GenZ workshop looks to shape a shared future for humanity
More than 40 students from 24 countries and regions on Monday took part in a workshop featuring activities involving topics such as global competence, sustainability, social media and globalization, as well as artificial intelligence.
The "Shaping A Shared Future: A Global GenZ Collaborative Workshop" was organized by the Shanghai Global News Network of Shanghai United Media Group and Shanghai Daily to promote exchanges and cooperation between young people from different cultural backgrounds. It took place at the Cape Club in Yangpu District.
The students from countries and regions including the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Japan, Singapore, Egypt and Salvador represented Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, East China Normal University, Shanghai International Studies University, Donghua University and Shanghai University.
The event started with a video where students shared their love for Shanghai. They hailed Shanghai as an international metropolis, a cultural and innovation hub, and a smart city, which has attracted them not only to study here but also to look for opportunities to work here after graduation.
Joe Franklin Mpundu from Burundi said his father, brother and sister are all alumni of Donghua University, where he is now studying logistics. His father, who learned fashion design at Donghua, now runs a company in the logistics sector.
He is now doing an internship in Shanghai as he will graduate soon.
"I want to gain more experience from here so that I can take more knowledge to my country and also make our company bigger and bigger," said Mpundu.
The workshop also included a session, in which each team were shown a photo generated by an AI tool with cultural features from various countries, and then they were required to prompt the AI system to regenerate a new image as similar as possible.
"It's really interesting because it shows us the future of AI, how powerful AI is, and how we'll be using AI in the coming years," said Mpundu.
"The world is shifting to AI. When we're working, for example, in logistics, right now we use more and more automated machines in warehouses, which means you need to program these machines. So I feel AI is really important to learn."
The students also presented a fashion show with outfits made from recycled materials and worn clothes, incorporating elements from different countries.
"I thought a modern city like Shanghai didn't care about the environment. After I came to Shanghai, I figured out everyone cares about future society and green stuff," said Japanese student Momiji Aoyama from Fudan University.
"I never cared about the recycling stuff but I should need to think more about it after this activity," she added.
During the event, Shanghai Daily and Cape Club launched a collaboration to build up a "Youth Nexus" platform for promoting exchanges among Gen-Z from all over the world.