Column by Rossana Dresdner, Executive Director of Fundación Imagen de Chile.
As of January 1, 2024, Chile will preside over the Ibero-American Country Brand Council (CIMAP). This is the result of the work and strategy that has been built to position the image of our country abroad. But this is not the only challenge, we will also host the most important regional meeting of Place Branding, which will allow us to forge new alliances and lasting relationships.
Chile's foreign policy plays a fundamental role in the construction of our country's image and, at the same time, it is the basis on which the latter is built. At the same time, Chile's development depends heavily on trade with the world and foreign policy is increasingly becoming a means to favor the internationalization of our economy, strengthen trade promotion and foster national economic and social development.
In this context, a positive country image is an asset that adds to foreign policy and economic development.
We are at a time of global and national inflection. A time that forces us to rethink traditional development models and seek innovative and increasingly ethical solutions. And Chile perseveres in being reliable. A country that wants and can offer certainties -not all but certainly some- and that, in this unpredictable scenario that tests the usual answers, looks to the future with audacity and perspective. With effort and conviction.
And with proposals and solutions that go beyond our own borders.
This recognition marks a milestone for the projection of the country's image, because it is a recognition of Chile's work by our regional peers.
That is why we consider very important the unanimous decision of the Ibero-American Country Brand Council (CIMAP), which brings together 18 country brand institutions in the region, for the Fundación Imagen de Chile to assume the presidency of the organization during 2024.
This recognition marks a milestone for the projection of the country's image, because it is a recognition of Chile's work by our regional peers. At the same time, it commits us to host the CIMAP 2024 forum, the most important regional instance in Place Branding, which will be an invaluable opportunity to share our narrative with the world and remind us that country branding not only influences external perception, but also contributes to forge alliances and lasting relationships.
In Chile, we believe we have made significant progress in the development of our country image, based not only on the advantages and strengths we have, but also on our values, what we believe in and what we defend. We have assumed an articulating role in a joint construction with a long-term view of the country's image, based on basic concepts that we share with those public and private institutions that promote Chile's positioning in the world.
These are concepts that frame our current narrative and reflect our history, our way of being a country and what we dream of building in the future. These are: an economically, humanly and environmentally sustainable model; democracy as the system to achieve a better quality of life for citizens; and diversity as the characteristic of our identity, culture, geography and offer to the world.
Assuming the presidency of CIMAP makes us happy, honors us and encourages us to deepen our commitment to strengthen, together with everyone, Chile's image on the international scene.