Beijing Women's Federation

A poster of the 2023 Colorful World International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition

Children from home and abroad attend an awards ceremony for the 2023 Colorful World International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition.

An online exhibition of the 2023 Colorful World International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition was recently sponsored by Beijing Women's Federation (BWF), Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality. The online exhibition was organized by Beijing Women's International Exchange Center under the theme "Colorful World & World Cultural Heritage." It aimed to strengthen the bond among people from different countries and showcase the diversity of global civilizations through art. The BWF has been promoting women and children-oriented people-to-people exchanges across the world and worked together with Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and other partners in building the youth painting exhibition into a brand of civil diplomacy. The event selects a topic of global interest as its theme each year and intends to forge consensus on harmonious coexistence and shared prosperity of civilizations via cultural and artistic exchanges.

The painting exhibition has received widespread attention and support at home and abroad since it was launched this May. It has drawn the participation of friendly organizations and overseas Chinese agencies in 61 countries as well as over 2,000 Chinese and foreign schools and arts institutions. The organizing committee received a total of 43,000 original entries from countries including China, Australia, Germany, Malaysia, Mauritius, the United States and Spain, and 287 international entries and 1,140 domestic entries won awards, with 180 organization awards presented.

Some outstanding works were exhibited during the side-event Digital Empowerment of Cultural Heritage at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO and during the 2023 Beijing International Public Service Advertisement Conference. The objective is to promote the inheritance and protection of world cultural heritage with public participation and convey the vision of international youths toward the building of a promising future.

A screenshot of winning international entries at the online exhibition of the 2023 Colorful World International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition

A screenshot of winning Chinese entries at the online exhibition of the 2023 Colorful World International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition

Outstanding works from the 2023 Colorful World International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition are exhibited during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.

Additionally, 48 works were included in the collection of "I Love Beijing" themed publications and were presented as special gifts to participants at the 2023 Beijing Culture Forum.

The works from the Colorful World International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition that are added to "I Love Beijing" themed publications

The international youth painting invitational exhibition has been held for three consecutive years. It has become one of major platforms that encourage youths to convey cultural diversity with artistic expression, implement the Global Civilization Initiative, promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning, and deepen the bond among peoples of different countries. The exhibition has been covered by leading Chinese media outlets such as xinhuanet, people.cn and the People's Daily and popular foreign social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.