An African youth plays a Chinese instrument at the 7th China-Africa Youth Festival. [Photo provided to China Daily]
The 7th China-Africa Youth Festival kicked off on Tuesday, bringing together 49 young representatives from 48 African countries to explore Beijing and Shandong province.
The event is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China Soong Ching Ling Foundation and the provincial government of Shandong.
These African youth representatives will visit various places during the week-long event, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Museum of the Communist Party of China, the former residence of Soong Ching Ling and the Juyongguan Great Wall. Multiple workshops have also been designed to allow them to experience traditional Chinese culture. When in Shandong, they will participate in a China-Africa youth dialogue and visit high-tech enterprises and demonstration areas for rural vitalization in Jinan, Tai'an, Weifang and Qingdao.
During the opening ceremony, Li Bin, President of China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, expressed her hope that all participants in the event could feel the friendly enthusiasm of the Chinese people towards Africa, see the spirit and style of Chinese youth, experience China's rapid development, and understand the specific practices of China's modernization path and the unremitting efforts of the Chinese people to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
"I believe what you will see is a vibrant China in the spring. A real three-dimensional and comprehensive China, a China that is injecting strong certainty and new vitality into the world with its new development," Li said.
Ibrahima Sory Sylla, Senegal's ambassador to China, stated that China and African countries have a combined population of 2.7 billion, of which 1.3 billion are youth under the age of 19. Therefore, both China and African countries should take responsibility for youth education, implement public policies, improve the quality of education, develop vocational skills, empower women and youth, and increase their chances of obtaining decent employment, thereby enhancing social productivity.
He further added that both China and Africa aim to promote the realization of the China-Africa community with a shared future by building a world of peace, justice, solidarity and inclusive development. The China-Africa partnership is a unique model of cooperation based on mutual respect, win-win cooperation and a focus on African needs. "We should steadfastly continue such cooperation to provide more opportunities for the youth of both sides, as the youth represent the future of our cooperation and actions," he added.
Since 2018, the China-Africa Youth Festival has hosted over 300 young people from Africa, becoming an important event for mutual learning, exchange, and cooperation between Chinese and African youth.
The 7th China-Africa Youth Festival kicked off on Tuesday, bringing together 49 young representatives from 48 African countries to explore Beijing and Shandong province. [Photo provided to China Daily]
The 7th China-Africa Youth Festival kicked off on Tuesday, bringing together 49 young representatives from 48 African countries to explore Beijing and Shandong province. [Photo provided to China Daily]
