Jing Haipeng, mission commander for the recently launched Shenzhou-16 manned spaceflight mission, announced at the Shenzhou-16 crew’s press conference on Monday that they will stage the first international painting exhibition on the China Space Station and display paintings received from African teenagers from 10 African countries, including Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Following the “Tiangong Dialogue-Talk with Taikonauts” in September 2022, where African youths conversed with Chinese astronauts and expressed strong interests in space and aerospace, the Chinese Follow-up Committee of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and China Manned Space Engineering hosted a painting competition themed ‘My Dream’ in March 2023 for African teens and children.
The selected paintings are the 10 winning entries from the competition, part of the final selection for the Tianhe Award and will be exhibited for the first time on the China Space Station.
According to the report by Global Times, Jing Haipeng further stated that “Exploring the vast universe is the common cause and dream of all mankind, regardless of race, age, or region. We are willing to join hands with all peace-loving people to create a better tomorrow. We will take the children’s best friendship, and best dreams into space, sow the seeds of science, friendship, and dreams on the China Space Station, and let them take root, germinate, blossom and bear fruit.”
Ayooluwa Adetola is a writer and editor at Space in Africa. She loves to share scientific information using the simplest words possible. When she’s not in front of a screen, she can be found with her nose buried in a book.
