By Francis Pelenah, Jr. in Beijing
Three Liberians–James Enders, Tom Fritz Kamara and Abdul Karim Sheriff– have completed an intensive training program in theater management and tourism administration in the Peoples Republic of China.
They were part of a selected group of artistic and tourism industry practitioners drawn from five African countries, who completed the course at the 2019 Seminar on Theater Management.
A total of fifteen participants were involved in the two-week training (April 23-May 4) at the Central Cadre College of Culture and Tourism Administration in Lin-Xiaonan, Daxing District of Beijing.
The training seminar sponsored by the Government of the Peoples Republic of China and brought together three representatives each from Liberia, South Africa, Tanzania, Gambia and Sierra Leone.
James Enders represented the Liberia Crusaders for Peace, Tom Fritz Kamara, from the Ministry of Information Culture Affairs and Tourism while Abdul Karim Sheriff represented the Liberia Movie Union.
Speaking at the close of the seminar in Beijing over the weekend, the Director of the Central Cadre College of Culture Yu Chuncheng lauded the participants for demonstrating a strong will to learn and make changes in the culture and tourism industry of their respective countries.
Mr. Yu wants the participants to pass on the knowledge gained at the school so that more African countries will not only improve their artistic and tourism industries but also know more about the Chinese Culture.
He also reaffirmed his institution’s willingness to continue to build the capacity of African countries in the areas of theater management, culture and tourism administration.
Yu stressed that the good relationship between China and Africa has paved the way for more training and capacity building opportunities in the sector for the future.
Speaking in separate interviews after the training, the Liberian team thanked the two governments and the respective institutions for affording them the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge in China.
They vowed to design programs and push for necessary changes and improvements in the sector on their return to Liberia.
James Enders of the Liberia Crusaders for Peace expressed gratitude to Culture Ambassador Juli Endee for believing in the empowerment of young people at her institution.
Enders promised to align the knowledge gained at the seminar with the operational module of the Liberia Crusaders for Peace to make needed improvements at the institution.
He wants the government of Liberia to invest heavily in theater and tourism as the sector represents one of the surest ways the country can grow its revenue and improve its Gross Domestic Product.