On October 6, the 3rd “Belt and Road” Youth English Speech Contest and China Daily “21st Century Cup” International English Speech Contest came to an end in Chengdu. Three international students from the Belt and Road School of Beijing Normal University (Li Ran from Pakistan, Qin Fen from Zimbabwe and Ma Ke from Yemen) participated in the competition on behalf of BNU Zhuhai.

The "Belt and Road" Youth English Speech Contest was divided into semi-finals and finals. Outstanding contestants from 30 countries and regions participated in the contest online or offline, exchanged opinions around the theme of “Healing the World, is Cooperation Always Better than Competition,” enhanced understanding through language confrontation and thought exchange, and jointly promoted the cultural exchange and mutual learning among international youth.

This is the first time that BNU Zhuhai sent a team to participate in the competition. Li Ran, Qin Fen and Ma Ke overcame difficulties, such as heavy academic tasks and short preparation time, and actively participated in the preparation of the speech contest. Combining their personal experiences or starting from current events, they have given innovative and in-depth speeches from different perspectives, which turned out to be quite impressive. On the podium where young people from all over the world gathered together, they confidently and firmly expressed the voice of Beijing Normal University and won praise from experts.

The three participating students said that they benefited a lot from the experience. On the one hand, through the speech contest, they competed with Chinese and foreign contestants on the same stage and had in-depth exchanges, allowing the world to listen to the voice of Beijing Normal University. On the other hand, as representatives of young people from countries along the "Belt and Road," they participated in various cultural exchange activities arranged by the organizing committee, such as visiting and learning, listening to lectures, communication and discussions, etc. These activities helped them to further understand and feel the real China, which facilitates their further participation in the exchanges between young people in China and the countries and regions along the “Belt and Road,” and helps them to strive to become high-level talents who serve the “Belt and Road” construction.

Translator: Yu Wanping

Proofreading: Martin Wittenberg

Layout: Yu Wanping