Cultural exchange highlighted at forum

Cultural collaboration and people-to-people exchanges greatly enhance understanding among the five BRICS countries while improving their economic relationship and citizens’ quality of life.

That was the consensus of government officials, think tank experts and professionals at the BRICS Culture and People Exchange Forum in Brasilia on Wednesday.

The daylong forum, attended by more than 200 people, was organized by the State Council of Information Office of China and the China International Publishing Group.

Brazilian Social Democratic Party President Bruno Araujo, House Representative of Brazilian Parliament Deputado Fauston Pinato and other prominent BRICS guests attended.

The success of past cultural and people-to-people exchanges was reviewed, and new ideas were proposed to further strengthen such exchanges. Mutual learning was also emphasized.

Zhao Jianguo, director-general of the International Communication Bureau at the State Council Information Office of China, said the five BRICS countries each have their own unique charm, history, wisdom and pursuits, but are also very inclusive. That provides a solid foundation for collaboration, Zhao said.

Zhao called for the BRICS countries to conduct more exchange activities, utilize traditional wisdom and innovation to solve development challenges, and collaborate more in a wide range of fields to build the BRICS community.

Araujo said that Chinese President Xi Jinping is a trailblazer for people and cultural exchanges among BRICS nations, and that is also what BRICS people want. The five countries have their own advantages in culture, science and education to share for a better future.

Pinato said that Brazilians support Xi’s idea of constructing Chinese-style socialism, which has been very successful. He pointed out that China is an important partner for Brazil both in economic and cultural relations. With China’s leadership, the exchange of culture and people has extended beyond the BRICS nations to four continents.

Srikanth Kondapalli, chairman of the Center for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University from India, said that public opinion has been traditionally dominated by Western countries, and there is a need for BRICS countries to establish their own public polling agencies.

Five directors from the BRICS countries were each invited to make a film about youth’s pursuit of soccer. The series, called Kids and Glory, featured 52-minute documentaries that took more than a year to produce. The five directors discussed their creative ideas and experiences in making the films.

Chinese director Lu Chuan acted as the general director for the series. He said that documentaries are a powerful way to record human history. In the process of filmmaking, he was touched by the other directors’ talent and humanity.

“The films show different colors, different ethnicities, but the laughter, dreams and trying efforts all tell the story of humanity. The stories show our commonality and carry the dream of all children and all humanity,” Lu said.

Wisdom of Confucius, a picture exhibition, also attracted attention.

The stories show our commonality and carry the dream of all children and all humanity.” Chinese director Lu Chuan