The Consulate General of Chile in Hong Kong SAR & Macau SAR generously donated to CityU a valuable collection of books covering poetry and literature, history and culture, visual records of cities, including photographs, prints, paintings and maps. There are also books on Art, Geography and Botany, etc. These books will enable CityU students to have a better understanding of the country Chile. A ceremony was held on 24 Nov, 2011 to acknowledge the donation. Officiating the ceremony were Mr. Mario Artaza, Consul General of Chile in Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR and Prof. Steve Ching, University Librarian of CityU. Other guests attending included Prof. Paul Cammack, Professor of the Department of Asian and International Studies (AIS) of CityU, Mr. Angel Garralda, Teaching Fellow in the Department of English and Communication of CityU, and some teachers and students from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS).

Mr. Artaza stated that partnership between China and Chile has become much closer after they signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in 2005. However, academic and cultural interaction between the two cultures has yet to be developed and enhanced. Mr. Artaza was pleased to help promote cultural exchange between Chile and Hong Kong through books donation. It is hoped that the donated titles would help to develop mutual understanding and mutual collaboration. The provision of different cultural elements in a studying environment would inspire students to launch their own discovery journey which will lead to innovative creations. These books would be a communicative tool for the Library to act as a bridge for connecting the people and the invaluable experiences of the two places.

After the ceremony, guests and colleagues examined the donated titles on display. Furthermore, taking the opportunity for cultural exchange, Mr. Artaza was introduced to the origin of Chinese characters and traditional writing tools. He was also invited to have some practices in writing Chinese calligraphy.