Alexis Castro Robles was selected as a cross-institutional student to report on Latin American migration to Australia under a unique research project involving ANIP and the Latin American Embassies, supported by the Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR).

‘My placement at the Embassy of Guatemala provided me with a path to further study. For one, ANIP gave me the opportunity to become engaged with a largely under-represented community living in Australia: the Guatemalan-born community. As such, I focused on creating a community profile that details historical Guatemalan migration and refugee settlement waves and what distinguishes Guatemalans from other Latin American communities in Australia. In fact, it is the high level of political participation practiced by Guatemalans who came to Australia as refugees that particularly took my interest, leading me to undertake Honours at my home university (UNSW) in 2019.’

'ANIP has provided me with the skills to conduct a survey with Guatemalan refugees, and I have learned how to use recent census and migration data. I am now applying these skills to my Honours thesis which aims to refresh the concept of political participation to include the actions of refugees such as those who came from Guatemala to Australia. I cannot recommend the program highly enough.'