Beijing to kick of trials for int'l cultural festival in June

As part of the China-Germany Year of Student and Youth Exchanges program launched in March, the regional trials in Beijing for the seventh International Black Forest Arts and Cultural Festival will kick of on June 19.

Winners from the contests will be invited to the festival in Freudenstadt, Germany, as representatives of China's youth.

During the festival, a summer camp with the theme of environmental protection will be held by the China Daily Education Supplement and Beijing Silk Road Culture Center. Chinese students will visit the Black Forest and German environmental protection companies, talk with local officials and students and write reports.

The Beijing Silk Road Culture Center also has plans for other Sino-German exchange programs this year.

According to an agreement signed between China and Germany last year, multiple government departments from the two countries will establish long-term mechanisms to support youth exchanges in education, technology, culture, sports and language studies. The Beijing Silk Road Culture Center is a partner of the festival's organizing committee that is promoting the event in China. It has organized trials for the festival annually since 2013 that involved tens of thousands of Chinese young people. More than 200 of them have taken part in the festival.

Many Chinese companies will also take part in the festival, showcasing China's specialties, such as traditional cuisine, handicraft and paintings, to the world.

The center has established regional contests in 10 provinces and regions across China.

As a nongovernmental organization dedicated to promoting international exchanges, the center "aims to increase understanding and friendship among people from different countries and regions by holding various cultural programs", said Shi Dongqing, a council member at the center.

"For years, the center has been making efforts to enhance international educational and cultural cooperation and friendship, and to improve the mutual understanding between youths in China and the rest of the world," Shi said.

(China Daily 05/10/2016 page10)