First Business Meeting on Sustainable Tourism of the Pacific Alliance

  • A space to learn about the best of the sustainable tourism offerings of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, identify synergies and establish strategic alliances.

August 4, 2023 – Within the framework of the Pacific Alliance Tourism Cooperation Agreement, the entities responsible for international tourism promotion in the four countries – Chile’s National Tourism Service (SERNATUR), ProColombia, Mexico’s Secretariat of Tourism (SECTUR), and PROMPERÚ – receive each year the mandate to manage strategic alliances, and develop joint promotional tools and actions aimed at both the business sector and the end public in order to boost the marketing of Pacific Alliance tourist destinations and contribute to increasing the flow of tourists within the region and from third markets to the countries of the bloc.

It should be noted that one of the pillars of the Pacific Alliance is sustainability, thus contributing to one of the priorities of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the countries of the bloc. Taking into account the situation generated by the pandemic, international tourists are demanding a new way of doing tourism, with sustainability being a requirement in all sectors of economic activity. Studies such as the recent analysis of Expedia Group, endorse the importance of sustainability in destinations, since 90% of travelers are looking for more sustainable travel options and 7 out of 10 of them have discarded a destination for fear that their sustainable practices are not real.

Given the above, is that within the activities contemplated in the Work Plan 2023 of the Pacific Alliance, is the 1st Sustainable Tourism Business Meeting, which is carried out as an innovative edition of the past Pacific Alliance Tourism Macro-Rounds that were developed from 2014 to 2021.

The development of this meeting organized by the PA will bring together entrepreneurs and academics from the tourism sector of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, so they can share experiences and best practices on management, projects or tourism products based on the sustainability component in order to generate new business opportunities and strengthen existing ones.

This meeting will be held on August 9, 16 and 17, virtually, through various spaces to strengthen the sustainable tourism offer of the Pacific Alliance through the exchange of best practices and experiences, training, identification of synergies and strategic alliances in order to generate new business opportunities between inbound and outbound companies of the countries that make up the bloc.

Details of the meeting can be found at the following link: https://www.encuentroturismosostenibleap.com/.

Schedule of activities:

  • Inauguration | 09.08.23 | 09:00 – 9:30 COL time | 30 min.

Opening ceremony preceded by Claricia Tirado, Director of Tourism of PROMPERÚ as coordinator of the Technical Group of Promotion Agencies of the PA (Tourism).

  • Academic Agenda | 09.08.23 | 09:30 – 10:35 COL time. | 45 min.

Keynote speech entitled “Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism, an opportunity for regional development” given by Vicente Ferreyra Acosta, Vice President of Sustainable Tourism of the Sustainable Social Tourism Summit.

  • Commercial Pitch Preparation | 9.08.23 | 14:00 – 15:30 COL time. | 90 min.

Interactive workshop given by Fernando Mandri Bellot, president of the Sustainable Social Tourism Summit, to the participating inbound companies for the construction and improvement of their value proposition and the sales pitch of their products with high impact on sustainability.

  • Pitch Sessions | 16.08.23 | 09:00 – 11:20 COL time. | 120 min.

Presentation of commercial pitches by incoming agents from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru to a panel of experts and outbound agents from the four countries of the bloc. As a result of this space, the outbound agents will have the opportunity to request meetings with the companies whose products were of greatest interest, leading to more effective business meetings.

  • Business Networking | 17.08.23 | 09:00 – 16:00 COL time.

Development of 1-on-1 appointments between outbound and inbound participants.

It is expected that the event will have the participation of forty sustainable tourism companies from the four countries, twenty outbound and twenty inbound, which will have the opportunity to participate in pitch sessions and business networking, on August 16 and 17, in order to generate new business opportunities to contribute to the increase of intra-Alliance tourists.

Details of the Academic Agenda

Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru invite you to be part of the Academic Agenda of the First Business Meeting on Sustainable Tourism of the Pacific Alliance, with the keynote lecture: “Sustainable and regenerative tourism as an opportunity for regional development”, a space where you will learn about the trends and market evolution in terms of sustainability.

