October 6th, 2022.- On Thursday, October 6th, the online event “Women and Fintech: Challenges and Opportunities in the Pacific Alliance” was held, organized by the Pacific Alliance Gender Technical Group, with the support of the Council of Finance Ministers of this regional integration mechanism and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The event had more than 140 participants and was attended by financial authorities from the region, such as the commissioner for the Chile Financial Market Commission, Bernardita Piedrabuena, and Karla Zárate, Financial Inclusion Analyst at the Superintendence of Banking, Insurance and AFP from Peru. On behalf of the private sector of the PA member countries, Patricio Sandoval, Country Manager of Mastercard for Chile and Paraguay, Christine Chang, Vice President of Revenue at Tribal and Editor-in-Chief of Mexico This Week in Fintech and Juliana Carmona, Country Manager DOCK from Colombia.

FinTechs seek to offer new innovative business models based on the use of technology (programs, algorithms, and computer and mobile applications), which allow the improvement and disruption of financial services. The above-mentioned has been enabled through new channels for the use and access to financial services, encouraging competition and promoting financial inclusion, such as digital payments, technological platforms that make possible services such as financing between individuals (peer-to-peer lending), digital strategies, and extensive customer databases that can improve the offer of financial services. FinTech institutions are expected to remove barriers for clients and providers through digitization, and this will lead to more accessible financial services, in light of which it is also relevant to consider gender gaps in these areas.

In terms of progress closing the gender gap within the sector, although FinTechs have made significant progress incorporating women in their leadership positions, compared to other sectors of the financial system, there are still challenges to close the gender gap. As an example of these challenges, according to the IDB in its publication FinTech in Latin America (IDB, 2022), 15% of FinTech entrepreneurships in Latin America are close to equitable gender representation in their work teams, which indicates that there is still a long way to go to close the gender gap in the rest of the institutions.

Thus, the objective of this event was to analyze the participation of women in FinTech in the PA countries, both as consumers, founders, and workers, such as investors in this sector. During the conversation panel, the guests shared their perspectives on the evolution of the FinTech sector, they referred to the opportunities that the sector offers for women and how it would benefit from their participation, moreover sharing experiences and learnings acquired around their jobs in the area of FinTech, as well as government initiatives, challenges faced, support networks and the importance of gender equality in their work.

It is highlighted from the interventions that the inclusion of women in the FinTech sector generates greater benefits for companies, compared to companies that have a lower percentage of women, in addition to the efforts of the public sector to make this industry more inclusive and above all a whole phrase from the Chile Commissioner “let’s break our own barriers to generate our empowerment”.

• By the end of 2022, there will be a joint communication strategy for the responsible consumption of plastics, a series of indicators to measure the management across the plastics value chain at the regional level, and a characterization report of the plastics trade.

October 6th, 2022.- In the framework of the Presidential Declaration signed in 2019 in line with the strategic vision of the Pacific Alliance, a Roadmap for the Sustainable Management of Plastics was developed, identifying 8 areas of action focused in regulation, good practices, and public policies; innovation, research, and business transformation; plastic waste management and recycling; circular economy; financing; education, information and citizen transformation; trade; and international cooperation.

Thanks to a partnership between the IDB and Fundación Avina in 2021, a Coordination Committee was formed for the implementation of part of the roadmap with a timeline of 24 months beginning in the second half of 2022 focused on communications, generation of information systems and regulatory improvement. This Committee includes the representatives of the 4 countries of the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) through the Technical Group for the Environment and Green Growth (GTMACV) of this bloc, and representatives of Avina, with the support from the IDB’s Water and Sanitation Department.

The GTMACV’s commitment makes possible to review and provide feedback constantly on ongoing consultancies to ensure an adequate communication strategy that raises awareness and generates calls to action for change in the Pacific Alliance’s citizens’ consumption practices; as well as the generation of a standardized plastics information system that allows an adequate collection and consultation of data for the application of better public policies in the field of circular economy and plastics. On the same time, efforts are applied to improve regulatory cooperation in order to promote international trade, investment, economic growth, and employment.

• From October 5th to November 5th 2022, through www.retinalatina.org, the Latin American public will be able to enjoy a sample of seven films, which propose a reflection on the social phenomenon, national and international of migration.

• Likewise, this initiative, which brings together film productions from the four member countries of the Pacific Alliance, seeks to generate reflections on the richness of the contact between the cultures and customs of people from different regions and countries of Latin America, as well as the challenges that migrants face.

