Chinese Embassy Celebrates Women in Culture
By Jerry Adesewo
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, under the auspices of the Chinese Cultural Centre in Nigeria (CCCN), on Wednesday collaborated with the Female Artists Association of Nigeria (FEAN), to commemorate the 2023 International Women’s Day tagged, Celebration of Women in Culture.
The event, held at the magnificent Chinese Cultural Centre, located in the Wuse Zone 5 area of Abuja witnessed a large turn out of female artists, cultural administrators, diplomats and a handful of ‘He for She’, as men who are supportive of women’s rights are generally referred to.
In her welcome address, wife of the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Madam Liang Huili, paid homage to the courageous and resilient spirit of the Nigerian women, many of whom she has encountered in many of her trips around Nigeria “Nigerian women, like Chinese are very strong, very intelligent and resilient, and I am impressed. They deserve our support always, especially those who are working in the cultural sector.”
Speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs. Zainab Ali-Biu, extended the ministry’s appreciation to the Chine Embassy for putting together the event in commemoration of the International Women Day. “This is another example of the great relationship that exists between China and Nigeria, and we are particularly exited that in this year’s edition you have drawn attention to our women in culture, in Nigeria.”
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She went on to pledge the willingness of Nigeria to continue to collaborate with China in providing necessary support for women in culture to continue to thrive, and to ensure mutual respect between but nations.
It was an evening of fun, with series of performances by Nigerian and Chinese artists like, Gao Ju, who performed ‘Jasmine’; Aishida, Li Ting, Ms. Odenose, Huang Lingxia and the ever exciting Capital Voices, among others.
On the sidelines of the event also is the demonstration of the Chinese tea ceremony manned by Chen Huiling, Deng Jun, and Huang Manting. The Chinese Caligraphy, manned by Mr. Liu Yingcai; and the painting exhibition, featuring 50 paintings by 20 female artists, and one male guest artist.
An important highlight of the evening was the award ceremony, to winners of the Women in Culture Essay writing competition, in which the winners: Adebambo Seun (1stPosition), Adetola Jerry-Adesewo (2nd Position) and Adegboyega Deborah (3rd Position) received their certificates and prize money of N70,000; N60,000; and N50,000 respectively. The essay writing competition was based on ‘the woman in our life’.
The event was attended by over a dozen wives of Ambassadors from Ireland, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Zambia, Japan, and Israel, as well as other top dignitaries from Nigeria.
Chinese Cultural Counselor and Director of the Chinese Cultural Centre Nigeria, Mr. Li Xuda’s vote of thanks was a perfect summation of the evening. “I have beautiful memory of our collaborations with the Nigerian cultural community and the ministry. We have celebrated together the International Mother Language, the culture and tourism day and many other collaborations. We are greatful to Nigerians. Thank you all.” He however emphasised that they’ll be many more collaborations to come.
