Canning House
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Canning House is a British not-for profit and non-governmental organisation dedicated to the discussion of social, political and economic affairs across the region of
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
through research and debate. Founded in 1943, Canning House serves as a forum for debate and discussion of the current affairs of the region.


History

Canning House is named after George Canning (1770–1827), British Foreign Secretary between 1807–1809 and 1822–1827, and briefly
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
in 1827. Canning was a prominent advocate of the emerging republics in early Latin America, and is a recognized figure in the region with several streets bearing his name. Canning House first came into being in 1943 with the creation of the Hispanic Council and the Luso-Brazilian Council simultaneously. Following the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, both councils were merged, and the resulting entity was commonly referred to as Canning House. In 1973 the Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Council was registered as a
limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...
, and in 1997 Canning House was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary. Initial meetings took place at the Shell-Mex House before offices were set up in Berkeley Street in 1947. From 1953 until 2018, Canning House was based in
Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for ...
before moving to 126 Wigmore Street, where it can be found today. In July 2022, Jeremy Browne, a former British
Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
for Latin America, among other regions, became Canning House's Chief Executive.


Focus areas

Canning House has a number of areas including Trade & Investment, Government & Policy, Education, Research and Culture. In the area of Trade & Investment, Canning House takes an active role in encouraging links between the UK and Latin America. It holds many events each year discussing the opportunities available across different sectors and informing British businesses about the Latin American market. This ranges from hosting trade missions from countries such as
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, to holding conferences on the
Biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...
industry in Latin America, as well as smaller, focused policy roundtables with key figures from selected industries. Since 2020, Canning House has authored an annual report titled LatAm Outlook. The report examines the six largest economies of the region (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru) through lenses including Politics, Economics, Security, Society, Health and the Environment, and makes some predictions as to how the following five years will play out. Canning House has served as secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meetings on Latin America since 2015, and has contributed to parliamentary papers examining the UK's relationship with Latin American nations. Each year Canning House holds the Canning Lecture, a series of lectures presented by visiting heads of state in which they offer their perspective on UK–Latin America relations and explore possible avenues for cooperation in the future. Previous figures to have given lectures include former President of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
Michelle Bachelet, the President of
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
Ivan Duque, and former President of
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
Fernando Henrique Cardoso. In 2010, then-Foreign Secretary William Hague became the first British Foreign Secretary to give the Canning Lecture, renamed in that year as the Canning Agenda. In it, he set out the government's foreign policy agenda with a renewed focus on Latin America, outlining a desire to increase trade and encourage British businesses to explore the region in the context of an increasingly globalized world economy. Canning House has strong links with a range of educational institutions across the UK. It has partnered with the Latin America and Caribbean Centre at the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
to create the Canning House Research Forum, a "multi-year rolling programme of research and policy engagement around the overarching theme of 'The Future of Latin America and the Caribbean' with particular reference to UK-–Latin America relations". The Canning House Library Collection, a collection of 54,000 works covering a broad range of subject areas concerning the Hispanic and Lusophone countries of the world, now resides in
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
having been gifted to the university in 2012. It was originally housed inside Canning House from its creation in 1943. As well as its weekly newsletters which include a summary of current affairs news from the region and are distributed to members, Canning House produces a number of reports each year for its members called 'Canning Papers'. These reports focus on a particular topic and include the latest research and data available and aim to inform members of the latest developments in the region.


Structure

Canning House operates a membership system that includes both Individual and Corporate membership offerings. Principal benefits for Corporate members of Canning House include access to networking opportunities, priority entry to Canning House events, and sponsorship or partnership opportunities. Individual and Public members are given access to Canning House newsletters, Canning Insights and to Geopolitical, Cultural, Flagship and Business, Trade and Investment events at a discount.


References


External links


Official WebsiteOfficial YouTube channelThe Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Council at Open Charities
{{Authority control 1943 establishments in England Charities based in London George Canning Organizations established in 1943