Consuls General of Portugal, Brazil and Angola celebrate World Portuguese Day with students and teachers at SCBC
On May 5, Anna Cordero, consul general of Portugal in Guangzhou, Frederico Meyer, consul general of Brazil in Guangzhou, and Jutit Albino da Costa, consul general of Angola in Guangzhou, visited SCBC and celebrated World Portuguese Language Day with students and teachers. The guests were received by Vice President Wang Mingyu and heads of the Center for International Cooperation and Exchange and the School of European Languages and Cultures at the International Conference Hall.
Mr. Wang Mingyu delivered a welcoming speech. On behalf of SCBC, he extended a warm welcome to the delegation and gave an introduction to SCBC, including its schools and faculties, the disciplines and programs, and in particular, its education philosophy characterized by the “three features integrated together”(of internationalization, foreign language education, major+ and practice-orientation) and “three fronts going in harmony”(of integration of liberal arts and sciences, translation between cultures, and mutual appreciation of civilization). According to Wang, SCBC started to offer Portuguese program in 2016, and students of the program since then have won many awards in various competitions. At present, SCBC has established cooperation and exchange relations with more than 60 institutions of higher education and research institutions in 17 countries, including two universities in Portugal -- New University of Lisbon and the University of Aveiro. He hopes to establish in-depth cooperation with more universities in Portuguese-speaking countries in the future.
Anna Cordero expressed her expectation for the World Portuguese Day celebration organized by SCBC; Frederico Meyer said that the economic and trade relations between China and Brazil are getting closer and Brazil has a great demand for bilingual speakers; Jutit Albino da Costa said that with five Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, students of Portuguese are expected to play an important role in the cultural exchange between China and Africa.
The group exchanged souvenirs and had photos taken. Then the delegation went to the Lecture Hall F101 to join the Portuguese students and teachers in the “World Portuguese Day” celebration. The consuls general of the three countries delivered speeches respectively, telling the audience about the international influence of Portuguese, the availability of Portuguese language courses in Chinese universities, and the friendly relations between China and Portuguese speaking countries.
Afterwards, they watched videos about the cultures of the three countries, listening to the students' experience of learning Portuguese and their recitation of poems in Portuguese. Thanks to all the activities, the students had a closer look at the natural scenery, customs and literature of the Portuguese-speaking countries and a better understanding of the cultural diversity of these countries.
During the Q & A session, the three consuls general responded to the students’ inquiries about the society and culture of the Portuguese-speaking countries, the similarities and differences of the Portuguese language in the three countries, student exchange programs, Portuguese language proficiency tests, career development for bilingual people in Portugal and China, etc. The students said they had enjoyed themselves and learned a lot from the session. At the end of the meeting, the three consuls general presented gifts to the students of Portuguese. A group photo was taken to capture the moment. With that, the “World Lusophone Day” celebration came to a wonderful close.
Wu Haotian wins second prize in the National Collegiate Russian Language Contest
On the morning of May 6, the 15th National Collegiate Russian Language Contest kicked off at the Songjiang Campus of Shanghai International Studies University. Wu Haotian, a senior of Russian language (supervised by Yan Qiuju), ranked sixth and won a second prize in the junior and senior group, thanks to his solid basic skills, calmness, and flexibility. In the proposition speech session, Wu's performance of speech “Far and Near” scored the highest among all the contestants. This result has earned him a place in the national program for post-graduate studies in overseas countries funded by the China Scholarship Council.
Organized by the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of the Ministry of Education and hosted by Shanghai International Studies University, this year's competition ran through three stages: the preliminary, the semi-final and the final. All contestants fell into three groups: freshman and sophomore group, junior and senior group, and post-graduate group. The preliminary round was held online in November 2022, in which nearly 400 participants from colleges and universities across China competed for 60 tickets to the semi-final and the final to be held in Shang International Studies University. The finalists were ranked according to their performance in proposition speech, impromptu speech, and interpretation. There were one first prize winner, seven second-prize winners and 14 third-prize winders coming out from the final.
In proposition speech, Wu Haotian's speech “Far and Near”(Далёкое и близкое”) started from the grand vision of China's dream of spaceflight and ended with China-Russia cooperation and international cooperation. His excellent performance received the highest score in proposition speech, leaving a deep impression on the judges and audience.