Culture from afar
In the afternoon on January 5, 2022, an event called “Culture from afar-Charity Digital Arts Exhibition” was launched by the International School of Zhejiang University, Ningbo. The Exhibition is co-hosted by the World Eco-Design Conference and Zhejiang University, Ningbo, and organized by the International School of Zhejiang University, Ningbo. According to the pandemic prevention and control measures, the Exhibition will be held in different locations successively. The first stop is the campus, followed by the World Eco-Design Conference and an UN conference. The exhibits are the works accomplished by the first cohort of international students who are undertaking the course constituted by cultures in the international design education base co-established by the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries and the International School of Design. The Exhibition period starts from January 5 and ends on January 19.  

What would be sparked by cultural collisions while the international students from 18 countries with various cultural backgrounds, religions, and living customs, get together in Ningbo, China? By taking the national history and cultural traditions of a native country as a starting point, the international students from 18 countries across Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia, e.g. Bangladesh, Comoros, Guinea, Yemen, Zambia etc., are learning to extract the cultural elements of their own countries, understand the internal relationship between cultural semiotics and representations and connotation of cultural tradition. Culture is extracted and analyzed in modern design prospective, following by reconstruction by applying AI style transformation technology. The cultures of 18 countries is artified, and ultimately being demonstrated by adoption of man-machine coordinated digital design tool. The gross proceeds from the charity sales of the exhibits will be donated to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which will help raise awareness and understanding about LDCs in China, as well as making contributions to the children’s protection. 

The International School of Design, Zhejiang University, Ningbo takes initiatives to cooperate with the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, and the World Eco-Design Conference. The 3 parties jointly signed the Agreement on International Design Education Cooperation, and launched International Design Education (IDE) Program open to the world’s least developed countries (LDCs). The Program aims to promote the implementation of the IDE Program in Ningbo, enhance design education capacity of the LDCs, and provide solutions to promote innovation and solve problems, thereby achieving economic growth and sustainable development goals. The Exhibition is to demonstrate the first practice achievements of the international students of Zhejiang University, Ningbo, and more importantly, it also reflects the progress of cultural transmission.