Leading figures give speeches celebrating the 20th founding anniversary of the Jilin Animation Institution in Changchun. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The launch ceremony for series activities to celebrate the 20th founding anniversary of the Jilin Animation Institute, or JAI, was held on Sept 15 in Changchun -- capital city of Northeast China's Jilin province -- according to local media reports.

The ceremony was attended by JAI officials, guests from all walks of life, school teachers and students, staff member representatives of Jilin JAI Cultural Arts Group Co Ltd and retired staff members, as well as representatives from the Communication University of China, the St. Petersburg State Institute of Film and Television and the Consulate General of France in Shenyang.

They gave their best wishes in person, or sent congratulatory letters and many international colleges and universities, experts at home and abroad and others that have worked closely with JAI over the years also send their blessings through videos.

JAI series of events will include exciting and informative activities, including the "integration of learning, research and production" exhibition and education development forum and the 20th China Conference on Virtual Reality.

Others include the IAC International Animation Challenge, an international digital marketing and creative advertising competition, a singing competition and a college student entrepreneurship market.

After 20 years of development, JAI has developed a cross integration of 36 disciplines around its five main areas of animation, film and television, design, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, cultural and business management and brand marketing.

It has successively hosted large-scale forums sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Jilin provincial publicity department and the consulates of various countries and it also has independently hosted many leading international forums.