２００７ Ｉｎｔｅｒｎａｔｉｏｎａｌ Ｃｈｉｌｄｒｅｎ’ｓ Ｄａｙ ＆ Ｃｈｉｌｄｒｅｎ’ｓ Ａｒｔｉｃｌｅｓ Ｅｘｐｏ，Ｊｉｎａｎ，Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｈｅｌｄ

On the morning of July 6， the 2007 International Children’s Day Children’s Articles Expo， Jinan， China with the theme of “Harmonious World and Joyful Childhood” was opened at the Shungeng International Exhibition Centre in Jinan. 330 representatives from 18 countries and regions including Germany， Russia， Belarus， France， the Republic of Korea， Japan， Indonesia， India and Ukraine and the Chinese children’s delegation attended the grand opening ceremony. Huang Sheng， deputy governor of Shandong Province， declared the inauguration of the Children’s Day activities. Zhang Jianguo， mayor of Jinan， delivered a speech.

Feng Zuoku， vice president of the CPAFFC， attended the opening ceremony and pointed out in his speech， children are the future of the world. Children of different nationalities and skin colours， speaking different languages and from different countries gathered in Jinan， the city of springs， to conduct exchanges， deepen understanding， increase friendship and sow the seeds of lasting friendship. Such friendship activities will further enhance solidarity among all nations of the world and help build a harmonious world. Jinan in the coming years will surely embrace the world with a more open attitude， open wider to the outside world and further raise its publicity and influence in the world

After the opening ceremony， Deputy Governor Huang Sheng， CPAFFC Vice President Feng Zuoku， Mayor Zhang Jianguo and others visited the Children’s Articles Expo. Feng Zuoku wrote in the visitors’ book his wish for the children of all countries: “Joyful childhood and healthy growth”， bringing about a round of applause.

Centring round the themes of children’s happiness and exchanges and environmental protection， the Jinan International Children’s Day was the largest children’s festival held by Chinese cities till now. The Children’s Article Expo focusing on the hot topics of “health and education” chose “l(fā)et children grow up healthily” as its theme. The Chinese children and those from other countries gathered in the city of springs from July 6 to 8. Together they toured the scenic spots and places of historical interest in Jinan， planted trees， watched acrobatic shows， made a handprint wall and sang songs of friendship. It was a meaningful grand gathering of children. The event was jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC， the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade， the China Youth Palace Association and the Jinan Municipal People’s Government. The International Children’s Day has become Jinan’s unique brand， and a cultural window through which the world learns about the city. It has expanded channels for exchanges between Jinan and its friendship cities in other countries and enriched the contents of such exchanges so that contacts between friendship cities are more of nongovernmental nature， thus building a new platform for exchanges and cooperation between the citizens of the twinned cities.