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La Rioja, the cradle of the Spanish language: from the Monastery of San Millán to digital globalisation

Over a thousand years ago, in the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, in the heart of La Rioja, the first known word in Spanish was written. The Glosas Emilianenses from the 10th century represent the written birth of our language, a heritage spoken today by more than 500 million people worldwide. From that foundational moment, La Rioja became the historical cradle of Spanish, a cultural legacy that transcends borders and generations. The Valley of Language, the territory hosting this millennial origin, stands as a symbol of linguistic and cultural identity, connecting the past with the digital present. La Rioja wrote the first word of Spanish a thousand years ago. Today, from that same historical territory, it leads the digital future of the Spanish-speaking world through innovation in artificial intelligence and linguistic data.Institutional leadership: Government of La Rioja and Foundation for TransformationThe Government of La Rioja and the Foundation for the Transformation of La Rioja drive the EDVAL project (Language Valley Data Space) as a strategic national infrastructure backed by NextGenerationEU funding. This institutional initiative positions La Rioja as a European benchmark in the governance of linguistic data and in the New Economy of Language, aligned with GAIA-X standards and the European Language Data Space.The regional governance authority ensures data sovereignty, semantic interoperability, and compliance with the European AI Act, consolidating the project's institutional legitimacy before national and international bodies. The institutional brand territories are articulated around four axes:Responsible innovation: through advanced technology combined with ethics and regulation.Authority and reference: with absolute technical rigor.Linguistic and cultural identity: of Spanish as a global strategic asset.Real impact: with practical applications and demonstrable benefits.EDVAL: International projection to 500 Million Spanish speakersThe EDVAL project constitutes the internationalization infrastructure that connects more than 500 million Spanish speakers in over 20 countries with high-quality linguistic data for artificial intelligence. The New Economy of Language positions Spanish as a strategic asset in the digital age, driving linguistic sovereignty against the dominance of English in training AI models.95% of AI training is currently conducted in English, a gap that EDVAL addresses through the largest oral corpus ever created in Spanish. The geographical segmentation of the project prioritizes Spain and Latin America as strategic territories, allowing regional linguistic adaptation and consolidation of Spanish-speaking markets. EDVAL operates as a federated data space that guarantees traceability, quality, and reuse of linguistic resources under European standards, facilitating the participation of institutions, universities, and tech companies in the global digital Spanish ecosystem.From San Millán to global leadership: Spain and La Rioja in AISpain is positioning itself as a European leader in linguistic data thanks to the institutional drive of La Rioja and the EDVAL project, consolidating Spanish as a native language of artificial intelligence. La Rioja becomes the epicenter of the New Economy of Language, an emerging economic model that recognizes the strategic value of linguistic resources as assets for technological and cultural innovation.Alignment with the European Language Data Space and GAIA-X allows La Rioja to participate in European funding programs, research calls, and multilateral alliances that amplify its continental influence. Regional governance guarantees transparency, data sovereignty, and regulatory compliance, essential elements for the trust of institutional and private participants in the federated data space. The legacy of the 10th-century Glosas Emilianenses finds continuity in the digital leadership of the 21st century, demonstrating that La Rioja not only wrote the first word of Spanish but continues to write its global future.

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