28 October 2022

On 7 October 2022, we held an event at the Grand Hall of Parliament called 50 Years of New Zealand and Chile Embassies: A focus on education, government, and people-to-people links. The event, hosted by Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education (pictured above), explored the links that have grown between Aotearoa New Zealand and Chile since the establishment of embassies in each other’s capitals. It was supported by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao, and the Latin America New Zealand Business Council (LANZBC), and followed on from a similar business- and trade-focused event organised by LANZBC with Trade and Export Growth Minister Hon Damien O’Connor.

The event featured an address from New Zealand’s Minister of Education, welcomes from Ambassadors, cultural performances, and panels on government initiatives, research connections, educational exchanges, and the experiences of Chileans in New Zealand. Together the sessions showed that our nations’ researchers, students, communities and officials are more connected than often thought, and that geography unites our societies in many ways. Below, you can watch videos of all the sessions. Below each video is a list of who appears in each video.

Opening and welcomes

• Professor Jennifer Windsor, Acting Vice Chancellor, Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington
• Dr. Matthew O’Meagher, Director, Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence
• His Excellency Ignacio Llanos, Ambassador of Chile to New Zealand
• Her Excellency Linda Te Puni, Ambassador of New Zealand to Chile.

Keynote address

• Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education.

Government initiatives

Chair: Dr Alan Bollard, CAPEs Advisory Board
• Rt Hon Helen Clark, former Prime Minister and former UNDP Administrator
• Vangelis Vitalis, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Javiera Visedo, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao

Research connections

Chair: Dr Bronwen Kelly, Universities New Zealand
• Associate Professor Walescka Pino-Ojeda, University of Auckland
• Professor Kerry Taylor, Massey University
• Dr Moira Fortin, University of Otago
• Professor Hugh Bigsby, Lincoln University
• Dr Claudio Aguayo, Auckland University of Technology
• Professor Joe Zuccarrello, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington
• Associate Professor Chris Lusk, University of Waikato
• Dr Gabriela Roldan, University of Canterbury

Educational exchanges

Chair: Lisa Futschek, General Manager – International, Education New Zealand
• Javiera Visedo, Director of Engagement Latin America, Education New Zealand
• Asc. Prof. Chris Moy, Department of Geology, University of Otago
• Natalie Lulia, Director Māori Initiatives, CAPEs/Strategic Advisor, International Indigenous Development, University of Waikato
• Carolina Cuellar, Centro de Investigación para la Transformación SocioEducativa, Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez
• Nikita Kent, PMSLA recipient and LANZBC Young Professionals Network member
• Alex Huffadine, Thrive Consulting
• Rosa Guevara, Head of Languages, Northcote College
• Geoff Wood, Head of Department, Health and Life Skills, Rosmini College.

Chilean Kiwi experiences

Chair: Craig Nicholson, Deputy Director, Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence
• Maribel Marquez, tutor and teacher, Scots College/The Latin Collective
• Esteban Espinoza, founding member, Auckland Latin American Community Inc
• Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, actor and writer
• Sara Reyes, Trade Commissioner – Chile, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
• Maria Jose Alvarez, Investment Manager, WNT Ventures
• Javiera Otero Carreón, Winds of Change programme participant
• Nicolas Reyes, host, Hola Latino

Concluding remarks
Chair: Sarah Lee, Unit Manager, Latin America, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• James Dixon, Chair, Latin America New Zealand Business Council
• Ana Azevedo, Head of Internationalisation, Education New Zealand
• Freddy Ernst, Senior Manager, International Education Policy, Ministry of Education
• Professor Warwick Murray, School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington.

Presentation of the CAPE’s data visualisation tool

Dr. Matthew O’Meagher, Director, Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence explains the CAPE’s new Wayfinding data visualisation tool.

Irisado premiere

Our Deputy Director, Craig Nicholson, discusses our musicality project that lead to the composition of Irisado, alongside a short premiere of the track.

Closing and performance by Amila

Dr Matthew O’Meagher, Director, Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence closes the event ahead of a performance from Amila, a Chilean Kiwi singer/songwriter.