Recently, Beijing Women’s Federation has joined up with Beijing Foreign Affairs Office to launch the event “Celebrating International Day of Families Together - Beijing 2024” to mark the International Day of Families on May 15th. The event drew nearly 300 participants in the city, including Chinese families and foreign ones from about 10 countries including Algeria, Cuba, Indonesia, and Iran.

The “Celebrating International Day of Families Together - Beijing 2024” event has attracted nearly 300 participants from Chinese families and foreign families from around 10 countries.

Photo Credit: Beijing Women’s Federation

Themed “Science Carnival for Families”, this year’s event invited families to Beijing Science Center to explore the origin of life from the dimensions of life, livelihood and survival, review the relationship between humans and technology, and consider the significance of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

The event attracted foreign diplomats from nearly 20 countries and families of foreign experts; representatives from families winning the honorary titles such as “Most Beautiful Families in Beijing”, “March 8th Red-Banner Holder in Beijing”, “Most Beautiful Women Workers in Beijing”, “Most Beautiful Volunteer in Beijing”, and “Most Beautiful Executive Committee Member of Women’s Federation”; as well as families involved in new business forms, new-style employment, household management services, and families of new class. “This is my first time to bring my family to an international event. The exchanges with foreign families today make me realize that a happy family is a shared pursuit of human beings, and this brings us closer,” said Fang Qiuzi, an honoree of National March 8th Red-Banner Holder.

As part of the event, a themed exhibition titled “Childlike Dreams for Friendly Beijing” was held to present to families Beijing’s vision and achievements in developing a children-friendly city. The exhibition also featured an interactive audio studio named “1-meter Voice”, where guests could listen to the voices of children from all over the world. Children wrote down their wishes for a “children-friendly Beijing”: a twelve-year-old Iranian girl wished to have a children’s art theater near her home, Kuankuan, a three-year-old Chinese child wished for numerous children’s slides, and an eight-year-old Algerian child wished the city to be built into a big garden.

The “Celebrating International Day of Families Together - Beijing” event has been held for 14 consecutive years. As a signature event of people-to-people diplomacy of Beijing, it has attracted nearly 10,000 participants from more than 60 countries worldwide. This gathering has played a unique role in cultivating friendships between Chinese and foreign families, yielding substantial fruits.

(Edited based on relevant reports from Beijing Daily)