From October 5th to November 5th 2022, the Technical Group on Culture of the Pacific Alliance, made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, offers the Latin American public the “Pacific Alliance Film Series on migration: crossing borders”, with a selection of seven films that present the work of outstanding professionals from the region’s audiovisual sector through www.retinalatina.org.

This film series will be focused on generating reflections on migration and the implications it has on society and the natural and financial resources of the countries, regions, and localities. This initiative is part of the promotion and integration strategy of the work plan defined by the Pacific Alliance Technical Group on Culture for 2022.

The exhibition of films can be seen freely through www.retinalatina.org and in its application for iOS and Android. This digital platform can be visited free of charge from all over Latin America and the Caribbean countries.

In line with the objective of the film series, on Tuesday, October 4th, a discussion was held with the participation of five filmmakers invited to the cycle, with the aim of promoting a dialogue around their films and their vision about migration.

More about the schedule and the selection of films:

The films will be available at www.retinalatina.org from October 5th to November 5th, 2022.

Chile:

Alice in the country (2008), a full-length film by Esteban Larraín

Parío y Criao (2019), a full-length film by Jorge Donoso

Colombia:

I sell pipes (2019), a short film by Juan Diego Aguirre

Mexico:

Underground (2009), a short film by Eduardo Covarrubias

The children of the exodus (2019), by Wilma Gómez Luengo

Peru:

The row (2019), a full-length film by Daniel and Diego Vega

Waste (2017), a short film by Julio O. Ramos

More about the Pacific Alliance’s Technical Group on Culture:

One of the objectives of the Pacific Alliance Technical Group on Culture is to promote the development of the cultural and creative industries, based on the international projection of the identity and diversity of its member countries.

Thus, within the promotion strategies of the Pacific Alliance, a series of film cycles have been developed with different thematic approaches such as ‘The Pacific Alliance Nobel Prize Winners’ (2017), ‘Cinema made or starring women (2020), ‘Indigenous Cinema’ (2020), ‘Year of freedom: film series to highlight our Afro heritage’ (2021) and 

Thus, as part of the promotion strategies of the Pacific Alliance, a series of film cycles have been developed with different thematic approaches such as ‘The Pacific Alliance Nobel Prize Winners’ (2017), ‘Cinema made or starring women (2020), ‘Indigenous Cinema’ (2020), ‘Year of freedom: film series to highlight our Afro heritage’ (2021) and ‘’Environment’ (2022).

October 4, 2022.- Today, the workshop on e-commerce and gender was held in the Pacific Alliance, which delved into this topic. The hour and a half course was provided by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) as part of the support it provides to the Pacific Alliance.

The workshop, which was led by Alicia Frohmann and Ximena Olmos, ECLAC consultants, was attended by businesswomen and public sector officials from the Pacific Alliance countries.

As part of the workshop, a dialogue table was also held between two businesswomen and two representatives of agencies promoting our mechanism. Thus, we have the presence of Tatiana Arcila, from the company SOS Asistencia; with María Dolores Miguel Chávez, from Mixteca de mi Corazón; with Daniel Anteparra, from PromPerú, and Nicole Gómez Salazar, from ProChile.

Regarding the work within the Pacific Alliance, the general director of International Trade in Services and Investment of the Mexican Ministry of Economy, Cindy Rayo Zapata, explained the concept of the Regional Digital Market of the Pacific Alliance.

The purpose of this instrument is to promote an inclusive digital society, particularly for the most vulnerable populations, and close the digital gap of gender and age.

Today’s workshop is part of the work of the Pacific Alliance to implement the Presidential Declaration of the Pacific Alliance on the development of the Regional Digital Market and the drive towards digital transformation, and the roadmap that follows.

COMMUNICATIONS PPT PACIFIC ALLIANCE

September 29 and 30, 2022.- As part of the Program for sustainable development and skills for employment in the extractive sector of (PA- EFE) in the Pacific Alliance, financed by the Government of Canada (Global Affairs Canada) and executed by Colleges and Institutes Canada, the Canadian Association of Technological Institutes, it was developed a workshop at the Hotel Tequendama in Bogotá, on the ‘Design, implementation and monitoring of environmental public policies’.

“We are very pleased to offer this course that will support the development of skills in the design of environmental public policies to improve their implementation and monitoring process. Likewise, this will be an important tool for the teams in charge of the design, development and monitoring of sectoral policies in the ministries of the four PA countries that seek to contribute to the strengthening of regional dialogue,” said Brigid Shea, Principal Agent of the PA-EFE Program, at CICan.

This course benefited 31 representatives from 10 different public sector ministries such as: Environment, Mines and Energy, Education, Social Prosperity, Labor, Agriculture and Rural Development, National Defense, Transport and the National Department of Planning.

