On the afternoon of May 8th, the 19th International Cultural Festival and International Food Carnival opened on the Green Leaf Pedestrian Street of the Guoding Road campus. In the spirit of "blending diverse international cultures and building a harmonious international campus," this year's festival is themed "Four Seas, One Family: Igniting theTimes, Sharing the Future." It aims to showcase the excellent cultures of various countries and the talents of domestic and international students at SUFE.
Leaders from the University Council, XuTao, Liu Yuanchun, Fang Hua, Yao Lingzhen, Zhu Mingxiong, He Pengcheng, and Li Zengquan attended the event, along with Assistant to the President and Head of the Council of the School of Finance, Liu Liya, Assistant to the President, Standing Committee member of the Party Committee and Director of the Organization Department, Liu Qingsheng, and other leaders of various departments as well as faculty and students.
At the opening ceremony, Xie Jingmin, Executive Chairman of the Students' Union of the School of Finance (China), and He Zhijun, President of the International Students Society (Indonesia), delivered speeches on behalf of Chinese and foreign students respectively, providing an overview of this year's International Cultural Festival. Four international students performed an original song "Flowers on the Other Shore," expressing their hopes for a bright future.
Vice President Yao Lingzhen gave a speech and officially announced the opening of the International Cultural Festival. In her remarks, she encouraged domestic and international students at SUFE to enhance exchanges and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
In the subsequent Food Carnival, offerings ranged from South African doctor tea, Argentine barbecue, French desserts, Laotian sticky rice, Mongolian beef patties, to Malaysian Nyonya pastries... Culinary treats from different countries converged, forming a "world on the tip of the tongue" in the early summer SUFE campus. To reflect the school's focus on labor education, this year's Chinese booth was also for the first time prepared by the Chinese students themselves. They brought foods like cake balls, fermented rice balls, brown sugar rice cakes, deep-fried pork, and dumplings.
As a window into a harmonious international campus and a platform for showcasing world cultures, the International Cultural Festival has been dedicated to displaying the excellent cultures from around the world. "Brazilian students are very excited to participate in the Food Carnival. This year, we prepared the Brazilian special drink Guarana with small cheese bread and also prepared some Portuguese games. We hope to present Brazilian food and culture to everyone," said Douglas, a Brazilian exchange student.
"We have been preparing for amonth for the food carnival. Although it's tiring, we are very happy. We are eager to showcase the culture of Azerbaijan to the world,"said Azerbaijani student Rodi.
While showcasing excellent cultures from around the world, the university also places great importance on telling China's story to international students. At the opening ceremony of this International Cultural Festival, Wang Ling, Chairman of the School Council, introduced the project of telling China's story. This project combines in-and-outside classroom curriculums. The international students are thus encouraged to understand China through various activities such as short video shooting, reading plans, study visits, volunteer service plans, and more.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the "Belt and Road" initiative. With its further promotion, we have more international students from countries along the "Belt and Road". Among the 21 exhibition booths managed by international students, 17 are from countries along the "Belt and Road."
"Baba Nyonya are the descendants of ancient Chinese immigrants and local Malays, forming a unique culture over time. The pastries we bring today are traditional Baba Nyonya favorites," said Hou Yanyan from Malaysia. "From ancient times till now, Malaysia and China have been close friends, and the Maritime Silk Road has brought us closely together, enabling extensive economic and trade cooperation. I'm very proud as a Chinese-Malaysian."
Shulat from Tajikistan said, "This year, Tajikistan's booth offers Sambusa, a traditional delicacy in our country that's both visually appealing and delicious. The 'Belt and Road' initiative has led to increasingly close relations between China and Tajikistan, both in the economic-trade and cultural exchanges."
This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the concept of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind. To promote the friendship between Chinese and foreign students, the International Cultural Festival is co-hosted for the first time by the International Students Society and students' unions from several schools. Yang Zihan, an undergraduate from the college of Business was responsible for the Chinese (Southern) booth, said, "It's an honor to work for the Chinese (Southern) booth with students from the Law School. From the preparation of ingredients to event planning, every staff member is fully committed. We also had the opportunity to invite students from the Hanfu Society to showcase traditional Chinese clothing, hoping that everyone can fully appreciate the richness and charm of world cultures during the event."
When preparing for this year's festival, the student organizations also held team-building activities. "The preparation was tiring but the event itself was joyful. We made many Chinese friends and had many beautiful memories," said Chen Lingkai, event manager from the UK.
It's also worth mentioning that this year's International Cultural Festival for the first-time welcomed teachers and students from the affiliated elementary and middle schools of SUFE. They interacted with international students and experienced different world cultures. Qiu Shanshan, the Secretary of the Youth League Committee of the affiliated middle school, said, "At the 10th anniversary of the concept of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind, the interaction between middle and elementary school students with international students is crucial for cultivating their cross-cultural communication skills."
The festival is hosted by the International Cultural Exchange School and the Youth League Committee, and co-hosted by International Students' Union, Student Council of College of Business, School of Finance and School of Law, and School of Foreign Studies. In the coming week, various exciting events will take place both on and off campus, displaying the youthful energy of SUFE.
From | SUFE-ICES
