Swahili Fashion Week, one of Africa's largest annual fashion events, was held in Tanzania's port city of Dar es Salaam from Friday to Sunday, connecting unique African elements to the international fashion industry.
Themed "Discover what makes Africa beautiful", the 17th edition of Swahili Fashion Week and Awards 2024 attracted over 50 designers from Swahili-speaking countries and beyond. Many designers presented collections integrated with unique African elements and creativity.
It offers an international platform for designers and trend-setters to share and market their innovation.
Over the years, Swahili Fashion Week has emphasized a "Made in Africa" concept and actively promoted local culture. Organizers hope to make this event the most sought out after and preferred fashion platform in Africa and on the international market.
This year's event also has an objective of positioning African fashion as a leader in sustainable practices. Using environmentally friendly materials and sustainable production methods, the designers' works highlight Africa's ability to contribute to a greener global future.
The fashion week was founded and created by Mustafa Hassanali, a celebrated Pan African couturier from Tanzania, in 2008.
"It gives an opportunity for designers from emerging countries, especially Swahili-speaking countries, to come and showcase their collections every year. We have been doing this for the past 17 years since 2008," said Hassanali.
"We look at opportunity where Swahili fashion week can be a gateway, can be a platform for designers from all emerging countries to come and showcase their work and take the business of fashion to the next level," he added.
Swahali Fashion Week showcases East African style
China's achievements and cooperation initiatives in the technology and innovation sector have been highlighted at the ongoing Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) in Beijing.
The five-day forum opened on Wednesday and has attracted over 1,000 guests from more than 100 countries and regions to exchange views under the theme of "Full Integration Between Technological and Industrial Innovation".
This year's event showcased over 500 cutting-edge achievements across fields such as embodied intelligence, smart manufacturing and biomedicine, fully demonstrating China's latest scientific and technological advancements and innovations.
"[I'm] really impressed about the level of modernization and dynamism of the technology industry and AI here in China. We need support, commitment and leadership. China is providing all of them and in particular in the emerging technologies, including AI," said Sergio Mujica, secretary-general of the International Organization for Standardization.
At the forum's annual meeting, 60 parallel sessions are scheduled -- 21 of them debuting this year -- furthering global technology exchange.
"China is opening its full technical infrastructure to the world, and I think specifically for the Global South. This acts as a major advancement and it shows the level of responsibility and openness that China is showing towards the advancement of science and the collaboration," said Said Taha, a consultant for the Egyptian Ministry of Education.
At the 2026 Zhongguancun International Technology Trade Fair, part of the ZGC Forum, over 500 high-quality projects and scientific and technological achievements were on display, establishing a multi-level, wide-ranging platform for technology transaction and cooperation.
The attendees hailed the fair for bringing together global companies and facilitating exchanges.
"The innovation here in China is so attractive that a lot of global companies are coming to China in order to do the business deals in order to bring the products to the global markets," said Joseph Scheeren, member of the French National Academy of Pharmacy.
"The ZGC Forum provides an open platform for dialogue, and we hope to participate in more international cooperation in the future to promote Chinese technology and products to the world," said Yang Zhilin, CEO of Moonshot AI, a Chinese tech company.
China's technological contributions highlighted at Zhongguancun Forum
