Teachers take a group photo at the graduation ceremony of the fourth Rural Art Teacher Training Program.Photo: Courtesy of Nippon Paint China

Ariel Wu receives a gift from one of the teachers. Photo: Courtesy of Nippon Paint China

After ten days of training, 36 teachers from primary schools in rural areas in China marked their successful completion of the fourth Rural Art Teacher Training Program under Nippon Paint China's charity project "Color, Way of Love," with a graduation ceremony held at China Youth University of Political Studies on December 8. The event was attended by Ariel Wu , Nippon Paint China's PR, CSR and brand communication director and the initiator of "Color, Way of Love," and Cui Ziyan, the director of the partner cooperation department of the China Youth Development Foundation.

Since the program was launched in 2012, it has successfully trained 150 rural teachers from some 80 primary schools spanning more than 20 provinces across the country. The program aims to support arts education in rural areas, not only by donating classrooms and equipment but also by providing art training to local teachers.

Several teachers who participated in the program described their thoughts on the training at the event. One teacher surnamed Fu from a hope school in Macheng, Hubei Province, said that the training taught him how to inspire children to see the world and use their imaginations. "Our hometown is so beautiful that I must teach our children how to paint it," said Fu.

In a speech, the program's creator, Ariel Wu, said that she has been a volunteer art teacher for seven years and that even now, children's art work continues to motivate her and fill her with passion. "Every child is an inherent artist," she said. "With inspiration from their teachers, they have the confidence to express themselves and their dreams in painting," she said.

She added that she hoped based on the training, teachers would be able to encourage students to put their imaginations to paper.

The event ended with a representative for the participating teachers presenting a colorful painting as a gift to Wu.

They then took a group photo to commemorate their graduation from the program.