African delegation learns from China's cultural management

African delegates visit an incubator for young entrepreneurs in Qianhai, an economic development zone in Shenzhen. [Photo by Wang Dejun/China Daily]

An African delegation visits China to learn from the country's experiences in cultural management, Wang Kaihao reports in Shenzhen.

Last week, when Beninese fashion designer Sonia Damala saw a digital exhibition of frescoes from the Mogao Grottos at Artron Art Center in Guangdong province, she was impressed by the prevalence of digitization in Chinese museums.

The use of virtual reality in the show in Shenzhen city made her experience even better.

While Damala and many other people from Africa have had some exposure to China's rich cultural traditions, they can now learn more about the country's cultural management in modern times through the One Thousand People Plan, a Chinese government project that aims to train African officials and others related to culture.

"I am thoroughly excited," Damala said in Shenzhen earlier this month. "It is great to see a mix of high-tech channels while presenting an exhibition on traditional culture."

Such shows will encourage Africans to adopt better methods for the inheritance of their own cultures, she added.

Damala was among the 30 delegates from 10 French-speaking African countries, who came to China on Dec 4 on a weeklong training program on cultural creativity in Shenzhen.

The program was part of the three-year Chinese Ministry of Culture project to help African countries to train 1,000 people by the end of 2018.