The recently launched Shenzhou-16 manned spaceflight mission will host the first international painting exhibition on the China Space Station, showcasing works by teenagers from 10 African nations, including Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Africa.
In March 2023, the Chinese Follow-up Committee of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and China Manned Space Engineering hosted a painting competition titled “My Dream” for African adolescents and children. This was in response to the “Tiangong Dialogue-Talk with Taikonauts” held in September 2022, at which African youths expressed a strong interest in space and aerospace.
Jing Haipeng, mission commander for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 manned spaceflight mission, stated, “Indeed, we have this special and meaningful mission for this flight, which is to display international paintings for the first time on the China Space Station, exhibiting excellent works from the “Tianhe Award” for young friends from the 10 African countries”.
“We have not yet viewed the paintings. I predict that they will be outstanding. Exploration of the immense universe is the common goal and cause of all humanity, regardless of race, age, or location. We are willing to work with all peace-loving individuals to build a better tomorrow.”
“We will send the best of the children’s youth, friendship, and dreams into space, sow the seeds of science, friendship, and dreams on the China Space Station, and allow them to take root, germinate, blossom, and bear fruit,” Jing added.
The Shenzhou-13 crew that has been residing and working in China’s space station displayed paintings by children from across the country on January 1, 2022, during an occasion in which they spoke with student representatives from Beijing, Hong Kong, and Macau via video link.
Ten winning paintings from the competition will be displayed on the China Space Station for the first time as part of the final selection for the Tianhe Award.
According to the Global Times report, Jing also stated, “Exploring the immense universe is the common goal and aspiration of all humanity, regardless of race, age, or geographic location. We are willing to collaborate with all peace-loving individuals in order to build a better tomorrow. We will send the finest friendships and aspirations of children into space, sow the seeds of science, friendship, and dreams on the China Space Station, and allow them to take root, germinate, blossom, and produce fruit.”
In the “My Dream” Painting Competition for African Youth, more than two thousand African youths submitted paintings, of which fifty stood out. In the second half of this year, the competition’s organisers will organise an awards ceremony and invite a number of reward recipients to China.
“Young people are ambitious and ardent dream-chasers. African youth have expressed their best wishes for China-Africa cooperation, peace and development, human progress, and a better life through their colourful paintings, according to Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This is an accurate depiction of the cultural exchanges and interpersonal relationships between China and Africa. China is prepared to provide a platform for African youth to demonstrate their adolescent vitality and African aspirations to the world, thereby rekindling China-Africa ties.
He added, “In the interim, we stand ready to share our experience and results in the development of high-tech, to enhance technology transfer in the agricultural and industrial sectors, and to give a boost to Africa’s modernization efforts.”
“I’d like to take this opportunity to send my best wishes to the African youth, who are so ambitious, passionate, and hard-working in pursuit of their dreams,”
“I hope that their vitality and vigour will be a source of stability, development, and prosperity for the African continent, as well as a driving force in renewing the enduring China-Africa friendship,” he said.