THE City College of Angeles (CCA) in partnership with the Confucius Institute of University at the Philippines-Diliman (CI-UPD) held its annual Chinese New Year Festival 2019 with the theme “One Belt, One Road, One Heritage” last January 28 at the CCA Administration Hall.

Now on its third year, the festival serves as a testament to the active partnership between the CCA and CI-UPD to support students' education about the world, and to help them gain in-depth understanding of other countries and their cultures.

The day-long festivity included activities such as dumpling making and tea ceremony, opera mask painting, and calligraphy. The event culminated with a concert featuring the CCA Performing Arts highlighting the rich culture of China executed through dances and songs.

CCA president Dr. Richard Daenos thanked everyone present during the occasion. In his speech, he emphasized the importance of the annual cultural exchange activity to the students of CCA as a means to prepare them in their global careers.

“Having this kind of activity for the third time manifests our unified intention and that is to spearhead camaraderie and promote regional arts through education to instill to our students the importance of cultural understanding and connectivity,” he said.

Meanwhile, the director of Confucius Institute-UP Diliman, Dr. Lourdes Nepomuceno also thanked the workshop lecturers and the students who participated in various activities staged throughout the festival.

The CI-UPD is a collaborative educational and service partnership between the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Xiamen University, and Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters. The collaboration is based on the shared values and visions with regard to Chinese education and cultural understanding.

In 2017, the CCA formalized its partnership with the CI-UPD through the signing of a memorandum of agreement which defines the collaboration between the two educational institutions in promoting Chinese language studies and culture through immersion and faculty capability-trainings.

The CCA has been identified by the League of Cities of the Philippines as an institution capable of delivering the said program.

Gracing the colorful occasion were dumpling-making and tea masters Gao Guifang and Yan Na, and Opera Mask Painting and Calligraphy artists Liu Yuan Min and Song Jiapo. Also joining them are members of the CCA school administration. (PR)