Business Day (South Africa)

SOUTH Africans visiting Colombia are often struck by the strong parallels between the two countries. Of similar size, shape and form, Colombia, like SA, is a land of endless opportunity. But despite remarkable progress, they also both tend to get a bad rap. Narrowing the gap between reality and international perception is Colombia’s greatest challenge.

In the 1990s, Colombia was notorious for its drug cartels, kidnappings, vigilante groups and widespread insecurity. But the days of Pablo Escobar and leftist guerrilla forces in urban centres are a far cry from the Colombian reality today. Under President Alvaro Uribe, who took office in 2002, the homicide rate has declined 48% from about 90 per 100000 people to 32 per 100000 today. SA is at 39 per 100000. Kidnappings, formally the flagship of Colombia, have dropped 86% since 2002.

Economic results are equally impressive. While there appears to be a setback as a result of the global meltdown, the Colombian economy is not mortally wounded and will rebound quickly. Since 2002, growth has averaged 4,5% a year following a 400% increase in foreign investment.

Colombia is the only South American country with access to both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It is the number one producer of emeralds and has the widest variety of flowers in the world. Colombian coffee is also widely regarded as the best quality sold.

The country is equally rich in cultural diversity, with a spread of white, Afro-Colombian and indigenous people. Icons such as Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the artist Fernando Botero and Latina rock “goddess” Shakira add a distinctive cultural sophistication and natural appeal to Colombian society. This appeal is manifested in their positive outlook and their friendly engagement with foreigners. According to one index, Colombians are the sixth happiest nation in the world, despite socioeconomic challenges all too common in developing countries.

These dynamics, not to mention the diverse beauty of the country, have helped increase tourism numbers to well over 2-million visitors a year from under a million a few years ago.

But it is a national campaign geared toward building a positive image and a new “Brand Colombia” that is the truly remarkable story from Colombia that is instructive to SA. “Colombia es Pasion” is an all-encompassing initiative created four years ago with government and private sector funding. Maria Claudia Lacouture, the initiative’s eloquent manager, describes it as a “road map to understanding the country’s reality through information and communication”.

An impressive US graduate in economics and marketing, Lacouture represents the new generation of Colombians, who have invested real hope in the future. The model is based on a strong brand and the power of information, which have helped raise the profile of Colombia es Pasion both locally and internationally.

Colombia es Pasion is not only visible beyond the borders of Colombia; it also disseminates reliable information about the country to Colombians at home and abroad, educating them about their country so they will identify with the brand and will themselves become vehicles of promotion. It also has the steady support of government and business.

SA could learn from the Colombia es Pasion initiative. Colombia, like SA, still has enormous challenges to overcome — poverty, crime, education, infrastructure and underdevelopment are far from resolved. But a national campaign such as this one helps correct misconceptions in and about Colombia.

Colombians like to describe themselves as “joyful survivors”, not “morose victims’ and they talk their country up. South Africans would do well to embrace a similarly positive attitude and outlook.

•Dr White is a research associate at the South African Institute of International Affairs. Pennington is the founder of SA: The Good News. They recently visited Bogota.

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