Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste, 22–24 July 2026

For the 16^th edition, the jury decided to award the Carlos V European Award to His Excellency António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, in recognition of his distinguished, extensive, and longstanding commitment to social engagement, the process of European integration, the promotion of multilateralism, and human dignity as the cornerstone of his work in addressing global challenges and crises. He has been a key figure in confronting a period of unprecedented change with profound consequences for Europe and the world. Through his tireless efforts, he has promoted actions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the climate emergency, and the implementation of ambitious reforms to address the challenges of the 21^st century. His determination to tackle one of the greatest challenges facing Europe and humanity —climate change— also deserves special recognition, promoting sustainable development and establishing the 2030 Agenda as the global roadmap centred on people and the planet.

This seminar will focus on the subject of “Migration, Refugees and Human Rights”. It will examine the contribution of the European Union, as a historical, political, and legal project, to the management of migration, the protection of refugees, and the defence of human rights, understood as central elements of the European integration process and of the values that underpin it.

Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste, 15–17 July 2026

This academic programme offers an exploration of the matrimonial and diplomatic strategies that defined the power of the House of Austria between the 15^th and 17^th centuries. Through eight sessions and three round tables, it will examine how the Habsburgs turned marriage into a tool of governance, replacing military conquest with family alliances.

The course will address the construction of a transnational dynastic network that united the crowns of Castile, Aragon, Burgundy, Austria and Portugal, thereby consolidating Catholic hegemony in the face of the Reformation and rival powers. It will analyse the decisions of Maximilian I, Charles V and Philip II, the emblematic marriages that shaped the European political map, and the biological and symbolic limits of dynastic inbreeding.

It will also study female agency in court diplomacy, queens, infantas and regents who acted as political mediators, as well as the global projection of the Habsburg imperial model in the American viceregal sphere, where the monarchy’s familial and religious order translated into new colonial hierarchies and a process of social mestizaje, generating alliances between Creole and peninsular elites.

The programme concludes with an analysis of the literary representation of Habsburg power during the Spanish Golden Age, where imperial marriage was exalted as a symbol of divine legitimacy and authority, but also subjected to critique within Baroque culture.

Overall, this course offers a comprehensive view of the diplomacy and political culture of a dynasty that aspired to embody the ideal of universal monarchy.

Directors:

Rosa Perales Piqueres. University of Extremadura

Rosa María Martínez de Codes. Complutense University of Madrid

Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste, 8–10 July 2026

Relations between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have been built over recent decades on the basis of a bi-regional approach that has supported the development of areas of cooperation and joint action. These relations are exposed to the transformations affecting international society, reflected in the evolving consensus on which they have been shaped. The geopolitical tensions emerging in both regions define a context for the consolidation and development of their cooperation frameworks and shared areas of interest. In the face of the questioning of multilateralism, the pressures on international trade, the adaptation of production and supply chains, rapid digital transformation, and joint action on climate, the environment and the energy transition, key components for strategic cooperation have been identified. Their essential character remains rooted in shared values typical of democratic societies that respect human rights and the rule of law, reflecting historical ties that should continue to bind them collectively.

Both regions face significant challenges linked to substantial differences that generate tensions in established integration processes, the reconfiguration of national interests, and the influence of external actors. At the same time, they have developed shared elements of identity to address these challenges, such as the defence of representative democracy, the rule of law, the promotion of a rules-based international order, the universal and regional institutional frameworks underpinning cooperation, and the peaceful conduct of international relations.

Analysis and reflection within the academic sphere, together with the creation of spaces for dialogue and exchange, underpin the organisation of this course. It is conceived as a forum for strategic reflection and engagement among young people, academia, public institutions and civil society. Its aim is to study, strengthen and project the future of EU–LAC relations through a multidisciplinary and intergenerational perspective that facilitates the formulation of concrete public policy proposals and fosters bi-regional cooperation.

