Cultural managers from 18 countries are participating from today in the Innovation Summit Cáceres, an event promoted by the candidacy of Cáceres for the European Capital of Culture that has the Global Leaders Institute, Harvard University and the EY Academy of Business as academic allies, reinforcing its global dimension, its methodological rigor and its focus on leadership and applied innovation.
This is an international certified training program in innovation that will be held in the city throughout this week and through which Cáceres will position itself as a strategic meeting place for cultural exchange, innovative thinking and results-oriented international collaboration.
Pedro Centeno, general director of Global Leaders Institute, explained that this activity is part of the MBA program in cultural innovation developed by his organization, “a project focused on innovation and its ability to add value to people’s lives.” Thus, the objective is for international and local agents to “learn basic concepts of innovation together and apply them to the specific challenges of Cáceres and Extremadura.”
The general coordinator of Cáceres 2031, Iris Jugo, has pointed out that “it is a further step in the candidacy to strengthen international networks and promote collaborative work between cultural agents from around the world and local agents.” The aim is to see “how we can continue this dialogue on innovation tools in culture and how we can give Cáceres a much more international profile.”
For his part, the Councillor for Culture of the City Council of Cáceres, Jorge Suárez, has highlighted that “Europe has to be in Cáceres and the people of Cáceres have to collaborate with European concepts, because these synergies are what make us greater.” That, he added, is one of the key aspects of the Cáceres candidacy.
Concert with international artists
As part of the Innovation Summit Cáceres 2026, a very special concert, Cáceres Global, will be held, featuring four top-level international artists. It will be on Wednesday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Malinche Room of the San Francisco Cultural Center.
Jacob Ormaza-Vera (Ecuador), Yiyun Zhao (Canada/China), Dra. Sara Hubrich (Germany) and Carlos Vargas (Dominican Republic) will perform music by Mozart, Shostakovich, Bartok, Manuel de Falla and Ecuadorian, Romanian and Dominican songs.
Carlos Manuel Vargas is an assistant professor at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and director of the program for young artists at the Esmeraldas FIME Festival. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Vargas is co-founder of Macondo Chamber Players and founder of the Roxbury Piano Program and the Roxbury concert series in Boston. Jacob Ormaza-Vera, for his part, is first violinist of the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln and leader of Master Classes Guayaquil. He has performed as a soloist with professional orchestras in Ecuador and has won several first prizes in Ecuador, as well as in international competitions in Lithuania and the Netherlands.
Yiyun Zhao, a violinist, is the founder of the A-Strings Festival and a digital creator with 200,000 followers. Originally from China and residing in Canada, Zhao is dedicated to maintaining access to classical music and is currently a doctoral candidate at McGill University. Finally, Dr. Sara Hubrich is a professor of Music in the Context of Cultural Work at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. She is a violinist and violist and combines expanded interpretations with a creative commitment to the community through her performances.
Final Forum
As part of its open and participatory vocation, the entire day will conclude with the celebration of a public forum open to the citizens at the Capitol Theatre, in which the projects developed will be presented before a symbolic jury representative of the public, private and cultural sectors, reinforcing the community dimension and the dialogue between sectors.
The Innovation Summit Cáceres 2026 aligns with the strategic objectives of Cáceres 2031 to promote cultural innovation, strengthen international cooperation and consolidate a competitive and sustainable creative ecosystem. The event is also supported by the Ateneo de Cáceres, the Official Association of Architects of Extremadura and the Tatiana Foundation.
