YICC marks 1st anniversary with int’l exchange series

The Yunnan International Communication Center for South and Southeast Asia (YICC) is marking its first anniversary with the “One River, One Family” International Cultural Exchange Series that last from May 30 to 31.

The “Blooming Champa” Night Event is held in central Yunnan's Kunming city on May 30, eve of the YICC's 1st anniversary. Photo/Yunnan Daily

Inaugurated on May 31, 2022, the YICC is approved by State Council Information Office of the PRC, sponsored by Yunnan Government Information Office and attached to Yunnan Daily Press Group. It aims to be a major platform to serve China’s opening-up to South and Southeast Asia, a pilot project to carry out China's regional international communication, and a top storyteller for presenting Yunnan to the world.

The ongoing “One River, One Family” exchange series include four major activities: the Opening Ceremony, the “Getting Better for Shared Future” Lancang-Mekong Media Chiefs Dialogue, the "Green Lancang-Mekong" Story Sharing Session, and the "Blooming Champa" Night Event.

“Since its inception, the YICC has quickened integration of the international communication resources relevant to Yunnan, exploring new practices and approaches in international communication and opening a new window for dialogue between the province and the world,” said He Zukun, Party chief and president of Yunnan Daily Press Group, at the opening ceremony.

The YICC consists of an office, a media command center, a media convergence lab, a communication institute, and a news network. The YICC media command center is China’s first regional digital media command center facing south and southeast Asia, applying big data and AI to international communication. At present, version 2.0 of the media center is available online.

The YICC news network refers to Mekong News Network. Integrating media resources of the Chinese national and provincial outlets, the news network carries out the international communications that target audiences in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean region.

Consisting of the China Yunnan news pages overseas, the four journals of Mekong(Thai), Champa(Lao), Khmer (Cambodian) and Mingalar(Myanmar), as well as the 7-language website Yunnan Gateway and accounts on social media like WeChat and Facebook, the Mekong News Network is gaining popularity among the targeted audiences.

Source: Yunnan Daily; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue