Embracing Spring Together——The First Chinese Speech Contest for Iranian College Students Held in Iran
In order to further strengthen the promotion of the "Happy Chinese New Year" series of activities in Iran, further expand the influence of the "Happy Chinese New Year" brand among Iranian young people, and at the same time encourage Iranian college students to learn Chinese and speak Chinese, and inspire Iranian Z generation youths to appreciate Chinese traditions. The understanding and interest in Spring Festival culture will strengthen the bond of friendship between the youth of China and Iran. As a supporting event for the 2023 "Happy Spring Festival", the Chinese Embassy in Iran cooperated with the Chinese Foreign Language Exchange and Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Education of China and held it in Iran on February 22. The 1st Chinese Speech Contest for Iranian College Students.
The competition is divided into two stages: the preliminary round and the final round. The preliminary stage will be held in January 2023 in Iranian colleges and universities with Chinese majors. In the end, 12 contestants from three Iranian colleges and universities, Tehran University, Shahid Beheshti University and Allame Tabatabai University will enter finals. The final cum award ceremony was held at Shahid Beheshti University.
The theme of this year's speech contest is "Embracing Spring Together - The Common Ground Between Iran's Nowruz Festival and Chinese Spring Festival". The Chinese Spring Festival and Iran's Nowruz Festival are both intangible cultural heritages of mankind and an important part of the traditional cultures of China and Iran. The final scene was also decorated according to the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year and Iran’s Nowruz Festival. Chinese red lanterns, big rabbits and Iran’s Seven Immortals table made the contestants feel like they were in the festivals of the two countries.
During the competition, the contestants spoke eloquently, quoted classics, and were full of wit. They delivered impressive speeches on the common points of the two festivals from their daily study and life. The common points such as "New Year's Eve dinner" and "New Year's money" not only fully demonstrated the learning results of their own Chinese language and Chinese culture, but also further explored the similarities in culture and history of the two countries, confirming the exchanges and mutual learning between the two ancient civilizations. After fierce competition, Xia Yue from Allame Tabatabai University won the championship.
Chargé d'affaires Fu Lihua of the Chinese Embassy in Iran, Cultural Counselor Zhu Zihao, Shahid Beheshti University Vice President Abu Tahi, Dean of the Faculty of Arts Khatami, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Tehran Li Mei, and other universities The person in charge of the Chinese Department attended the competition.
Fu Lihua said in her speech that this speech contest is the first time that China and Iran have jointly held a speech contest for college students majoring in Chinese in Iran, and it provides a new platform for further promoting Chinese teaching and better understanding of China and Chinese culture. President Leahy paid a very successful state visit to China last week. The two countries issued a joint statement, emphasizing that the development of close strategic relations is a historical choice made by China and Iran as two ancient civilizations in East Asia and West Asia, and decided to further deepen the development of China-Iran The comprehensive strategic partnership and the implementation of the comprehensive cooperation plan between the two countries. The comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Iran is standing at a new historical starting point. Language is the carrier of culture and the key to mutual understanding. I hope that more Iranian young students can learn Chinese, learn Chinese well, perceive and understand the real China through their own glasses, mind and heart, and become the inheritors of Sino-Iranian friendship. The relationship between the two countries has continuously contributed wisdom and strength. "I wish Iranian Chinese education to a higher level, write a new chapter for China-Iran friendly exchanges and people-to-people bonds, and embrace the spring of China-Iran friendship and cooperation together!"
Abu Tahi congratulated the success of the competition. He said that both Iran and China are ancient civilizations with a long history, and the friendship between the two countries has a long history. In the 21st century, China once again stands at the center of the world stage. Looking into the future, Iran-China cooperation has a brighter prospect, and Iranian Chinese education has great potential. I hope that more Iranian young people will learn Chinese, understand China, and continue to carry forward the friendship between the two countries. Abu Tahi expressed his gratitude to the embassy and the Language Center for supporting Shahid Beheshti University in holding this competition, and hoped that the embassy would continue to support the development of Chinese education in Iran.
In this competition, the famous Iranian traditional band performed live Iranian popular traditional music. Finally, the enthusiastic college students took a group photo under the "Happy Chinese New Year" poster. The "Happy Chinese New Year" big rabbits and Chinese cultural promotional videos brought by the embassy were all sold out, and the special Chinese snacks specially prepared for this competition were also highly sought after.