With a breakfast organized by the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Government of O'Higgins, and supported by Codelco División El Teniente, the National Press Day was celebrated in the VIP room of the El Teniente stadium. The ceremony commemorated February 13, 1812, the date on which “La Aurora de Chile”, the first newspaper in the country, began to circulate.

The event was attended by the Undersecretary General of Government, Nicole Cardoch; the regional governor, Pablo Silva; the presidential delegate Fabio López; the mayor of Rancagua, Raimundo Agliati; the regional minister of Government, Carlos Carrasco; and the manager of Sustainability and External Affairs of the El Teniente Division, Carolina Merino.

“Starting the year with a meeting with journalists from the region is always important to strengthen ties, to establish the validity and importance of a profession that is essential to having a vital and active democracy,” said Seremi Carrasco.

Undersecretary Cardoch stated that “the media around the world are looking at themselves, reviewing themselves and finding ways to remain relevant in the society we are living in. And in this, they can count on the Government’s commitment. We not only have the responsibility to communicate with you about the contingency, the challenges and the progress, but we also have an agenda to strengthen the media.”

During the ceremony, the regional governor, Fabio López, thanked “Codelco for always supporting this initiative and providing such comfortable facilities as those at the El Teniente stadium and bringing together a large part of the regional press to appreciate the work they do every day.”

“The role of the press in making what is happening transparent, informing the community in order to make better decisions, investigative processes and, most importantly, keeping the entire community informed about local, regional, national and international realities is essential,” added Governor Pablo Silva.

For Carolina Merino, Sustainability and External Affairs Manager at El Teniente, “hosting this event and having the attendance of media representatives and national and regional authorities is an honor and a privilege.”

The mayor of Rancagua, Raimundo Agliati, highlighted that the event “was an opportunity to recognise the importance of the press, the value of democracy, citizen participation and how the media work with the different actors in society, with public institutions, with authorities and bring information to people.”