The fifth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Art & Design Award launched in Beijing on April 24, focusing on energy cooperation under the theme "Green Power, Lancang-Mekong's New Day." The competition invites artists and designers to submit works aimed at promoting cultural exchanges and building a community with a shared future among Lancang-Mekong countries.
Gao Anming, editor-in-chief of China International Communications Group (CICG); Daw Zin Mar Thein, deputy head of mission and minister counsellor of the Myanmar Embassy in China; and Xia Jun, director of the Center for Environmental Communications and Education of China's Ministry of Natural Resources, attended the event. Diplomats from Mekong countries were also in attendance, as well as representatives from the organizers and co-organizers of the competition. The event also saw participation from media outlets, universities, non-governmental organizations, and enterprises.
Gao Anming underscored CICG's recent efforts within the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) framework, saying the group's exchanges and cooperation with Mekong countries have led to continual advancements and achievements. He expressed anticipation that these collaborative endeavors would promote more cultural exchanges among Lancang-Mekong countries, yielding more substantial outcomes. Such efforts, he added, would facilitate mutual learning and cross-cultural exchanges among civilizations.
Zhao Chenggang, minister counsellor of the Department of Asian Affairs of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a video speech that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the six Lancang-Mekong countries, the LMC mechanism had made significant strides over the past eight years. He highlighted the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Art & Design Award as a beacon of cultural and youth exchanges among the six nations, expressing hopes that the competition would deepen mutual understanding and further promote cultural exchanges.
Daw Zin Mar Thein praised the significant progress and benefits brought by the cooperation framework over the past eight years. She affirmed Myanmar's commitment to collaboration with China and the shared goal of peace, prosperity, and sustainable development in the region. She hoped the competition would expand cultural exchanges between China and the Mekong countries and advocated for broader cooperation in fields like media and education.
The competition's official poster was unveiled during the launching ceremony. Designers in the competition are encouraged to depict various aspects of Lancang-Mekong energy cooperation, including energy security, infrastructure projects, renewable energy, modernized power grids, photovoltaic industries, energy storage, electric vehicles, and green investment. Their works are expected to underscore LMC's significance while injecting fresh vigor and creativity. To enhance the event's technological dimension, an artificial intelligence poster design competition alongside the traditional categories has been added this year.
The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Art & Design Award, launched in 2020, has become a renowned and influential regional design competition. The fifth edition, supported by the LMC Special Fund, is organized by the China Center for International Communication Development in collaboration with partners including the Center for Environmental Communications and Education of China's Ministry of Natural Resources, the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China, Yunnan University, the Yunnan International Communication Center for South and Southeast Asia, Bangkok University in Thailand, the National University of Laos, the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, and the Fuqing Language and Computer School in Myanmar. The event is co-sponsored by the China General Nuclear Power Corporation, the China International Water & Electric Corporation (a subsidiary of the China Communications Construction Company), the Chinese Cultural Heritage Protection Foundation, and the Beijing MW Foundation.