This activity is one of the last actions scheduled within the framework of the Program and its purpose is to develop skills in the officials in charge of the environmental issues, in order to qualify their work through the mainstreaming of the environmental sustainability and achieve one more of the objectives of the environmental strategy of the PA-EFE Program, also contributing to the work on environmental sustainability of the Pacific Alliance.

Through this workshop, one of the indicators of the Performance Measurement Table of the Program is fulfilled, related to the strengthening of policies and guidelines implemented through it, which include the environmental sustainability. 

The course was facilitated by the environmental specialist from Mexico Zaira Romo, in coordination with Israel Ávila, regional environmental consultant for the PA-EFE- Program. At the end of the event, CICan granted a certificate of completion of the 16 hours of training, which recognizes the skills developed by each participant:

• Ability to understand basic terms about environmental public policy;

• Knowledge of strategic tools in the design and formulation of public policies for environmental sustainability.

• Integrate knowledge and resources of environmental public policy analysis that allows you to improve your performance as personnel responsible for the public function.

• Knowledge in the cycles of design, implementation and monitoring of environmental policies.

• Knowledge of tools for the mainstreaming of the environmental sustainability in public policies.

This workshop will be carried out in Chile, Mexico and Peru and will also be aimed at officials from the partner ministries with which the PA-EFE Program works.

September 30, 2022.- In Mazatlan, Mexico, was held the event “The Creative Economy Recovery: Audiovisual Industries” of the Pacific Alliance (AP) that raised the importance of creative industries and their challenges.

The event took place in a hybrid format and was inaugurated by the Mexican Secretary of Economy, Tatiana Clouthier Carrillo, as president pro tempore of the mechanism.

Subsequently, the event featured an entrepreneurs panel, a Master Conference, and three round tables with high-level keynote speakers, with participants from the public and private sectors bringing their expertise in the field.

Finally, four short films, one for each country of the Pacific Alliance, were screened, reflecting the cultural diversity of our mechanism, and highlighting the creative industries’ talented actors.

On January 26, 2022, within the Buenaventura Summit, presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru signed the PACIFIC ALLIANCE PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT ON THE STRENGTHENING OF THE CREATIVE ECONOMY. In that sense, the event answers the Pacific Alliance’s efforts to implement the Statement.

Creative industries are a source of wealth since they represent 3.1% of world GDP and 6.2% of total employment.

Within the Pacific Alliance, we recognize the creative industries take part in the engine for a sustainable economy and development of our populations.

Likewise, the Pacific Alliance is aware of the adverse effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on this sector. Within the PA, creative and cultural dynamics are driven by micro, small and medium-sized companies. Consequently, this sector has faced the greatest trade challenges.

Thus, as stipulated in the Creative Economy Statement, our regional mechanism will continue to deepen the articulation and networking processes between the creative industry and other economic sectors. This last will make it possible to promote added value in products and increase cultural and creative services exports.

September 27 and 28, 2022.- The Pacific Alliance Education for Employment Program for sustainable development and skills for employment in the extractive sector of (PA- EFE), financed by the Government of Canada (Global Affairs Canada) and executed by Colleges and Institutes Canada, the Canadian Association of Technological Institutes, developed a two-day face-to-face workshop at the Hotel Tequendama in the city of Bogotá, on the ‘Design, implementation and monitoring of public policies from the perspective of gender equality’.

“We are very pleased to offer this course that will support the development of skills in the design of public policies, their implementation and monitoring from a gender equality perspective in teams in charge of the design, development and monitoring of sectoral policies in the ministerial teams of the four PA countries, contributing to the strengthening of regional dialogue” mentioned Brigid Shea, Principal Agent of the PA-EFE Program, at CICan.

This course benefited 38 representatives from 10 different public sector ministries such as: Social Prosperity, Mines and Energy, National Department of Planning, Finance and Public Credit, Environment, Education, Labor, Agriculture and Rural Development, National Defense. And also representatives of the Colombian Mining Association and the academic sector.

This activity is one of the last actions scheduled within the framework of the Program and its purpose is to develop skills in the officials in charge of the gender equality units and other units, in order to qualify their work through the mainstreaming of the gender equality approach and achieve one more of the objectives of the Gender Equality strategy of the PA-EFE Program, also contributing to the work on gender equality of the Pacific Alliance.

Similarly, through this workshop, one of the indicators of the Performance Measurement Table of the Program is fulfilled, related to the strengthening of policies and guidelines implemented through it, which significantly touch on gender equality considerations and strengthen the empowerment of women.

