“Diverse As We Are”– International Festival of Inclusive Culture

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Hey, it’s May 21, 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.

Credits: DAWA Festival. This logo design is the result of a collaboration between two visual artists 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. You may find below how Liu Yi, Shanghai based artist and designer expresses his inspiration and idea of this visual concept:

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

Chen Hao introducing the visual concept of the DAWA Logo and its sound version in Chinese Sign Language.

And this is, how DAWA sounds!

Sound Logo

Credits: DAWA Festival.This sound logo design is a composition of Shanghai based artist Niu Yansu, with an animation by Sam Zheng & Lingyuan Zheng.

The design of the DAWA sound logo is inspired by the visual logo and its audio description. You can hear the sound of flowers blooming, human voices in different languages and from different directions, ending with "DAWA International Festival of Inclusive Culture". Bubble sounds are added at the fourth and eighth seconds of the DAWA sound logo to create a sense of rhythm. In addition, the four letters D-A-W-A are transformed into a short and powerful theme melody by corresponding the letters of the alphabet to pitch names in the music, and by sound synthesis to create a lively and jumpy sound. The theme melody is centered on the letter D, combining text, images and music to show the diversity of sound.

Logo with Audio Description

Credits: DAWA Festival. This audio description of the DAWA Logo in English is recorded by Jennifer Lalonde.

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 description, 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 the 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!

“Diverse As We Are” – International Festival of Inclusive Culture (DAWA) is a joint project funded by European Spaces of Culture and EUNIC, supported by the EU Delegation in Beijing, organized, implemented, and supported by over 30 Shanghai based cultural partners and institutions from Europe, China, and the world.

“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.