Speaker: Vicente Ferreyra Acosta, Vice President of Sustainable Tourism of the Sustainable & Social Tourism Summit.

Virtual Connection: August 9, 2023

10:00 Chilean time

09:00 Colombia/Peru time

08:00 Mexico time

Academic Agenda registration link:

https://encuentroturismosostenibleap.koyag.com/signinups/inscripciones-agenda-academica/register

HANDOVER OF THE PRO TEMPORE PRESIDENCY OF THE PACIFIC ALLIANCE

With the presence of representatives from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, the handover ceremony of the pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance from Chile to Peru was held today in Santiago.

The ceremony was headed by Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, and the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, and was attended by Peru’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ana Cecilia Gervasi, and the Vice Minister of Tourism of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Madeleine Burns; for Colombia, the Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elizabeth Taylor; and for Mexico, the Director General of American Regional Organizations and Mechanisms of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Efraín Guadarrama.

During the handover of the pro tempore presidency to his Peruvian counterpart, Minister Alberto van Klaveren emphasized that he “highly values the Pacific Alliance as a real contribution to regional prosperity and to the challenges we face in Latin America, by balancing economic, social and environmental development in an equitable and sustainable manner”. He added that “for Chile it is of special interest to strengthen ties between the countries of our continent, thus promoting welfare and social equality in the region”.

For her part, Minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi highlighted that “the occasion that brings together the four member countries shows that the Pacific Alliance is in a new stage, renewing its commitment to regional integration that allows us to face shared challenges”.

As part of its agenda for this period, the Peruvian pro tempore presidency will aim, among other objectives, to strengthen the economic and trade agenda of the mechanism with a view to increasing intra-alliance trade; reinvigorate cooperation to move forward together in areas such as education, development and social inclusion, youth and gender; promote the accession of new member countries of the Pacific Alliance, as well as strengthen the projection to the Asia-Pacific.

It is worth mentioning that within the framework of this ceremony, the Discussion “Perspectives of the Pacific Alliance and Regional Integration” was also held, with the participation of the high authorities of the four countries in the panel: “A living and sustainable alliance”, which was focused on four fundamental pillars: gender perspective in the Pacific Alliance; youth and the Pacific Alliance; integration, trade and environment; regional digital market; trade and SMEs; Pacific Alliance and its approach to the Asia-Pacific.

COMMUNICATIONS PPT PACIFIC ALLIANCE

National Coordinators of the Pacific Alliance meet in Santiago, Chile

July 31, 2023 – The National Coordinators of the Pacific Alliance (PA) -a regional integration mechanism in which Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru participate- met in Santiago, Chile, in a meeting that, among other matters, addressed the transfer of the pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance from Chile to Peru.

During the morning, the National Coordinators (NCs) reviewed the upcoming activities of the Pacific Alliance, reviewed the work and minutes of previous PA meetings and also reviewed the reports of the Work Plans of the Technical Groups for the period August 2023-March 2024. In the afternoon, the National Trade Coordinators reviewed the reports of the Committees and Sub-Committees and working groups of the Additional Protocol to the PA Framework Agreement. They also held a virtual meeting with Pablo Garcia and Rodrigo Contreras of the Inter-American Development Bank.

The meeting was led by Chile, current pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance, and was attended by the National Coordinating Bodies of the countries that make up this integration mechanism.

PACIFIC ALLIANCE COMMUNICATIONS

Diagnosis of rural women’s entrepreneurship in the Pacific Alliance presented

July 18, 2023.- On June 28, 2023, Universidad de la Frontera presented in a virtual event the “Diagnosis on the participation of rural and indigenous entrepreneurship in productive chains: towards the construction of a strategy that promotes the participation of women, particularly rural women, in these areas”.

The study was conducted by the Universidad de la Frontera (UFRO) within the framework of the 2022 call of the Pacific Alliance Cooperation Fund, in which the PA Gender Technical Group (GTG) obtained funding for the project.