This course was facilitated by Araceli Vásquez (Gender Equality specialist from Mexico) in coordination with Eliana Gallardo (Regional Consultant for Gender Equality and Indigenous Communities for the PA-EFE Program) and lasted 16 hours, managing to develop in the participants the following skills:

• Ability to understand basic terms about public policy with a gender equality perspective;

• Perception regarding gender equality as a category of analysis and a strategic tool in the design and formulation of public policies with a gender equality perspective;

• Integrate knowledge and resources of public policy analysis with an equality perspective that allows you to improve your performance as personnel responsible for the public function.

• Knowledge in the cycles of design, implementation and monitoring of public policies from the perspective of gender equality.

• Knowledge of tools for the mainstreaming of gender equality in public policies.

At the end of the workshop, a certification was granted by CICan, which recognizes the skills developed by each participant.

This activity was also carried out in Mexico and Peru, and the last workshop will be held in October in Santiago de Chile and will also be aimed at officials from the partner ministries with which the PA-EFE Program works.

September 22, 2022.- This September 2022, the embassies of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Singapore in the Philippines, in partnership with Red Carpet Cinema Shangri-La Plaza and the Film Development Council of the Philippines, are proud to present a film series PACIFIC ALLIANCE MOVIE NIGHTS, with the aim to showcase and promote the culture of the members of the Pacific Alliance through the film industry. The festival will run from 21 to 25 September 2022.

The Pacific Alliance Movie Nights will start off with Arráncame la vida (2016), a Mexican film set in the 1930s. This production revolves around a young woman who finds herself in an arranged marriage with a prominent politician.  Accompany her as she finds more and more difficulty in finding reasons to remain a loving, loyal wife. This romantic drama will surely make your hearts cry out.

In addition, Mexico will present Cuando los hijos regresan (2017), a movie that will refresh the palate as it brings a lighthearted theme of familial love. Join Manuel and Adelina as they try to restore peace and quiet in their simple abode while enjoying their retirement as their children come back home.

On the other hand, the Embassy of Chile will present Calzones Rotos (2018). Join the cast as they discover the effects of one seemingly innocent confession from the family Matriarch. Watch how one secret can unravel and lead to an exciting and intense family reunion. Likewise, Chile is screening Mis hermanos sueñan despiertos (2021). This film tells the story of Ángel and his young brother Franco as they find friends and enjoy the day-to-day life of living in a reformatory. Watch as the siblings yearn and find freedom in the most unconventional way. 

From Colombia, the Festival will screen El Piedra (2018). This drama will surely bring tears to your eyes as you follow Reynaldo in finding the meaning and value of life amidst teaching a street kid to become a fighter like him. Unveil the challenges they will face as it continues to hinder their skills, values, and perseverance.

After such a heartwarming film, the public will enjoy Chiribiquete (2017) which takes them on an adventure throughout the luscious Chiribiquete National Park to discover the beauty and history of one of the oldest geological formations on the planet. This expedition is full of intrigue, excitement, and peculiar sights that will surely engage viewers.

Finally, the Embassy of Singapore is proud to present Motel Acacia (2019). A co-production between Singapore and the Philippines. In this film, the public will be surprised with the story of JC – a young half-Filipino, who is groomed to take over a haunted slaughterhouse disguised as a motel. Upon his father’s death, JC finds himself trapped in the haunted slaughterhouse along with the monsters he must face. 

The PACIFIC ALLIANCE MOVIE NIGHTS offers a wide range of genres for every moviegoer’s liking. Everyone will surely take interest and then after, enjoy and find something more. The Embassies and its partners aim for the public and lovers of cinema to discover and enjoy a wide variety of cultures. Looking at these films, one can see a glimpse of the tradition, style, and values of each participating country. Let us immerse ourselves and experience these nations through these wonderful films. Make no mistake, these films will make you jump, cry, and shout with glee as it hopefully teaches you the culture and tradition of each country. 

Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru created the Pacific Alliance as an economic block that pursues freedom in the movement of goods, services, capital, and people between the four member states in 2011. The Pacific Alliance and Singapore signed a free trade agreement which will allow Singapore to become the first Associated State of the Pacific Alliance. Mexico holds the presidency pro tempore in 2022.

All films will be streamed in their original languages, with English subtitles if applicable. Entrance is free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis. For further information, please visit the website of Red Carpet at the Shangri-la Plaza: https://www.redcarpetattheshang.com/ or the Facebook pages of the Embassies of the Pacific Alliance members.