The 2018 United Nations Chinese language day opens at the Palace of Nations in Genova on April 16, 2018. [Photo/Facebook of UN Genova]

The 2018 United Nations Chinese language day opened at the Palace of Nations in Genova on Monday.

The event was organized with the Permanent Mission of China to the UN, who wish to convey the core idea of "people at the center" through a series of cultural events.

Yu Jianhua, China's permanent representative and ambassador to the United Nations Office in Geneva, delivered a speech at the opening of Charm of Chinese Culture: from Characters to Literature exhibition to commemorate Chinese Language Day.

He explained one of the thousands of Chinese characters in use today that holds the key to understanding Chinese philosophy is "min," or "people" in English.

Yu said since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the government has developed further the "idea of putting people first."

"Taking the pulse of the times," he said today the Chinese leadership has shown great insight by highlighting a people-centered philosophy of governance.

"In formulating every policy, the government asks itself these questions: ‘Do we have the people's support? Do we have their consent? Will they be happy? Will they agree?’" Yu said.

This, he added, is central to the idea of "putting people first, a founding principle of the Chinese society", a value echoed by the UN's theme for 2018, "people at the center."

Michael M?ller, the UN Geneva Director-General, echoed Yu’s comments at the opening ceremony.

He pointed out "Multilingualism is the basis for multilateralism. Only if we understand each other can we find common ground."

Events on Monday included the opening of the interactive exhibition, "Decoding Chinese Characters".

Touchscreen games, video clips and demonstrations of Chinese calligraphy, as well as an interactive lecture by a Chinese linguist on the history of Chinese characters, were presented to the audience.

The date for Chinese Language Day, which actually falls on April 20, was selected to pay tribute to Cangjie, known to be the inventor of Chinese characters.

Chinese is not only one of the oldest languages in the world, but also one of the most widely spoken today. Around one billion people are estimated to speak it as their first language.

Language Days at the UN seek to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity, promoting equal use of all six official languages throughout the organization.