“Aiming high” is the core concept that convenes the CELAC-EU and CELAC Summits and extends a very specific invitation: aim high in your discussions, decisions and agreements, work for substantial and ambitious goals.

Between 26 and 28 January, the eyes of the world will focus on Chile when delegations and media from over 60 countries that will take part in the I CELAC-EU and I CELAC Summit start arriving in the country. These are the largest meetings ever organized by Chile, to be attended by approximately 45 Heads of State and/or Government from Europe and Latin America.

Chile’s invitation is very concrete: aim high in the discussions, decisions and agreements, and work for substantial and ambitious goals.

“Aiming high is not a slogan nor a dream, it is an attitude and a moral obligation, because our people are rightly demanding that we boost processes, policies and measures that are within our reach to move forward decisively toward more inclusive, modern, sustainable and participatory development”, said the executive director of the Fundación Imagen de Chile, Blas Tomic.

“Aiming high” is also a call to not lose sight that the purpose and outcome of all discussions will cause impact in each of the represented countries, and Chile, the best place to observe and study the universe, encourages Sister Nations to look beyond.

The “Aiming high”, core concept created by Fundación Imagen de Chile, is a contribution to the multidisciplinary work carried out by the Presidency of the Republic of Chile and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which includes interventions in Santiago’s International Airport, public roads, Santiago’s metro system, official hotels and the Espacio Riesco events centre, the Summits’ venue.

The story of a hand

As logo we chose the colossal reinforced concrete hand that Chilean artist Mario Irarrázabal installed in the Atacama Desert in 1992 in such a way that it seems to emerge from the Earth.

Devised after his trip to Easter Island in the 70’s, it is his most representative work and embodies a “symbol that deals with nature, free space, the Sun and humankind’s contribution”,  noted the creator in the Humanos  (2009) documentary.

And it is also a cross-cutting and all-embracing element between the Latin American and European regions since the Chilean desert is not the only one that features hands of these characteristics. In fact, similar representations can be seen in Punta del Este (1982), Parque Juan Carlos I in Madrid (1987) and in Venice (1995).

“They were my first large sculptures. I was surprised to see that they became poetic milestones within the reach of people (…) “I wanted a symbol that was close to the people: people pass by, look at their hands, they compare it to this hand and it tells them something, they don’t wonder about the sculptor or the style, they wonder about its size and its location”, said the artist.