Read our last Update of the year and see what's coming next for us. A note from our DirectorMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone – and thank you for journeying with us through a year like no other. Amidst all 2020’s challenges our CAPE continued to deliver exceptional projects and activities that exposed New Zealanders to ongoing Latin American opportunities and contexts and deepened our connections with the region. Over the last few months we introduced the projects described in this Update to our diverse audiences and advanced other initiatives we will launch early in the New Year. Furthermore, we were proud to see another of our earlier initiatives recognised for its quality and impact – a week ago our Virtual Machu Picchu schools project helped its academic lead win the Gold Award for Sustainability at the QS-Wharton Reimagine Education Conference for global educational innovators. As you will see from the montage above, New Zealand businesses, students and members of the public responded enthusiastically to our work. Along the way, too, we had some fun. From next year we will be updating you on our activities through a new joint newsletter from all three CAPEs. For now, it is my pleasure to present you this summary of our rich output as the year ended and to signal how we will kick off 2021. Enjoy your break and see you next year! Matthew O'Meagher, LatAm CAPE Director RECENT EVENTSNew Zealand and Chile trade webinarIn a sign of our intent to lead new conversations around trade connections between New Zealand and Latin America we co-hosted the webinar Diversification as a Response to Trade Disruptions: Perspectives from New Zealand and Chile with the Center for International Studies of the Catholic University of Chile. A rich and fruitful discussion expertly moderated by Director of CEIUC Jorge Sahd ensued between our outstanding lineup of speakers: former APEC Executive Director (and CAPE Advisory Board Chair) Alan Bollard, Chile’s Vice-Minister of International Economic Relations Rodrigo Yañez, MFAT’s Trade and Economic Assistant Secretary Clare Kelly, Economist at the Latin American for Economic and Social Policies at Catholic University Hermann González, Associate Director of the New Zealand International Business Forum Stephanie Honey. Watch the recording below. Colombia & AntarcticaA fortnight later we partnered with the Embassy and Consulate-General of Colombia to deliver a mixed in-person/virtual event on Colombia and Antarctica that featured Angela Posada-Swafford, an eminent science journalist, and Associate Professor Rob McKay, Director of the Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington. Watch the recording below. Photo credits to Bob Zuur and Helen Klisser During Amazon - Raised Up SkyIn our broadest in-person awareness raising event of the year, the artist Joseph Michael showcased the initial results of his Amazon – Raised Up Sky project to audiences in 10 towns or cities across New Zealand, from Whangarei to Wanaka. In each venue Michael explained the goals of his project, showed the documentary he and his collaborators had produced with us, and gave his audiences the opportunity to experience the Amazonian rainforest through Augmented Reality technology developed with Weta Workshop. Attendees throughout the country were wowed by what they saw – in Wellington, they were lining up before the event had concluded to see the forest through the AR headsets. RECENT PROGRAMMESPacific Business ReConnect: Latin AmericaThis pilot programme delivered with Oyster Workshop took Polynesian creatives in New Zealand on a ‘Deep Dive’ and ‘Wayfinding’ journey to three Latin American countries – Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. The series helped participants learn about how relevant peoples, markets, and the creative industries work in these countries and the region. Ideation sessions focused on participants developing their products or services for the Latin America market. Leaders of New Zealand’s Pacific dance, events and festivals scene, among others, noted how profound the experience was in exploring the ancient and contemporary connections between Polynesia and Latin America and the many untapped opportunities they are excited to explore with us. Puertas Abiertas: Latin American Immersion ProgrammeThe Puertas Abiertas: Latin American Immersion Programme delivered with Future Learning Solutions at the University of Auckland was developed to strengthen participants' Spanish language skills and knowledge of Latin America and to influence their future study and career options. 15 university students from across New Zealand came together for the week-long immersion programme which supported and challenged students to use their Spanish daily. Guest speakers shared how they successfully use Spanish and intercultural ‘know-how’ in a wide range of professional and community contexts to deliver impact, both onshore and in Latin America. Each participant developed an ‘Action Plan' on how the programme impacted them and detailed how they want to integrate Spanish language into their future careers. On our return from our summer breakWhen we return in mid-January we will pick up where we left off and put the finishing touches on more exciting offerings for you. Two new sets of digital resources will be produced to help SMEs understand why they should focus on Latin America and how they can succeed there. As part of a collaboration with NZTE, we will produce short videos and a podcast of New Zealand exporters continuing to do well in Latin America, and with One Picture we will present new research on how Kiwi firms could use Colombian and Brazilian perceptions of New Zealand when devising market entry strategies. Similarly, two reports will explore further aspects of the trans-Pacific environment we began looking at with our Chile webinar: one will be on the economic opportunity New Zealand has in positioning itself as a ‘Southern Link’ between Asia and South America, and another will be explore the potential for New Zealand to bring Latin American nations into regional security dialogues. In the educational and cultural fields we will formally launch our Toitoi digital app, hold a Winds of Change symposium on New Zealand and Chilean student responses to climate change, offer the first performance of the cross-cultural piece of music composed in our musicality workshops, and present an exhibition that has arisen from our cultural sector partnerships programme New Zealand and Mexican academics have created. Stand by for further details about each of these events through the new cross-CAPE newsletter and our own CAPE’s social media channels. 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