BARCLAYSWith the recent commitment by the Chinese Cultural Centre in Nigeria to provide vital information about cultural activities in China as well as facilitate participation of cultural officers from Nigeria, some staffers of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) have been nominated to attend culture seminars in China.

An e-mail sent to the Executive Secretary of NICO, Associate Professor Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma from the Cultural Office of the Embassy of The People’s Republic of China, dated 3rd April, 2015, titled, “2015 Culture Seminar in China” and signed by Wang Qimeng, disclosed that the culture seminar will be divided into three segments.

The first segment of the seminar centres on “Chinese Culture for Government Officials” and is scheduled to hold from 20th May – 16th June, 2015; the second segment on “Cultural Tourism Management,” will hold from 10th – 30th June, 2015; while the third segment on “Directors of Festivals” is expected to hold from 26th June – 15th July, 2015. 

Asked of their expectations on the possible outcome of the workshop, nominees have continued to express confidence that the gesture will indeed ensure sustainable bilateral cultural ties between the two countries and are optimistic that in the end, they will be better informed, especially in the areas of cultural tourism and festival management.

One of the nominees, Mr. Alex Omijie, NICO’s Director, Orientation & Cultural Affairs, who spoke to NICO News, had this to say: “I think the Chinese Government appreciates the place of culture in the scheme of things and that is why they have offered to grant an all-expense-paid trip for Nigerian culture workers to undergo training in China.”

According to him, the expectation on the part of nominees is also great saying they have a great role to play in ensuring the sustenance of such offers from the Chinese Government as their conduct and level of participation during the period of the seminar will go a long way to build a sustainable mutual cultural understanding between the two countries.

It will be recalled that only recently, NICO engaged in the process of strengthening bilateral cultural ties with the Chinese Government through the Chinese Cultural Centre in Nigeria, Abuja, intended to create a mutually beneficial working relationship between the two organizations.

It is expected that, in the end, the cultural partnership between Nigeria and China will be further promoted through the synergy initiated by NICO and the Chinese Cultural Centre in Nigeria, Abuja.

Caleb Nor

Corporate Affairs Unit

NICO, Abuja