Kinshasa: the arts education and international programmes take centre stage at a Sino-Congolese meeting

Kinshasa, September 8^th, 2026 (CPA).- The arts education and international programmes for students have been the focus of a meeting between officials from the China Academy of Arts (CAA) and the Kinshasa Academy of Fine Arts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a press release consulted on Tuesday by CPA. “The CAA President Yu Xuhong and NACAA Director Yuan Youmin have met with Professor Henri Kalama Akulez to discuss cooperation between China and DRC in the field of arts education and international programmes for students,” it is read in the press release. On this occasion, the China Academy of Arts was delighted to welcome back Professor Henri Kalama Akulez, General Director of the Kinshasa Academy of Fine Arts and a former student of the institution. “We were delighted to welcome back the distinguished former student of the China Academy of Arts, Professor Henri Kalama Akulez, General Director of the Kinshasa Academy of Fine Arts and Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, to our International College,” the same source has emphasized. According to the press release, Professor Henri Kalama Akulez has studied at the China Academy of Art from 2002 to 2014, where he has obtained a master’s degree and a doctorate. He is now working to develop arts education and international exchanges in Africa, fostering links between cultures through art. For his part, the General Director of the Kinshasa Academy of Fine Arts has expressed his gratitude for this welcome and has reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening cultural and educational exchanges between China and DRC. “I am honored and grateful to be welcomed back to my alma mater, the China Academy of Arts. Thank you to President Yu Xuhong. It is always a great pleasure to renew ties, exchange ideas and strengthen bridges between China and DRC through art and education,” has declared Henri Kalama Akulez. This meeting forms part of a process of academic and cultural cooperation aimed, in particular, at promoting arts education and international student mobility between the two countries.