Presentation of UC3M’s India Week
Presentation of UC3M’s India Week
“Five Centuries of Dialogue: From Akbar’s Court to the Spain-India Dual Year 2026”
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Duration: Approximately 75 minutes
Location: Casa Asia. Palacio de Cañete, 69 Mayor St. 28013 Madrid
Admission: Free admission until capacity is reached
Organized by: Carlos III University of Madrid
In collaboration with: Casa Asia, Casa de la India, and the Indian Embassy in Spain
Language: Spanish
Event related to: UC3M India Week 2026
Carlos III University of Madrid presents UC3M India Week at Casa Asia, a program organized by the university in collaboration with cultural and diplomatic institutions linked to India, and curated by Michele Curnis and Manuel Hidalgo, associate vice rectors for Culture and Internationalization, respectively.
The event will take place on Thursday, September 24, at 6:00 p.m., at Casa Asia; admission is free until capacity is reached.
The presentation will feature institutional representatives from Carlos III University of Madrid, Casa Asia, Casa de la India, and the Embassy of India in Spain—the latter pending confirmation. Following the official opening, Carmen Bedoya, Programming Coordinator at Casa Asia, will deliver the lecture “Five Centuries of Dialogue: From the Court of Akbar to the Spain-India Dual Year 2026.”
The session will serve as a public introduction to UC3M India Week and will provide context for the program within the long history of cultural, intellectual, and diplomatic relations between Spain and India, with a special focus on the Spain-India Dual Year 2026.
Program
6:00 p.m. | Official opening
Speakers:
-Alejandro Melero Salvador
Vice President for Communication, Culture, and Transparency
Carlos III University of Madrid
-Carolina Marugán Cruz
Vice President for Internationalization
Carlos III University of Madrid
-Representative of the Indian Embassy in Spain
To be confirmed
-Guillermo Rodríguez
Director of Casa de la India
-Carmen Bedoya
Program Coordinator at Casa Asia
6:30 p.m. | Lecture
“Five Centuries of Dialogue: From the Court of Akbar to the Spain-India Dual Year 2026”
Organized by:
-Carmen Bedoya
Program Coordinator at Casa Asia
About the conference
The conference offers a comprehensive overview of relations between Spain and India, linking some of their earliest historical contacts to the present day.
Relations between Spain and India date back much further than is commonly believed. In 1580, the Catalan Jesuit Antoni de Montserrat arrived at the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar as a member of the first Christian mission invited by the sovereign. That encounter, motivated by Akbar’s interest in dialogue between religions and cultures, constitutes one of the earliest documented instances of direct contact between Spain and the Indian subcontinent and an exceptional example of intellectual exchange between East and West.
Building on this historical episode, the conference will address the current state of Spanish-Indian relations, which are marked by growing collaboration in areas such as the economy, innovation, higher education, scientific research, and culture. It will also examine the significance of the Spain-India Dual Year as an opportunity to strengthen ties between the two countries and raise the profile of a relationship with significant potential for development.
The session will provide context for UC3M’s India Week within a historical relationship spanning more than four centuries, which has evolved into an increasingly close relationship in the political, economic, cultural, and academic spheres.