The event was attended by Camilo Rosas Flores, director of the IDER-UFRO Institute, Verónica Torres Barriga, IDER-UFRO professional, Catalina Garrido Higuera, IDER-UFRO professional and project coordinator and Laura Soto Arroyave, GTG coordinator.

The expert presented the main results of the study and highlighted the participation of female employment in foreign trade, the barriers faced by rural women entrepreneurs, as well as opportunities and strengths, in addition to good practices developed from public policies, among others. In addition, Garrido indicated that the results can be viewed in detail by downloading them from the Pacific Alliance’s web platform.

This study is in line with the priority actions and goals set out in the Roadmap for the autonomy and economic empowerment of women in the Alliance and its implementation plan, as well as the Presidential Declaration of the Pacific Alliance on Gender Equality and the Declaration of Bahía Málaga, in which the GTG was instructed to implement an action plan to promote greater participation of companies led by women in productive chains, with special emphasis on rural women’s entrepreneurship.

It is worth noting that this diagnosis will serve as a basis, together with the results obtained at the First Ministerial Meeting for the Autonomy and Economic Empowerment of Women held in 2022, for the formulation and consolidation of a strategy that meets the mandate of the Declaration of Bahía Málaga and promotes greater participation of rural women’s entrepreneurship in the value chains of the Pacific Alliance.

Technical Subgroup for Measurement, Reporting and Verification of the Pacific Alliance presents results of the study on ‘devaluation and competitiveness in the carbon market’

July 18, 2023 – On July 12, the Pacific Alliance Technical Subgroup for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (SGT-MRV) presented the results of the study ‘Devaluation and competitiveness in the carbon market’, which was prepared by the Mexican consulting firm Mercado Ambiental. The work, which received financial support from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), is contextualized in the coordination framework of the SGT-MRV and responds to a request from delegates of the Alliance countries to understand the implications of various economic variables (such as exchange rate, inflation and growth, among others) on the design and implementation of carbon pricing instruments.

The study focused on the three countries that already have at least one carbon pricing instrument in place, such as Chile, Colombia and Mexico. In this regard, the exhibitors of Mercado Ambiental, Gerardo Ramirez and Luis Colin, highlighted:

  • In macroeconomic terms, it is recommended that the design of future carbon price instruments should consider the effects of inflation and the exchange rate. In the first, adjusting periodically (e.g. annually) to the purchasing value considering some price index, and in the second, if it is fixed in foreign currency (e.g. US dollar) considering the appreciation or depreciation of the local currency with respect to the dollar. These are the variables that most influence carbon prices and markets in the Pacific Alliance countries.

  • The successful implementation of a carbon price instrument, as well as the efficient operation of carbon markets, requires coordinated inter-institutional work, mainly between ministries of finance and ministries of environment.

  • An adequate carbon price can encourage investments in cleaner technologies and financial flows that can be directed to climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. It is therefore necessary to ensure that measures to control inflation and devaluation do not interfere with climate goals (and vice versa).

  • With the growing interest in participating in international markets or in cooperation mechanisms such as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, priority sectors must be defined for the implementation of mitigation projects, as well as strengthening institutional capacities and ensuring clear and transparent rules.

  • With the current context of carbon pricing instruments, it is possible to visualize a potential regional carbon market with Chile, Colombia and Mexico as demand generators and Peru and Ecuador as reduction supply generators. This could allow the Pacific Alliance to take advantage of opportunities for emissions reductions, while enhancing regional cooperation.

A recording of the webinar can be accessed at the following link:

https://zoom.us/rec/share/DQ-nGp4-w7ffyJtzSzt9Blq9CxJLhPS-bch51tmVzgUP2EkbjmeMh2o1izBk9SHJ.CvZq0I8UGLhyqrJw

Passcode: #4EB8Y@0

Diagnosis and strategy for the participation of women in leadership and decision-making positions in the Pacific Alliance presented

July 17, 2023.- On June 27, 2023, the Institute of International Studies of the University of Chile presented in a virtual event the “Diagnosis and strategy for the participation of women in leadership and decision-making positions in the international and trade negotiations of the Pacific Alliance”.