Directors:

Juan Manuel Rodríguez Barrigón. University of Extremadura

Lorena Chano Regaña. University of Extremadura

Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste, 1–3 July 2026

The European Union is going through a difficult period, given the threats it faces from the East, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the shift in attitude of its traditional ally, the United States, which has become a power particularly critical of the European integration process. Added to this is the serious energy deficit affecting Europe, its unbalanced economy (with an overinflated tertiary sector and primary and secondary sectors in clear decline), the crisis facing its welfare state, and the influx of large migratory flows, which pose a challenge of integration and coexistence for European societies. The analysis of these developments, and the strategic response that the European Union will have to provide to these challenges, will form the focus of discussion in this summer course.

Directors:

Alfonso Pinilla García. University of Extremadura

Jaime Rossell Granados. University of Extremadura

Guadalupe, 8–9 April 2026 – Sala Capitular of the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe

The European Union is facing new challenges linked to the ongoing changes taking place at global level. Competitiveness and the social model will be key to responding to this reality, by advancing innovation and technological development, deepening the protection of social rights, strengthening cooperation between States, and enhancing strategic autonomy in the fields of energy and defence.

The seminar “The European Union in the New Global Context: Enhancing Competitiveness through the Social Model”, organised by the Spanish Economic and Social Council (CES) and Yuste Foundation, aims to provide answers and foster debate on key issues for the present and future of the EU.

Badajoz, 15–16 April 2026 – Plenary Hall of the Provincial Council of Badajoz

The Ministry of Defence promotes the development of a culture of security and defence with the aim of ensuring that Spanish society understands, values and identifies with its history and with the effective and supportive efforts through which the Armed Forces safeguard national interests. Fostering awareness and a culture of security and defence is a priority objective. Bringing defence closer to citizens is an essential part of the culture of National Security, serving as a tool to achieve a society that is committed to and actively engaged in its own security.

The European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation aims to contribute to the promotion of democracy, respect for human rights, the fostering of peace and international harmony, as well as the comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development of all peoples and nations worldwide, particularly through the promotion of culture, research, the dissemination of knowledge and social integration.

The Ministry of Defence, the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation and the University of Extremadura have been collaborating for years in the organisation of joint academic activities, among which defence sessions focusing on Europe and Ibero-America as geographical areas of study are of particular importance.

The European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation organises the Security Sessions in Ibero-America, under the umbrella of the SCHOOL OF GUADALUPE, with the aim of promoting dialogue on security and defence policy, including the new threats and challenges of the international strategic landscape, with particular attention to Europe and Ibero-America, as well as the adaptation and response of the Armed Forces to these new challenges.

Guadalupe (Cáceres), 11–12 March 2026 – Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe

The gathering of legal specialists from such diverse yet closely interconnected professions as the judiciary, notarial, and registry sectors around the themes of agriculture and livestock presents a unique opportunity to advance the study of a field that has been relatively unexplored from a legal science perspective.

The meeting is held under the auspices of the General Council of the Judiciary and the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, an institution with a transnational, Europeanist, and Ibero-American vocation. This gives the meeting a scope that extends beyond our borders and, it must be said, benefits from the invaluable collaboration of the distinguished Notarial and Registral Colleges of Extremadura. They provide the perfect framework and combination to achieve the goal of granting the recognition and visibility deserved by a sector that, for a long time, was the economic driving force of virtually all of Spain and continues to be so in large areas of our territory.

Now, all that remains is for the topics chosen for the various lectures and round tables to spark interest among speakers and attendees alike, in line with this ambitious goal, and for constructive dialogue and debate to give rise to genuine proposals for the improvement and promotion of the sector.

Guadalupe (Cáceres), 25 March 2026

The European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, the University of Extremadura (UEx), and the Centre for Research on Ibero-American Studies at Rey Juan Carlos University (CEIB-URJC) announce the 9^TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON RELATIONS BETWEEN LATIN AMERICA, THE CARIBBEAN AND EUROPE, entitled “THE ROLE OF LATIN AMERICA AND EUROPE IN A WORLD AT WAR”, which will be held in Guadalupe (Cáceres) on 25 March 2026.

