Global champions of cultural exchange honored with Orchid Awards

The ceremony for the second Orchid Awards is held in Beijing, July 10, 2025. [Photo/CICG] 

Nine foreign nationals and a foreign institution were recognized on Thursday in Beijing with the 2025 Orchid Awards, celebrating their long-standing contributions to cultural exchange and mutual understanding between China and the rest of the world.

This year's recipients come from diverse backgrounds and are engaged in a variety of fields. Among them include Irina Bokova, former director-general of UNESCO, who received the Lifetime Honorary Award; the Philadelphia Orchestra, who received the Outstanding Achievement Award; as well as Elyn Maclnnis, convener of "Friends of Kuliang" from the U.S., who received the Friendship Envoy Award. 

At the ceremony, many awardees stressed that fostering cultural exchange and promoting mutual understanding among civilizations are essential to advancing shared development. 

"I believe that dialogue among civilizations is not a luxury that we may put for the next [generation], but it should be part of our daily lives and our daily engagement with each other, at the grassroots level and also on the global stage." Bokova said when receiving the award. "We have to act as one humanity with a shared future."

Bokova was the first woman to become the director-general of UNESCO. Throughout her career, she has been involved in significant cooperation efforts with China, particularly in areas related to education and culture.

"We need these dialogues among civilizations, which is put forward by the Global Civilization initiative," she said.

The Global Civilization Initiative, proposed by China in 2023, advocates respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, as well as robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

Echoing this vision, award recipients expressed their commitment to preserving cultural diversity, supporting cross-cultural dialogue, and strengthening people-to-people bonds.

Receiving the Friendship Envoy Award in Beijing, Elyn Maclnnis said, "I have spent much of my life building bridges of friendship between China and the United States. The bridges are not made of steel or stone — they are built from warm, kindhearted people, and the stories of their lives in China that I have had the privilege to share."

Maclnnis was recognized for her various contributions to cultural exchange, including the establishment of "Friends of Kuliang," a group of descendants of American families who once lived harmoniously with local Chinese residents since the 1880s in Fuzhou province.

"When we listen to one another, when we care for one another, when we accept our differences, when we remember our shared stories, that's when friendship grows," she said.

The Philadelphia Orchestra was the single foreign institution receiving the Orchid Awards this year. The orchestra made history in 1973 as the first American orchestra to perform in China, returning more than a dozen times since. 

"As we celebrate this milestone, we are working toward a deep understanding of how our history forms the present and a bright future," Wang Yixun, a senior consultant for the Philadelphia Orchestra. "The orchestra's common belief is that music can build bridges, and we take the potential of this belief very seriously."

The Orchid Awards, initiated by China International Communications Group, recognize non-Chinese individuals and organizations for their contributions to facilitating exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.

The awards were presented across three categories: Lifetime Honorary Award, Outstanding Achievement Award, and Friendship Envoy Award. Winners this year emerged out of over 300 candidates from around 80 countries and regions.