The study was carried out by experts Alicia Frohmann and Ximena Olmos within the framework of the 2022 call of the Pacific Alliance Cooperation Fund, in which the PA Gender Technical Group (GTG) obtained funding for the realization of the project.

The event was attended by Dorotea López, Director of the Institute, and Norka Olivares, representative of the GTG, the former Director of ECLAC’s Gender Affairs Division, Sonia Montaño Virreira, and the Head of the UN WOMEN Chile Office, Gabriela Rosero Moncayo.

The experts presented the main results of the study, and emphasized that the representation and participation of women in politics and decision-making are conditions for achieving gender equality and adequate democratic governance.

The realization of this study is in accordance with the priority actions and goals set out in the Roadmap for the autonomy and economic empowerment of women in the Alliance and its implementation plan. For the GTG, it was necessary to conduct an analysis that would make it possible to observe the situation of women’s participation in leadership positions in the Pacific Alliance.

The experts and authors explained that this study was carried out through an online survey of people registered in the Alliance’s directory of technical groups 2022; in-depth interviews with negotiators; review of national instruments that promote gender equality and women’s leadership as good practices in each of the member countries of the Alliance, as well as interviews with various people involved in the PA.

The study analyzes various factors that affect women’s participation such as: care work, gender-based violence against women, access to training and skills development, among others.

Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru inaugurate the Youth Volunteer Program of the Pacific Alliance 2023

July 14, 2023.- On Wednesday, July 5, the member countries of the Pacific Alliance, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru jointly inaugurated the Youth Volunteer Program of the Pacific Alliance 2023, in order to generate a space for common participation and integration among the selected volunteers.

The inauguration of the Program was attended by the national director of the National Youth Institute of Chile, Juan Pablo Duhalde; the coordinator of South and Triangular Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Lina Marcela Puentes; the presidential advisor for Youth, Colombia Joven, Gabriela Posso Restrepo; the general director of the Mexican Youth Institute, Guillermo Rafael Santiago Rodríguez; and the national secretary of Youth of Peru, Luis Humberto Ñañez.

During the opening event, the young participants were very enthusiastic and emphasized that being Pacific Alliance volunteers is “an opportunity to structurally understand the problems of the region and face them from our cultures”.

The Youth Volunteer Program of the Pacific Alliance 2023, face-to-face modality, seeks to give continuity to the efforts to promote experiential exchange through activities that form solidarity behaviors in young people, which have a positive impact on society, taking into account that youth is a key player in the region.

This year, the program is being developed through four projects, one for each country: Chile’s project, Youth Activists: feminism and memory; Colombia’s project, Environmental Volunteering: Youth Weaving Agroecologies for Peace; Mexico’s project, “Voluntad Joven: De Juventudes y Chinampas”; and Peru’s project, A-Gente de Cambio: Promotion of mental health of adolescents and their community.

Depending on the dates of each project, volunteers must travel to the city/country of the project for which they were selected, since the execution of volunteer activities will last up to 20 days.

It should be noted that this year, the program received a total of 1,785 applications from young people from the four countries.

More information: https://voluntariado.alianzapacifico.net/

Joint Statement | Transfer of the Pacific Alliance Pro Tempore Presidency

Starting today, Wednesday, June 28th, Chile will hold the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Pacific Alliance (PA). This decision was adopted at a meeting held in Santiago, Chile, where the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Alberto van Klaveren; the Ambassador of Mexico in Chile, Alicia Bárcena; the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. from Peru in Chile, Renzo Villa Prado; and the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. from Colombia in Chile, René Correa Rodríguez took part.

In this significant meeting, the authorities of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru reaffirmed their commitment to the Pacific Alliance as a mechanism for political articulation, economic and commercial integration, cooperation and projection to the world, which seeks to progressively move towards free circulation of goods, services, capital and people, with a view to boosting the growth and competitiveness of economies, for the benefit of its inhabitants.

