Communication University of China's project bringing barrier-free movies to visually impaired people recognized as exemplary poverty alleviation model

The 2023 International Seminar on Global Poverty Reduction Partnerships was held in Beijing on Nov. 1, 2023, where 104 outstanding cases were recognized as exemplary poverty reduction models, including the Guangming Cinema project by the Communication University of China (CUC) in Beijing. This philanthropic initiative aims to enhance accessibility to movies for individuals with visual impairments.

Members of the Guangming Cinema project receive awards together with representatives of other universities. (Photo courtesy of the Communication University of China)

There are currently over 85 million disabled individuals in China, and poverty poses the greatest challenge to improving their lives. The implementation of targeted poverty reduction and elimination policies has resulted in significant advancements in lifting disabled people out of poverty. However, it is crucial to make progress not only in improving their material conditions, but also in enriching their cultural lives.

The Guangming Cinema project operates through four working groups: production, promotion, screening, and video, with each dedicated to different aspects of creating barrier-free films.

Through the creation of exceptional accessible audiovisual works, the project team aims to ignite the intrinsic motivation of disabled individuals to overcome poverty and achieve targeted poverty alleviation through cultural means.

Members of the Guangming Cinema project send accessible movies to visually impaired people in Puge county, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo courtesy of the Communication University of China)

The Guangming Cinema project reaches out to communities, cinemas, libraries, schools for the blind, and households across the country. It collaborates with local governments, disabled persons federations, associations of persons with visual disabilities and schools for the blind to develop distinctive approaches to poverty alleviation through culture in various regions.

Volunteers, including teachers and students, ventured into deeply impoverished areas in the country, making oral descriptions of movies available beyond major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. This initiative has successfully facilitated the public screening and promotion of accessible films in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and the Macao Special Administrative Region.

The Guangming Cinema project was jointly launched by the CUC, Beijing Gehua CATV Network Co., Ltd., and Oriental Jiaying Media Co., Ltd. in 2017. To date, the project has produced over 500 accessible films, a 46-episode accessible TV drama and a 30-episode accessible TV drama.

The Guangming Cinema project screens accessible movies for students at the Beijing School for the Blind on a monthly basis. (Photo courtesy of the Communication University of China)

The Guangming Cinema project donates barrier-free movies to visually impaired students in Zhongyang county, Lyuliang city, north China's Shanxi Province. (Photo courtesy of the Communication University of China)

A visually impaired student receives barrier-free movies donated by the Guangming Cinema project at a school in Pu'an county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo courtesy of the Communication University of China)