in September 2026. In Sardinia, more than 80 teachers took part alongside nine institutions from Castilla y León, reflecting the region’s effort to expand Spanish-language education across Europe.
Education was the focus, but money and reputation were also at stake. Universities and language schools in Castilla y León want a larger share of the international student market. Each new group from Italy brings tuition revenue and a boost for local economies, while also increasing the region’s cultural influence. The Cagliari campaign reflects a more direct approach: Spanish regions are going out to recruit students. Salamanca is leading the effort.
This outreach differs from other recent Spanish efforts abroad, some of which have been marred by controversy. One example is the reported earlier expulsion of a Spanish cycling coach at a world championship. The Cagliari initiative focuses on planning and long-term strategy rather than damage control.
For Castilla y León, the challenge is to turn teacher interest into student enrollments. The region’s status as a global reference for Spanish-language learning depends on that conversion. The scale of the Cagliari event and the resources behind it show how much effort is going into the goal.
