Miriam Badiola / ICAL
Last year, Castilla y León recorded its “historic record” in the number of foreign students in 2023, representing an increase of 22 percent compared to the previous year and “significantly higher numbers than before the pandemic”. .
This was highlighted today by the Vice Minister for Cultural Actions of the Government of Castile and León, Mar Sancho, knowing that “one of the most important actors” for this growth in the reception of students from abroad is the existence in the city of León of a headquarters of the University of Washington.
That’s why the Declaration of Good Intentions signed today “makes efforts in the area of Spanish as a language” after the Washington State House of Representatives passed the Spanish Bilingual Education Act last month. In this sense, the Vice Minister of Cultural Actions expressed her “interest” that “there are students from the State who participate in the cooperation and study programs of the Center in León”.
For the President of the University of Washington, Ana Mari Cauce, the institution’s center in the Leonese capital is “very fruitful” and offers students “an experience that thanks to the families that transform the lives of them and their children.” she. “The special thing about this program is that they not only come to study, but also stay with their families, so it is an immersive experience in the culture,” emphasized Cauce, believing that this gives young people the opportunity “ to look at the world with different eyes.” the biggest eyes.”