A poster of the SCO Children's Online Art Exhibition [Photo/womenofchina.cn]

The SCO Children's Online Art Exhibition, with the theme of Protect Our Homeland from COVID-19, opened on June 15.

This exhibition is one of the celebrations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Day and displays a total of 230 paintings by children aged 5-16 from SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners.

Xia Jie, Vice-President and Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), and Aizada Subakozhoeva, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, sent a congratulatory video.

Xia congratulated on the opening of the exhibition and expressed her good wishes to the children of all the participating countries. 

She said that since the COVID-19 outbreak, the children of SCO countries have supported the fight against the epidemic with the paintbrushes in their hands, depicting their longing for health, peace and a better future for mankind, and showing their deep-rooted friendship and great strengths as they join hands to face hard times and unite to protect their homelands.

She hoped that the event will further promote the "Shanghai spirit," bring about consensus of all countries to fight against the epidemic hand-in-hand, facilitate cultivation of more little ambassadors 
who promote friendship and cherish peace, and pass on the friendship among people from SCO countries to the next generation.  

Subakozhoeva said that the opening of the exhibition on the same day as the establishment of the SCO, June 15, is of special significance. Cultural and humanitarian interaction is one of the most important focuses of the organization, and in their works the participants revealed not only the theme of fighting against the virus but also reflected their understanding of peace, friendship, joint support and aspirations for development.

The exhibition helps introduce the cultural diversity of the SCO countries to the children, encourage their interest in art, strengthen bridges of friendship and contribute to the continuation of dialogue between generations, Subakozhoeva added.

The event was jointly held by the ACWF, the Good Neighborly and Friendly Cooperation Committee of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (GNFCC SCO) and the SCO Secretariat.

People can take virtual tours of children's works on the official websites of Women of China, the China National Museum of Women and Children, the China National Children's Center and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Kunming Marathon.