Chinese international school in Zambia marks UN Day, Zambia's independence anniversary

A Chinese school in Zambia on Friday held an event to commemorate the United Nations (UN) Day and Zambia's 51st independence anniversary celebrations where the pupils showcased various activities.

The Chinese International School, which has pupils from 14 different countries, decided to hold the joint event as the anniversaries fall on the same day, October 24 in order to allow the pupils showcase their culture from their respective countries.

Zambia will hold its 51st independence anniversary on October 24 whose theme is "Laying the Foundation for a Smart Zambia, Finding Forgiveness" while the UN will celebrate its 70th anniversary under the theme "Strong UN, Better World".

This year's UN Day event is also an opportunity to inform about the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for eradicating poverty, inequalities and environmental degradation.

"We decided to hold the two events together because as you know Zambia became independence on Oct. 24, the same day the UN was born," Liu Xiaoyan, the school's principal told Xinhua on the sidelines of the event.

The school, she said, decided to hold the event in order to allow the pupils to showcase their culture so that they could learn the history and culture of other countries as a way to help them be aware of the world around them.

"We would like them to cultivate love for their countries, so we decided to take this opportunity to let them showcase to their friends about the cultures of their respective countries.

In the run up to this event, the children did a lot of activities such as explaining to their colleagues what their flags mean, their food and other cultures," she added.

The other aim, she said, is to ensure that the children open up their minds to what is happening in other parts of the world.

Felix Mtonga, one of the parents who attended the event, expressed gratitude that the school has exposed his children to the "Chinese way of doing things".

He also thanked the school management for organizing the event to allow the pupils showcase their cultures.

During the event, the pupils displayed various activities such as songs, dances, poems as well as their knowledge of the Chinese language.

The school started in 2009 as a language center but has since evolved into a full time school embracing children from kindergarten to upper primary school.