A note from our DirectorAs the second half of the year begins, the Latin America CAPE is adapting its programmes to the new context of tight border controls balanced with a relaxed freedom of movement onshore for New Zealanders. In this Update we signal the broad outlines of our revised plans. As we look to contribute to New Zealand’s recovery and boost our nation’s connections with Latin America, we are engaging closely with key stakeholders to develop strong links between their revised priorities and ours. Here, we welcome the following initiatives: MFAT’s signing of a Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) with Chile and Singapore; NZTE’s increased investment in digital resources and support for exporters; Education New Zealand’s upcoming webinars on Latin America, and the LANZBC’s sharing of initiatives from its partner organisation the Australia-Latin American Business Council (ALABC). Evidence-based insights are critically important in these challenging times. We are looking to transfer more of the expertise in our universities to the business and education sectors and wider public. Having recently communicated New Zealand’s experiences of COVID-19 to partners in Chile and Brazil, we will soon provide thought leadership around New Zealand-Latin American relations to New Zealanders too – and show why Latin America should be part of our country’s vision for economic resilience, recovery and renewal. Matthew O'Meagher, Latin America CAPE Director Latin America CAPE Annual PlanAs you will see from our website, we are embedding several projects we piloted in 2018 and 2019 into our core programme offerings. This is in keeping with our intention to increasingly invest in established or developing programmes of work to create impact rather than through new standalone activity. There will, however, be changes to our offerings as well. Many outputs will be converted to delivery on virtual digital platforms or reimagined to continue to provide compelling opportunities in Latin America to our businesses and communities. Instead of sending New Zealanders to the region, for example, we will build new connections to Latin America’s presence within New Zealand, such as historic and recent migrants, Latin American students, and New Zealand companies that export there. There will also be more attention to public outreach than in previous years, new digital products and learning pathways, and enhanced communications. Please standby for a full list of our projects to be uploaded to our website in coming weeks. These projects will be delivered in the remainder of 2020 and show the first fruits of our revised thinking given the pandemic. Also, look out for some upcoming information about the revised strategic priorities for all three CAPEs. Strengthening our ties with Latin America: Covid-19 responsesStrengthening relationships and transferring knowledge to our partners in Latin America are part of the pillars that make up what our Centre does. Our Director, Dr Matthew O’Meagher recently delivered a webinar on New Zealand’s transparent, inclusive, and consistent response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The webinar delivered in Spanish was hosted by Jorge Sahd, Director of the Centro de Estudios Internacionales UC in Chile, which can be viewed below. Our Director highlighted the opportunities for digital collaboration as emphasised by the DEPA (Digital Economic Partnership Agreement) signed this month by New Zealand, Chile, and Singapore. Along with the webinar, Dr O’Meagher was interviewed by Diario Financiero, a well-known Chilean news source. We will promote the interview once the article is published. As mentioned in our Director’s note, we have been sending articles written by New Zealand academics on New Zealand’s response to the pandemic to our partners in Brazil on a weekly basis. These articles are used for SciBiz-Covid-19, a weekly bulletin curated by academics at the University of São Paulo (FEAUSP), Brazil. The bulletin presents research, analyses and initiatives related to Covid-19 authored by FEAUSP academics and their international partners. The content is in both English and Portuguese. It is time for New Zealand to focus on what unites us with Latin America so that we can identify opportunities to innovate in the region. LAMA Workshops: now in-personWe are again offering our 1-day Latin America Market Awareness (LAMA) workshops in person. Our July and August workshops will be delivered in two new locations: Hawke's Bay, 6 August with Export NZ Hawke's Bay and Wellington, 26 August with Export NZ Wellington. SMEs and business support agencies tell us that market diversification and scoping for relevant medium-long term opportunities are especially important in these testing times. The highly interactive LAMA workshop is ideal for businesses considering Latin America as a potential market or for those already operating there that want to expand their activities. Karen, a participant in a previous LAMA workshop rates the session highly and is currently exploring opportunities to offer HR consultancy services in Latin America:
Antarctic Cities Youth Expedition: Caleb FraserEarlier this year, University of Canterbury student Caleb Fraser was selected to represent New Zealand for an expedition to Antarctica with four other student representatives from Chile, Argentina, Australia, and South Africa. These five countries are considered ‘gateway cities’ that are most geographically tied to the protection of Antarctica and play leading roles. Led by the Chilean Antarctic Institute and funded by the Latin America CAPE, participants stayed on the Professor Julio Escudero Base for a week where they experienced what it is like to live, work, and do research in Antarctica. Caleb spent the week building strong partnerships with the other young leaders, learning about Latin America and other cultures, and co-designing the Antarctic Youth Coalition. Watch the one-minute video below of Caleb speaking on his experience or read a Q&A where he discusses his greatest takeaways from the experience.
If you are interested in joining the Antarctic Youth Coalition. please email antarcticyouthcoalition@gmail.com to express your interest. Launching our digital badges for alumniWe are excited to announce that this month we will be rolling out LatAm CAPE digital badges for alumni that have participated in our programmes! If you’ve been on one of our eligible programmes, you will be awarded an e-badge to showcase on your Linkedin page, website, or other social media channels. The badge will be a great way for you to highlight your experience and knowledge of Latin America. Read below for more details and for our relevant alumni, look out for an email from us in a few weeks. Want more ways to engage with our Centre? Follow us on Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for weekly updates on our projects, news articles, and ways to engage with Latin America. OPPORTUNITYPhoto by Filip Gielda Applications open for two Remote Cultural Sector Internships with MexicoWith a history spanning over 3,000 years, there’s much to learn from Mexico’s cultural sector. We have two remote internships available between August-December 2020 for current postgraduate students or early career professionals in the cultural sector, with an interest in learning about and promoting Latin American cultures and languages. The internships are part of a Latin America CAPE funded project led by Dr. Lee Davidson (Victoria University of Wellington) aimed at developing collaborative partnerships between the cultural and creative industries in New Zealand and Latin America. The outcomes of this project will contribute to strengthening NZ’s cultural industries and participating students' career prospects. Also, fundamental here is building a broad and updated public understanding of Latin America to support effective economic, trade and political relationships. Applications close on July 17. For more details, see the link below. If you are new to the mailing list please see our past updates. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to be please sign up below. |