Gov. John Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock will lead a delegation of 50 Colorado political, business, cultural and academic leaders to Brazil on Tuesday for a four-day Biennial of the Americas summit.
The Biennial of the Americas festival brings countries from North, Central and South America to Colorado in an exchange of ideas, art and culture. But on the off year, Coloradans travel to a Western Hemisphere country to see what they have to offer.
“The summits are really intended to give folks here a chance to experience more in depth the culture and people of other countries in our hemisphere,” Biennial executive director Erin Trapp said in an interview. “You have to fall in love with a place a little bit before you can do business there.”
The delegation, which includes , will focus on food, agriculture and technological innovation while meeting people interested in a relationship with Colorado and the U.S. The summits to Mexico City.
Brazil is the seventh largest economy in the world and the third largest purchaser of Colorado exports. The U.S. is Brazil’s second largest trading partner. Although Brazil had one of the fastest growing economies in 2010, it .
But Trapp said the country shouldn’t be discounted.
“A country that size isn’t going to disappear from the world just because they had a downturn,” she said.
Fries, who also is chairman of the Biennial, said Liberty Global has begun again to invest heavily in Latin America.
“When I first became involved in the Biennial of the Americas, we were winding down our business in Latin America. We now recognize that this region is underserved in broadband, mobile data and pay TV services, and are investing aggressively to provide the infrastructure and innovation that will benefit our customers and shareholders,” he said in a news release. “We are very excited about the opportunities for further expansion in the Americas and totally support the Biennial in its mission to build greater connectivity and understanding in the region.”
The meetings this week will involve 30 CEOs and directors of major Brazilian media, real estate, finance, steel, agriculture, aviation and retail companies, and also include panel discussions with economists, trade group leaders and social entrepreneurs.
The group also will meet with organizers of the summer Olympics and will tour tech incubators, film studios and smart urban development sites.
ճ. Last year’s festival hosted people from 25 countries. Trapp said the 2017 festival will take place in the fall instead of summer, when fewer Coloradans are in town.
