Chongming hosts youth competition
Seventy-three university students from 44 countries gathered in Chongming District on Saturday to kick off an international youth competition on the theme of rural revitalization via green development, innovation and sharing economy.
This year's Youth Innovation Competition on Global Governance (YICGG) will run through July 20 in Chongming, which has the largest estuarine alluvial island wetland in the world as well as great potential to develop its sharing economy in tourism and ecological protection.
A total of 347 students from 50 countries submitted proposals on topics related to the theme and 73 were selected to come to Chongming to present their ideas. Students will also be divided into nine groups randomly to develop solutions to allocated issues.
For the first time, the annual event will have a session on fieldwork and students will conduct research on ecology, industry, population, living conditions and other aspects of Chongming to create solutions to problems such as the urban-rural gap, the gap between rich and poor and brain drain in the villages.
During the competition, participants will also have opportunities to show their own cultures, wear folk costumes, stage national performances and share food from different countries.
Launched in 2007 by Fudan University and sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme in China, YICGG is a global summit that aims to provide an opportunity for aspiring students interested in global governance to showcase and spread their ideas.
In the past 11 years, more than 1,250 participants from 143 universities have taken part in the event.