The objectives of this Congress are:

• To continue deepening the interaction that over five centuries has been taking place between the Americas and Europe.
• To prioritise research that studies this relationship, which has been shaping a historical reality in both regions, evidenced in a cultural and material heritage that is, in many cases, shared. On this occasion, the focus will be on aspects related to the environment, energy, and critical infrastructures in the two regions.
• To continue advancing studies on migratory flows between the Americas, Extremadura, and Europe.
• To increase debate between the two regions, highlighting above all the participation of young researchers in the fields of International Relations and the History of Ibero-America as a space reflecting the profound relationships between the two regions.

This edition of the congress forms part of the activities of the project “EU–LAC Cooperation in a Transforming World: Institutional Strengthening for Global Governance”, funded by the Extremaduran Agency for International Development Cooperation (AEXCID). The project aims to strengthen institutional capacities, enhance bi-regional political dialogue and promote strategic cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in response to an international context shaped by profound economic, social, technological and geopolitical changes.

You can register to attend the Congress via the following link:

https://forms.gle/mozN5q9syQkf6hQc8

Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe | 16–18  December 2025

In its 15^th edition, the jury of the Carlos V European Award granted the distinction to the European Disability Forum, “a European NGO that brings together organisations representing 100 million people with disabilities and their families across Europe. According to the jury’s decision, at the time of receiving the award, the EDF celebrated its 25^th anniversary; a time it has employed defending the rights of people with disabilities and promoting their inclusion, caring for those who need it most and who suffer multiple discrimination for having different capacities, valuing their dignity as people and the great value they are to society. Through its work, the EDF promotes a more inclusive Europe and a more social, just and egalitarian Europe, and contributes to the process of European integration, to the values that the European Union defends and to ensuring that all citizens can live together in this common area on an equal footing and without being discriminated against because of their social capacities. It thus favours a more humane Europe that focuses on the well-being of its citizens, providing strong legal frameworks to defend inclusion, accessibility, freedom of movement, independent life, dignity, non-discrimination, active and effective participation in society, respect for difference as part of human diversity and other fundamental rights and freedoms”. Taking these points into account, and after consulting the award-winning institution, the theme of the Carlos V European Award Doctoral Seminar – European Disability Forum will be: “United in diversity: The impact of the European Union on the lives of persons with disabilities”.

The students who have received the grant will debate the European Union’s contribution, throughout its history, to the inclusion and the fulfilment of the rights of persons with disabilities from the perspective of policy, European funds and initiatives or programmes, from the perspective of regulations and legislation, from inter-institutional cooperation, from the role of associations and collaboration with international institutions, from cooperation programmes with local and regional actors, NGOs and civil society, and from the promotion of European values. In addition, the role of the EU’s ratification in 2010 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) will be analysed, as well as how the Convention shapes and drives disability policies at EU level; the role of the European Institutions and Bodies (with particular emphasis on the European Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee) as compared to the role of the Member States of both institutions and other levels of representation; the mechanisms established by the institutions of the European Union to involve persons with disabilities in a meaningful way, and the role of the European disability movement, among other lines of work.

October 1st – 4th , 2025. Cuacos de Yuste and Comarca de la Vera (Cáceres-Spain)

The Her Voice project consortium is led by UNED (National University of Distance Education) in Denia (Spain) and includes partners from the University of Arts of Targu Mures (Romania); Gmina Miasta Sopotu (Poland); the Lviv Polytechnic National University (Ukraine); the Usamborgia Cultural Association (Italy); Saldus Novada Pasvaldinba (Latvia); Podjetniski Inkubator Kocevje, Javni Zavod Za Podjetnistvoizobraževanje In Druge Dejavnosti (Slovenia); the Jean Monnet Association (France); and the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation (Spain).

The project consists of eight international events organised in the partner countries. It aims to engage directly over 400 participants and indirectly more than 25,000 people, with activities addressing key issues such as the promotion of women’s full enjoyment of their rights, gender equality, including work-life balance, women’s empowerment, the integration of a gender perspective, and its impact on sustainable development.

The project seeks to raise awareness and knowledge among EU citizens, focusing on social inclusion and the gender dimension, with the goal of strengthening citizen participation in general and fostering dialogue among different societal actors, ultimately contributing to a more inclusive and democratic Europe.

More information: https://hervoiceherpower.eu/