Belt and Road youth researchers share experiences and findings at SISU

wenty-two youth researchers from the Belt and Road Youth Observing Program shared their experiences and findings on Sept.26 at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) after their field study trips to Central Asia and Central and Eastern Europe.

The Belt and Road Youth Observing Program was organized by School of Russian and Eurasian Studies. Selected from strict examinations and interviews, the youth researchers in this program were sent to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Poland and Hungary from Aug.26 to Sept.5.

The researchers were divided into two groups, one headed for Central Asia, the other headed for Central and Eastern Europe. To get detailed data and facts, the two groups were fully prepared. The members designed and translated questionnaires on their own and randomly issued those questionnaires during the trip. They also visited museum, university and other places of interests for interviewing and experiencing local life.

During the sharing session, Central Asia Group introduced the splendid culture and history of Central Asia, showed their findings on the development of Chinese mobile phone enterprises in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and shared their opinions on the improvement of China’s image and the development of Confucius Institute in Central Asia through debates. Then, Central and Eastern Europe Group showed the Chinese elements they collected in Poland and Hungary, and shared their research results on the  localization of Chinese international education in Central and Eastern Europe.

Jiang Feng, University Council Chair of SISU, congratulates the researchers on their achievements and inspired them to developing themselves into talents with a global vision and cross-cultural communication skills of multilingual languages.

The Belt and Road Youth Observing program has been held twice, giving students greater insight into the Belt and Road Initiative. Students improved their language and cross-culture communication skills in the activity, and gained a deeper understanding of the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative as well as China's role of being a responsible great power.