Gathering Held Before International Youth Forum Opens

The 2019 Changsha Media Arts Festival and the International Youth Forum (IYF) on Creativity and Heritage Along the Silk Roads opened on the evening of March 31. Before the opening ceremony, young participants of the forum from all over the world joined in an ice-breaking gathering. Through the event, they made friends and share their history and culture with each other.

Given that young delegates do not know each other before attending the forum, the organizing committee held the gathering to help them enhance mutual understanding. Beyond that, volunteers are also from different cities and universities.

At first, they were somewhat reserved. But African delegates broke the ice and shouted in a passionate African style, as if they were in the African savannah. Soon all participants were immersed in a happy and lively atmosphere. They actively introduced themselves and their countries to others in their own way, such as singing and dancing, or reciting a poetry. They began to introduce themselves merrily: “My name is Tan, I am from Singapore,”; "My name is Kane, from Senegal,", and "I am Farah, from Somalia."

College students from Changsha also did the honors at the gathering through presenting wonderful performances. A dragon dance featuring Chinese culture raised the curtain of the event. Taking a closer look, you would find that the performers were overseas students from different countries studying in Central South University. “Is their dragon dance very exciting, though they only practice for a short time?” the host asked the young delegates at the scene. The delegates cheered and applauded loudly.