At 16:00 Beijing time, on July 29th, the closing ceremony officially started. Nearly 200 campers, volunteers and teachers got together to participate in the closing ceremony online.
Speech by leading teachers
Ms. Nur 'aini, the leading teacher from Jakarta, Indonesia, said she was very grateful to have the opportunity to participate in the youth camp. She thought it was a great experience and looked forward to attending the camp next year.
Mr. Yoshitomo Hiruta, the leading teacher from Yokohama, Japan, appreciated all the campers and volunteers for their hard work and expressed the feeling of cherishing the time spent together during the camp through the Japanese tea ceremony.
Mr. Kurt Aerden, the leading teacher from Antwerp, Belgium, has participated in the youth camp for the fourth time. He expressed his love for our camp by sharing three stories about the youth camp. Every year, he wears the camp clothes to attend the closing ceremony, so as to record the wonderful moments each time.
Ms. Edith Franco, the leading teacher from Jalisco, Mexico, thanked everyone for their efforts and said that the campers enjoyed the curriculum, which enabled them to learn about Chinese culture and Chinese language.
Stories of volunteers
Zhou Yuchen, a volunteer from Alexandria City Group, Egypt, had a better understanding about the local culture by collecting information about this port city located on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in advance and interacting with campers. Meanwhile, he improved his comprehensive ability by participating in the article writing job as a member of the publicity team.
Zhou Yan, a volunteer from Busan City Group, South Korea, was a little nervous and anxious at the beginning, and later she cultivated a deep friendship with Busan campers by communicating common interests and hobbies and sharing their lives in the wechat group.
As the volunteer leader of KwaZulu City Group, South Africa, Pan Yujie said that what impressed her most is that this camp can really unite people from all over the world, so that we can be closely connected and understand the world better even under the barrier of the epidemic.
Shen Zhen, a volunteer from Jalisco City Group, Mexico, said that after being a part of the Youth Camp, he not only made rapid progress in his language, but also improved his teamwork ability by participating in video editing.
The four volunteers said that they deeply felt campers’ enthusiasm for this summer camp, and also appreciated them for their active participation. They are really looking forward to meeting them in Shanghai in the future.
Address by leader of organizer
Mr. Qinjian Zhou, Director of International Cooperation and Exchange Division of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, warmly congratulated all the campers and volunteers on successfully completing this year’s online Youth Camp. He said such kind of activity fully demonstrates that the contact and exchanges between countries will not be blocked by the epidemic. In this way, the communication between young people of different countries can be achieve, the mutual understanding can be deepened and the bond of friendship can be built.
He believes that the campers and volunteers have improved their abilities in all aspects through the daily activities of the Youth Camp. He also believes that the valuable experience and new knowledge gained from the two-week camp and the precious memories will never be easily forgotten. We hope that in the near future, campers from sister cities will have the opportunity tocome to Shanghai.
City Programs
Luca Milcoveanu, a camper from Rotterdam, Netherlands, deeply loves Chinese culture and has been learning Chinese for three years. At the closing ceremony, he read Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai's "To Wang Lun" in Chinese to express his deep friendship with the volunteers and his appreciation for all their efforts.
Campers from Chiang Mai, Thailand, dressed in their traditional costumes, performed a traditional Thai dance with beautiful gestures and melodies.
Campers from Antwerp, Belgium, show how a traditional Belgian food (waffles) are made. From buying ingredients to baking, everyone wants to taste!
Campers from Yokohama, Japan, demonstrated the country's most famous folk song and dance, which are included in the local school curriculum to help students to foster teamwork and preserve traditional culture.
At the end of the closing ceremony, all the campers and volunteers turned on their microphones and sang "You Raise Me Up"together. On the screen, the smiling faces of people with different skin colors made the most beautiful picture. Along with the singing and laughter, 2022 Shanghai International Sister Cities Youth Camp officially came to an end.
Although this year's Youth Camp is ended, it is not the end of our friendship. The communication and the online sharing are still going on. In the chat area, campers and volunteers from the sister cities said that they hoped to attend the youth camp next yearbecause this year's camp have left a good memory for them. We hope to see you and more new friends next year. Looking forward to seeing you next summer. Goodbye!
