After its inauguration the last 9th of April, the María Zambrano Center for Transatlantic Studies UMA-ATECH was launched with the organization of its first international workshop about the relations between Spain and America. The event was inaugurated by the Rector Adelaida de la Calle on the 14th of May at the Rectorate building of the University of Malaga, with the presence of Víctor Muñoz, Rector’s Delegate for the CIE Andalucía TECH; Juan Antonio García Galindo, Dean of Communication Sciences and Director of the Aula María Zambrano; Carlos Alonso Zaldívar, Ambassador of Spain; and Roberta Aaron, Honorary Consular Agent of the United States of America. This is the first in a series of international meetings that will discuss the Euro-American relations from different perspectives and approaches.

During the conferences, national and international experts have dealt with issues such as the mutual perception between the USA and Spain; the geostrategic and historical role of the Atlantic Ocean; the transatlantic cultural, political and ideological relations; trade and investment issues between Europe and North America; etcetera. On Friday, the workshop sessions were resumed in the city council’s Conference Hall of Macharaviaya —a town that is at the same time a sister city with Pensacola (US)—, where participants were welcomed by the Mayor, Antonio Campos Garín. The Mayor of the town showed his satisfaction for the realization of these workshops in Macharaviaya, and expressed his willingness to keep collaborating with the University of Malaga, and particularly, with the María Zambrano Center for Transatlantic Studies, due to the close connection of Macharaviaya, hometown of Bernardo de Gálvez, to the American history.

This first workshop aims at highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the phenomena that interact within the transatlantic context with the goal of creating a forum for dialogue, investigation and knowledge transfer focused on this part of the world. Experts from the University of South Florida, the University of Puerto Rico Recinto Río Piedras, the Metropolitan University of Puerto Rico, the National University of Misiones, the Dresden University of Technology, the University of Vigo, the University of Valencia and the University of Malaga attended the meeting.