May 21 is the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. Every year, the international community and people around the world highlight the significance of cultural richness. So, let’s unlock stereotypes in our minds, and celebrate the diversity of cultural expressions, and the creative potential of cultural diversity together.

This year, a group of over 30 Shanghai based cultural partners and institutions from Europe, China and the world, are excited to launch “Diverse As We Are” – International Festival of Inclusive Culture (DAWA), the first international festival of its kind in China that embraces diversity, social inclusion and equal participation.

The DAWA Festival and all its partners share the values of diversity, inclusion, accessibility, sustainability and equality. We strongly believe in the power of people-to-people dialogue, and bring artists, and creatives with and without disabilities in a cross-cultural exchange with the cultural scene and audience in Shanghai.

Together, we have organized a festival program that is as accessible as possible by providing sign language interpretation, audio descriptions, accessible venues, and other access services because DAWA is for everyone, and everyone is welcome!

The DAWA Festival is scheduled to take place from 15 to 25 September, 2022 in Shanghai. The program will present over 35 contributions and events from artists with and without disabilities hailing from Europe, China, and the rest of world. The festival will feature various performances, exhibitions, sports events, workshops, movies, and public discussions.

The DAWA Festival promotes the visibility and representation of diverse artists and creative groups, and includes a variety of perspectives and artistic expressions in an accessible and equitable cultural environment.

Watch out for the DAWA logo and hashtag #dawa2022.

Follow our channels to find out more about the upcoming festival program.

Be part of it, and stay Diverse As You Are!

Background

“Diverse As We Are” – International Festival of Inclusive Culture (DAWA) is a project within European Spaces of Culture, which aims to test and implement innovative models of collaboration in culture between European actors – EUNIC members and EU Delegations – and local partners in non-EU countries, delivering the EU strategic approach to international cultural relations.

European Spaces of Culture is a Preparatory Action initiated by the European Parliament, implemented by EUNIC in close collaboration with the European Commission and the European External Action Service. EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture – is Europe's network of national cultural institutes, with 38 members from all EU Member States and associate countries.

Credits: DAWA Festival. This logo design is the result of a collaboration between two visual designers from Shanghai, initiated by an idea and draft of Liu Yi, further developed and produced by Chen Hao.

The logo of the DAWA Festival is a unique flower with five petals that are each a different color. The inspiration and idea of this visual concept expresses the artist and designer Liu Yi in these poetic lines:

Diverse As We Are
Nature gives us bodies of different shapes,
and each one of them is uniquely beautiful.
The beauty of life lies in its diversity,
in which we all co-exist in harmony.

A flower won’t lose its beauty
just because it looks different from others.
Being different is being unique,
and being unique is what will make you beautiful.
Let’s embrace our differences
and make the world a better place for all.

—— Liu Yi