On January 14th (23rd of the twelfth lunar month), the“World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture” exchange activity, was successfully held in Shihuyuan Cultural Block, Weifang, sponsored by Weifang Culture and Tourism Bureau and co-organized by Weifang UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Arts Promotion Office, Weifang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Association, and Weifang University and Qilu Culture (Weifang) Preservation Service Center. More than ten African students studying in Weifang from Algeria, Zambia, Mali and other countries participated in this celebration. Su Lijun, member of the Party Leadership Group of the Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau and level I analyst, attended the event. He had extensive exchanges with the representatives of African students and extended Chinese New Year wishes to everyone.

On the day of the event, the launch ceremony of“Culture into Thousands of Families—Chinese New Year Live-streaming” in 2023 was held in Shihuyuan Intangible Cultural Heritage Space. African students who participated in the event witnessed the launch ceremony and enjoyed Jinan shadow puppet shows, gong and drum performances, New Year woodblock print and painting, laomao festive lanterns and other intangible cultural heritage performances, which provided them with a strong sense of the Chinese New Year and an opportunity to immerse themselves in the festival. In the workshop, Liu Zhijiang, an inheritor of the kite-making craft, introduced the development and inheritance of Weifang kites to the international students and led them to experience the fun of kite making. In Mr. Meng Xiangxiang’s dough sculpture workshop, everyone was drawn to the vivid sculptures, and attempted to make dough sculptures under his guidance.

The 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference in 2019 designated 24 January as World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture to preserve and disseminate the diverse cultures of the African continent and the African diaspora worldwide. The Day is hoped to play a positive role in promoting sustainable development, dialogue and peace. This year, UNESCO invites creative cities around the world to participate in the World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture, which emphasizes the importance of African culture and people of African descent to the development of the African continent and humanity as a whole. It seeks to promote the integrated development of diverse cultures in the world and build a just and equitable community of a shared future for humanity.

Weifang joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2021 as a Crafts and Folk Arts City, becoming the fourth one in China and the only one in Shandong Province. Weifang will actively participate in the initiatives proposed by the Creative Cities Network, join hands with the rest of the world to commit to the peace and progress of humanity, tell the story of Weifang on the global stage, and contribute to the sustainable development of cities. This celebration provided African students in Weifang with an opportunity to learn about the extensive and profound Chinese culture and deepened the cultural exchanges between China and Africa. (photographer and writer: Xin Wen)