(Unofficial translation)

Course on digital skills is launched for teachers of Professional Technical Education in the Pacific Alliance countries

This June 6, nearly 300 Professional Technical Education (PTE) teachers from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru began their training process in digital skills, promoted by the OEI, which will end on August 1 with the holding of an international seminar.

The Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) has begun last Tuesday, June 6, a training course in digital skills, aimed at teachers who are dedicated to the technical-professional modality of the Pacific Alliance countries: Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

The course, which is part of the project “Training of Professional Technical Education Teachers (ETP) in countries of the Pacific Alliance”, and which has the financial support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), has the objective to promote the skills, abilities and digital competences of the participating teachers in their teaching practice, based on modules on basic computer science notions or the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the classroom, as well as the use of digital platforms and creation of educational resources. Likewise, the participating teachers will develop some pedagogical techniques related to new technologies.

The course will conclude on August 1 with the presentation of the best intervention proposals that teachers will prepare for their educational centers —one per country— in a virtual international seminar entitled “Strengthening Digital Competences in Professional Education and Training Teachers from countries of the Pacific Alliance”.

The training has been designed and is delivered through the Ibero-American Training and Learning Institute for Cooperation of the OEI, which works jointly and in coordination with the administrations of the member countries at all levels for the implementation of this initiative.

Pacific Alliance convenes the Women’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Network

  • More than one hundred women dedicated to fishing and aquaculture from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru participated in the webinar “Working for a women network in fishing and aquaculture of the Pacific Alliance: supporting the innovation and commercialization of their products” , which was organized by the Pacific Alliance and the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Chile, was carried out as the first post-pandemic activity, to convene the fishermen and aquaculture network of these countries, created before COVID-19, with the objective to get to know each other and establish ties with commercial potential.

May 31, 2023.- The webinar held on May 25 through the zoom platform, is part of the project “Promoting the commercialization and the consumption of artisanal fishing and aquaculture products in the Pacific Alliance, in order to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic “, and was attended by an audience of more than one hundred people, who enjoyed the program of the meeting, which began with the official greeting of the General Director (S) of Multilateral Economic Affairs, Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Alejandro Buvinic, followed by the Director of the International Affairs Unit, Fisheries Development Division of the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Chile, Julio Jorquera, who addressed the topic: “Chile’s proposal and promotion of the Pacific Alliance Women’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Network.”

The central talk of the webinar was given by Luisa Fernanda Gutiérrez Sampedro, a Colombian national, business administrator and specialist in Finance, with an extensive career that begins in the world of banks that she directed in Colombia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, where she warned that the natural added value that women generate with their management was something that was worth supporting from what she knows how to do, rescuing this experience that combines with the path of supporting the formation of family businesses; projects and initiatives that have the purpose of contributing to the sustainability of the territories in Latin America with a feminine perspective, being key actors of local and community development.

Luisa Fernanda Gutiérrez Sampedro, gave her presentation from Bogotá, Colombia, called “The value of associativity.”

The Women’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Network of the Pacific Alliance has a face. For this reason, the project contemplates the production of microcapsules with testimonials from women in fishing and aquaculture from the Pacific Alliance who represent inspiring leaders.

In this context, during the webinar two of the leaders were presented, they will be part of the testimonies of the microcapsules of the member countries and who are preparing to make visible the Pacific Alliance Women’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Network: Rosa Esther Canelo Oré, from Caleta Laguna Grande, Paracas, Pisco, Peru, and Paola Núñez Rojas, from the Puesta de Sol Women Shellfish Cooperative, Las Cruces, Chile.

The webinar ” Working for a women network in fishing and aquaculture of the Pacific Alliance: supporting the innovation and commercialization of their products”, was the first of two virtual meetings, which are carried out within the framework of the project “Promoting the commercialization and the consumption of artisanal fishing and aquaculture products in the Pacific Alliance, in order to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic”, led by the Pacific Alliance and the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Chile. The next virtual meeting is scheduled for June 28.

Find the webinar at the following link:

https://alianzapacifico.net/grupotecnico-de-pesca/