— The 10th World Friendship Festival International Cultural and Arts Exchange Conference comes to a successful close
(Author: Luan Xinqiu)
As the morning light bathed Brunei’s landmark buildings with their gilded domes, and the lush green lawns were warmed by the spirit of cross-cultural exchange, the series of events of the 10th World Friendship Festival International Cultural and Arts Exchange Conference, centered on the theme “Friendship Connected, Arts Shared Together,” drew to a warm close on the evening of November 23, 2025 in the beautiful Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, after spanning mountains and seas over two months. As the host, P.R.I.D.E. (Pacific Rim Institute for Development and Education), a UN NGO, with Director-General for the Asia-Pacific Region Zhao Yuanhong and Secretary-General Ou Jing leading throughout, gathered cultural figures and guest representatives from China, Brunei, the United States, Australia and other countries and regions. With diverse arts as the bridge and sincere friendship as the soul, the event built a solid bridge for cross-border cultural mutual learning and the bonds of friendship, letting the light of civilization illuminate the five continents and four seas.
Setting Off Across Regions, Marching Firmly Forward — Drawing a Map of Friendship with Our Footsteps
A cultural feast that crossed national borders began with original aspiration and was achieved through steadfast action. On September 9, 2025, the 10th World Friendship Festival officially launched at the Friends Tribe in Fushun, Liaoning, raising the curtain on this global covenant of friendship; it then moved to Changsha, Hunan, where the 3rd International Immune Health Festival was jointly held as a festival-within-a-festival, blending the warmth of friendship with the philosophy of health. In Shenzhen, Guangdong, a poetry appreciation and exchange event was held as scheduled, using words as the medium to let cultural sentiments from different regions resonate together.
After two months of careful preparation and coordination across many locations, on November 20 the World Friendship Festival arrived at its finale destination — Brunei. This nation, blending natural beauty with humanistic heritage, provided a solid stage for this transnational gathering. From the major official announcement at the press conference on November 21, to the grand opening of the International Cultural and Arts Exchange Conference and the glorious awarding ceremony of the 6th Golden Green Vine International Poetry Award on November 22, and then to the elegant ink fragrance of the International Calligraphy and Painting Appreciation Gathering; from the in-depth discussion of calligraphy, painting and poetry micro-films on November 23 to the warm and complete closing that evening, a series of rich and diverse activities, with a progressively unfolding rhythm, let the seeds of friendship take root and sprout in every footstep, and let the flower of arts bloom brilliantly in every gathering.
Sages Gather, Stirring Voices — Uniting the Power of Peace with Original Aspiration
As the grand event opened, the hall was filled with distinguished guests. The host warmly introduced the main guests present; each fervent greeting and each enthusiastic round of applause extended the most sincere welcome to friends from afar, filling the Brunei venue with a warmth like that of home. In the solemn leaders’ address segment, the stirring speeches of the leaders injected into the conference a power of thought that struck the heart.
Director-General Zhao Yuanhong: Binding hearts with culture, forging a consensus for peace
Zhao Yuanhong, Director-General of P.R.I.D.E. (Pacific Rim Institute for Development and Education), a UN NGO, was the first to take the stage, delivering a stirring address around the theme of “International Friendship and Cultural Integration.” Dressed in formal attire and standing before the carved podium, his tone steady and powerful, he unfolded the value of the World Friendship Festival: “In the tide of globalization, we once grew estranged because of our differences, but today we come together because of culture and resonate because of friendship — the World Friendship Festival is not a simple gathering, but a ‘bridge of the heart’ across national borders, a ‘spiritual bond’ that unites a consensus for peaceful development.”
He interpreted the power of culture with an international vision: “Culture is the key that breaks down language barriers, the spring breeze that melts prejudice; friendship is the sail that crosses mountains and seas, the cornerstone that supports peace. Only by binding hearts together with culture as the tie, and uniting consensus with friendship as the foundation, can we let different civilizations grow through mutual learning, and let the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity become reality through exchange.” His words rang out resoundingly, and applause surged through the venue; friends of different skin colors felt in this speech a resonance that transcended national borders.
President Yang Zhensheng: Bridging with art, conveying the warmth of culture
Then, Yang Zhensheng, President of the Brunei Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Culture Association, took the stage to deliver an address with the warmth of a host. He welcomed friends from all over the world to Brunei, his eyes full of anticipation for cultural exchange: “Brunei may be small, but it can hold the friendship of the world; art is wordless, yet it can become a universal vehicle that transcends language.” He stressed his hope that, taking this conference as an opportunity, the communication and cooperation among the cultural circles of all countries would be further deepened, so that the warmth of Chinese culture could be conveyed to every corner of the world, and the light of different civilizations could weave together into the warmest galaxy in Brunei. Secretary-General Ou Jing: Painting a portrait of a Great Harmony with the spirit of friendship
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The address by Ou Jing, Secretary-General of P.R.I.D.E. (Pacific Rim Institute for Development and Education), a UN NGO, was like a warm current of the times and became the emotional anchor of the entire grand event. In a gentle yet firm tone, she strung together the purity of personal acquaintance, the trust of friendship between nations, the enthusiasm of integration between industries, and the warmth of family bonds, using layer upon layer of parallel phrasing to depict the myriad facets of friendship: “Friendship is a bridge across national borders, turning the gaze from opposite shores into the warmth of an embrace; friendship is a spring breeze that melts estrangement, turning the distance of strangers into the sweetness of mutual understanding; friendship is a bond that unites strength, turning solitary footsteps into a torrent of shared progress; friendship is the starlight that illuminates the road ahead, letting ordinary encounters bloom with extraordinary brilliance.” Every word brimmed with deep feeling — both a profound interpretation of the theme “Friendship Connected, Arts Shared Together,” and a heartfelt call for the beautiful vision of “a world of Great Harmony, a shared destiny.”
