China-Latin America Youth Responding to Global Challenges

Invites you to join

2026 Poverty Alleviation Challenge Program

Discover poverty around you

Explore poverty alleviation solutions together

Outstanding teams will have the opportunity totravel to Brazil/Chile for cross-cultural mutual learning

Global challenges, respond together

About the Poverty Alleviation Challenge Program

Poverty alleviation is a common challenge for developing countries and a shared challenge for the whole world. In 2024, the Tsinghua University Latin America Center, Research Center for China-Latin America Management Studies of Tsinghua School of Economics and Management (SEM), and Center for Global Competence Development at Tsinghua University, in collaboration with Latin American university partners, launched and carried out the "China-Latin America Youth Responding to Global Challenges — 2024 Poverty Alleviation Challenge Program" in China, Brazil, and Chile, sparking a wave of university-led poverty alleviation dialogues between China and Latin America. In November of the same year, during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Brazil to attend the G20 Summit, Tsinghua University and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro signed a cooperation agreement for this project. The agreement was included in the list of visit outcomes, becoming a landmark project for win-win development between China and Latin America. On this basis, the "2025 Poverty Alleviation Challenge Program," jointly hosted by Tsinghua University and Latin American partner institutions, attracted over 310 teachers and students from 27 universities and enterprises across four countries in China and Latin America, with 12 teams advancing to the cross-national finals held in Chile and Brazil.

The "2026 Poverty Alleviation Challenge Program" will build upon the 2025 edition with greater innovation, injecting new momentum into the global poverty alleviation cause. Through cross-national teaming, competitions, and field research, it will gather the strength of Chinese and Latin American youth to jointly explore poverty alleviation solutions. Winning teams will also have the opportunity to travel to Latin America for study and exchange. If you are eager to inject new momentum into global poverty alleviation, now is the best time to set off.

Introduction

Global poverty alleviation is entering a new stage of high-quality development. As a major engine driving employment, income growth, and regional economic revitalization, the cultural tourism industry is becoming a key force in addressing development challenges and advancing sustainability through deep integration with artificial intelligence.

Zhongshan (Beijing) Cultural Industry Co., Ltd. is a professional institution dedicated to the integrated development and innovative application of culture and technology. We focus on cultural tourism planning, digital transformation of large-scale events, and digital operation of major venues. We have extensive practical experience in cultural IP development, AI-enabled tourism applications, and immersive experience design.

In partnership with Tsinghua University Latin America Center, we are launching this official challenge to connect China’s experience in cultural tourism technology with the development needs of Latin America through AI. We aim to inspire young people to use innovative solutions to tackle poverty and support long-term poverty alleviation through high-quality cultural tourism development.

Project: AI Empowers High-Quality Cultural Tourism and Regional Poverty Alleviation

✅Title: AI Empowers High-Quality Cultural Tourism and Regional Poverty Alleviation

✅ Target Regions: Chile, Brazil, Peru

✅ Core Problems:

Traditional cultural tourism development faces severe pain points:high market research costs, low cultural and creative development efficiency, high barriers to marketing communication, and long IP development cycles. Digital cultural tourism also faces challenges such as high investment, high technical thresholds, and long implementation cycles.

✅ Objectives

1. Full-chain empowerment: Use AI to cover the entire process of cultural tourism market research, cultural and creative product development, content creation, media operation, and marketing. Support the planning, image generation, and production of promotional content (short videos, mini-dramas), and link cultural product sales with marketing. Build a complete digital tourism development and operation system that is low-threshold, low-cost, and high-efficiency.

2. Replicable model: Develop an implementable and scalable “AI + Digital Cultural Tourism” model to provide mature solutions for Latin America.

3. Effective poverty alleviation: Enhance tourism attractiveness through AI virtual humans, intelligent cultural creativity, and AI-driven digital content marketing to boost consumption, employment, income growth, and industrial upgrading.

4. Capacity building: Improve young people’s practical skills in AI tools, risk prevention, market-oriented operation, and project implementation.

✅ Core ValueGuided by the principle of “technology empowering cultural tourism and industry driving poverty alleviation”, we will close the loop of “technological innovation – industrial upgrading – livelihood improvement” and contribute youth wisdom to China-Latin America cooperation in poverty alleviation.

Chinese Practice Cases

1. AI Digital Human for Cultural Tourism Promotion

Lydia, an AI virtual influencer developed by China Media Group (CMG), serves as Thailand’s Cultural Tourism Experience Officer. As a virtual ambassador, she conducts global tourism promotion without time and space constraints, reaching massive audiences at low cost and significantly improving communication efficiency and tourism appeal.

Image source:https://city.news.cctv.com/2025/12/20/ARTI5qw7h1nTaMtaXNNzwkM3251220.shtml

2. AI Cultural & Creative Intelligence Application

The “AI Cultural & Creative Intelligent Agent” developed by Xinjiang Mihai Technology enables rapid development and intelligent design of cultural products. It greatly reduces creation costs, improves development efficiency, and provides strong support for the large-scale development of local cultural tourism and creative industries.

Image source: https://www.ts.cn/xwzx/whxw/202603/t20260313_33473892.shtml

Practice has proven that the “AI + Cultural Tourism” model is mature and feasible, and can provide direct experience and reference for the 2026 China-Latin America Poverty Alleviation Challenge Program.

Mentor from Zhongshan Culture:

Zhang Wanyuan

Deputy General Manager

Zhongshan (Beijing) Cultural Industry Co., Ltd.

Qiu Haonan

Marketing & Product Manager

Zhongshan (Beijing) Cultural Industry Co., Ltd.

Call for Youth | Who We Are Looking For

We sincerely invite youth teams from China and Latin America to join us!

l You may be students or practitioners majored in:Cultural Tourism, Design, Media, Computer Science, Economics, Sociology, or related fields.

l You need to: Care about poverty alleviation, love cultural exchange, be good at innovative practice, and be willing to conduct on-site research.

l You will gain: One-on-one guidance throughout the process from Zhongshan Culture mentors, supporting proposal refinement, practical connection, and project implementation.

With AI as a tool and cultural tourism as a bridge,

we integrate China’s experience with Latin America’s needs.

With implementable, replicable, and scalable innovative solutions,

we inject youthful vitality into China-Latin America poverty alleviation cooperationand

build a better future for global sustainable development!

2026 Poverty Alleviation Challenge

With the power of youth, we join hands in the global cause of poverty alleviation.

Zhongshan Culture stands with you ✨