Daily Times

Baguer Dawaer, a 13-year-old student in Pakistan, shines on a “Belt and Road” online art festival with his piano solo The Detective. Representing China-Pak Educational Cultural Institute, Pakistan, his performance clip was shortlisted and showcased in the “Light of Hope” unit of the first-ever “100 Sister Schools Initiative Online Art Festival” hosted by Gansu Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Gansu Provincial Education Department, China. Born into a hybrid family with his mother a Chinese and his father a Pakistani, Baguer Dawaer has been living and studying in Islamabad.

His mother told China Economic Net that while developing his interest in art, he aspires to learn STEM disciplines and aims for internationally renowned high school and university, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Wednesday. So far, the online art festival has collected nearly 300 pieces of music and dance work from over 100 schools of 21 countries and regions. In the smorgasbord of artistic works, the performers not only display the distinctive artistic forms in their respective countries, but also demonstrate their mastery of Chinese musical instruments and dances such as Clapper Talk, a general name for all the Chinese folk art forms of narrating stories in the form of storytelling and singing.

Uzbek student performing Kuaiban for the “Belt and Road” online art festival [Photo from Gansu Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries] The outstanding works are selected and promoted on the websites and WeChat accounts of the organizers. A total of five units were presented, including the New Year unit that has recorded over 100,000 views, the Spring Festival unit, Lantern Festival unit, Spring is Coming unit, and Light of Hope unit. Along with the online festival, an art exhibition opened in Gansu earlier this month.

Since the implementation of the 100 Sister Schools Initiative in 2019, 50 primary and secondary schools from countries along the “Belt and Road” have established friendly relations with 19 primary and secondary schools in Gansu Province, and a series of activities such as faculty and student exchanges and art performances has been organized, offering youth opportunities to communicate with peers in other countries.