Chairman Zhang Jingtao: Ten years of dedication, keeping the appointment with the future
The address by Zhang Jingtao, Chairman of the World Friendship Festival Organizing Committee, injected the grand event with profound emotional depth and a far-reaching vision for development. Looking back on ten years of dedication, he said with deep feeling: “The World Friendship Festival has grown from an initial covenant of gathering into an important platform connecting friends around the world.” He innovatively expounded the three realms of friendship among friends: at the material level, striving together and sharing the fruits; at the emotional level, resonating in feeling and sharing joys and sorrows; and at the spiritual level, being in tune at the same frequency and growing together — every word a gem capturing the essence of friendship. At the same time, he made the major announcement that the Organizing Committee, together with Mr. Li Hui, head coach of Brunei’s national wushu team, has been planning the “First International Wen-Wu (Literary-Martial) Conference,” aiming to carry forward the Chinese traditional cultural gene of “revering the literary and esteeming the martial,” and, with the innovative philosophy of “refining the martial through the literary and nurturing the literary through the martial,” to inject new vitality and vigor into the dissemination of outstanding traditional culture.
Warm Gifts, Crowned by Poetry — Connecting the Hearts of the World with Heartfelt Intentions
At the end of the address segment, a gift-giving ceremony brimming with warmth added another vivid stroke to friendship. World Friendship Festival Organizing Committee representatives Zhang Jingtao and Chen Yanzhu took the stage and solemnly presented to Yang Zhensheng, President of the Brunei Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Culture Association, a calligraphy work reading “The sea is the world of the dragon, the clouds are the home of the crane” — the magnificent artistic conception within the ink and brush was both a beautiful wish for the cultural blending of the two countries and a lofty tribute to transnational friendship; at the same time, the super-antigen series of products from Xiehe Biotech Group was presented, conveying care through a gift of health, so that material gifts and cultural expression complemented one another and became the most heartfelt testimony of friendship.
After the gift-giving ceremony concluded, the awarding ceremony of the 6th Golden Green Vine International Poetry Award opened as scheduled, bringing the conference to yet another climax. The host read out the award citations with deep emotion, each passage condensing reverence for the art of poetry and praise for the original aspiration of creation, letting the audience feel the charm of poetry transcending national borders within every line.
Subsequently, Director-General Zhao Yuanhong of P.R.I.D.E. (Pacific Rim Institute for Development and Education), a UN NGO, together with poetry critic Li Li, jointly took the stage to present the awards to representative winners. When poet Mr. Hei Feng from the United States and writer Ms. Yang Haidi from China received their trophies and certificates of honor, thunderous applause filled the hall; this moment of glory, under the focused lights, became a vivid footnote to transnational cultural exchange.
During the acceptance-speech segment, Mr. Hei Feng could not hide his emotion, saying with deep feeling: “To cross mountains and seas to come to Brunei to receive this international poetry award is a great honor for me.” He praised the purity and cosmopolitan spirit of the “Golden Green Vine International Poetry Award,” and especially affirmed its unique way of traveling into different countries together with the World Friendship Festival to present its awards — this traveling dissemination of poetry lets the seeds of art take root and sprout in soil around the globe, and also makes the award increasingly valued and favored by poets of all nations. Mr. Hei Feng sincerely wished that this poetry award, which carries friendship and the arts, could reach more countries and bloom with even more far-reaching international influence, so that poetry could become an eternal bond connecting the hearts of the world.
Diverse Coexistence, Splendid Arts — Composing a Magnificent Chapter of Civilization through Integration
In addition to the major awarding ceremony, the series of activities, with diverse artistic forms, created a feast of mutual learning among civilizations. At the International Calligraphy and Painting Appreciation Gathering, ink fragrance filled the air and brushes moved like flying dragons; the artistic charm of Chinese calligraphy and the creative ingenuity of paintings from various countries shone in mutual splendor, as the artists used their brushes as the medium, sketching friendship on rice paper and conveying genuine feeling among the colors. At the poetry micro-film exchange, amid the flow of light and shadow, poetry and friendship intertwined; the stories under the lens crossed language barriers, letting the audience feel the infinite possibilities of cultural exchange amid the double impact on sight and hearing. In the wushu performance segment, the vigorous and powerful moves and the flowing actions displayed the profound depth of Chinese martial arts to the fullest, complementing the artistic atmosphere of the venue and perfectly interpreting the cultural connotation of “revering the literary and esteeming the martial.”
Here, different civilizations respect and appreciate one another; here, poetry, calligraphy and painting, wushu, micro-films and other diverse art forms blend and coexist, letting every collision burst into brilliant sparks and every exchange become a sublimation of friendship.
Source: Pacific Rim Institute for Development and Education (P.R.I.D.E.)