Macao and most Latin American countries are sharing similar traditions and historical heritage of the European civilisation. The unique cultural characteristics made Macao a desirable platform between China and Latin America. For the meaningful purpose of bringing the cultures of Latin America closer to Macao, IFT extends support to the Macao Association for the Promotion of Exchange between Asia-Pacific and Latin America (MAPEAL) and its first Latin American Cultural Festival in Macao in September. On 12 September, a series of cultural activities will kick off at IFT, in order to create a cordial atmosphere for students to get in touch directly with the food, films and books of Latin America. The Festival consists of three varied cultural activities on 12 September namely the guest lecture by Mr. David Malaga, Consul General of the Republic of Peru in Hong Kong and Macao, the Latin American Book Exhibition and the Peru Cooking Demonstration. With thousands-year-long history, the mysterious Inca culture, Coricancha and Machu Picchu castle are the desired tourism destinations. During the guest lecture, Mr. David Malaga introduces the local customs, tourism resources and culture of Peru to IFT students, and shares the experience of maintaining the archaeology, ecology, cultural traditions, sustainability and tourism development and conservation of Peru. This is a lecture not to be missed for students! Reading, without doubt, is a direct and favourable way of understanding a foreign culture besides traveling or probing into the history. It is known that Latin American literature has gained outstanding attainments and a number of authors from Latin America countries such as Peru, Columbia and Chile have even achieved The Nobel Prize in Literature. The Latin American Book Exhibition certainly gives readers a good opportunity to come into contact and have a better understanding of Latin America through the forms of expressions and written style of Latin. Gourmet dining experience can create unforgettable memories in direct and sensational way. Being the chef of Peru Stadium at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, Ms. Maria Rosa Vasquez Chavez, the renowned chef from Peru showcases two of the national classic Peru cuisines and introduces cooking specialties and techniques of Peru cuisine, in order for students to understand the unique Peru cuisines. IFT has been attaching high importance in widening students' visions and striving to create an internationalised study environment for students. Through the globalised teaching team and student exchange programmes offered by IFT, students can experience diversified cultures of different countries at IFT campus. Besides, students can take the opportunities to study and live in overseas so as to better prepare for stepping into the tourism industry and overcome the challenges of cultural diversity in the future.
