As the XIX International Botanical Congress is underway in Shenzhen, a special section in the No. 2 pavilion of the exhibition center has been opened for visitors. Children, the future hosts of the city, have already taken initiative and joined the event.

The theme of this exhibition is “building a child-friendly city — plant exploration”. It aligns with the goal of building a child-friendly city and echoes the theme of this year’s IBC “care for plants, care for our future”. The exhibition included three sections to present children’s works that feature plants and family, plants and city and plants and culture.

By highlighting the perspective of children, the exhibition showcases the design concept of seeing the world from one meter high, which underlines the role of children as active participants. In addition, it advocates the concept of pursuing harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. All of the materials used are environmentally friendly and are 100 percent recyclable. For instance, the display racks are recyclable cartons and there are no carpets or garbage at the site.

Cultural heritage is another highlight of the exhibition. The works being displayed include plant batik, paper rattan flowers, ancient paper making and paper carving, which fully represent ethnic characteristics and the concept of cultural heritage.

By holding this exhibition, more children will have the access to educational and participatory activities at the International Botanical Congress. Also, these little “plant experts” can offer bilingual guidance to visitors, giving a boost to international exchange. Meanwhile, in order to encourage innovation and creativity in children, all visitors are welcome to draw freely on the cartons, leave messages and have an immersive plant exploration experience.

Before the exhibition, a series of activities related to the theme have been conducted in schools and communities, covering 48 middle and primary schools and kindergartens. Over 5,000 children have taken part in the research, social activities and creation of the works. Out of the 114 works submitted, 26 groups of works have been selected for the exhibition.

(Zhang Yu)