A Brand New Start in ITCILO
—the Opening Ceremony of 2018 Beijing Foreign Studies University United Nations College Summer Camp

What is the real United Nations? How will you feel when working at the United Nations?

On August 5th, 12 students from Beijing Foreign Studies University arrived at ITC, Turin, Italy, with Associate Professor Liu Tiewa (SIRD) and Bai Liyuan (SOCE), to attend the “International Summer School-- Building on youth talent: Developing next generation of global leadership”.

During the camp, more than 150 participants from 8 Chinese Universities will spend 3 weeks together, expecting have a better knowledge about UN and a full experience of the life in Europe.

Group photo of all participants

At 9 o'clock on the morning of August 6, the opening ceremony started in the United Nations Turin Training Center. At the opening ceremony, Mr. Liu Yanguo, Director of the ILO Turin Training Center (ITCILO), extended a warm welcome and best wishes to the participants.

“Chinese youth are facing fierce competition in the global labor market and ITCILO is the place where all participants can learn skills to equip themselves.” Said Mr. Liu. He also hoped that all the participants would get involved in discussions and communications in high spirits, and get benefits from the staying in Turin Training Center.

Yanguo Liu, ITCILO Director

Dr. Zu Liangrong, the senior project officer of ITCILO, encouraged all students to show personalities of both themselves and their university actively during the program. He also expected some of participants could become the member of NGOs and spread Chinese culture and spirts to the whole world better in the future.

Liangrong Zu, ITCILO Senior Programme Officer

Later, Ms. Linda Deelen, the project officer from ITCILO, and Mr. Ralf Kruger gave a brief introduction to the related contents of the project and future activities based on their experiences in the international organizations.

Linda Deelen, ITCILO Programme Manager

Ralf Krueger，ITCILO Activity Manager

In the last part of the Opening Ceremony, Dr. Zu introduced each of the staffs and the course setting of the following 3 weeks.

Around 5 pm, all participants paid a visit to the Turin City and deeply experienced the beauty of the time-honored city.

Tutors and students visiting the San Carlo Square

"The United Nations sounds like a place out of reach. It’s a good opportunity to broaden my horizon." Said Wei Xiaoran, a senior student.

"The world is so big, so I want to experience more and learn more about this world." Fan Shuheng, a junior majoring in Urdu in BFSU, who would like to share his experience in this program to his friends and classmates later.

Every student holds a high expectation to this camp. Most of the students expressed their strong interests about the ILO and UN, also about their functions and principles. Certainly, through the program, students can gain more practical knowledge other than theories, which surly will be useful for their further development.  

Beijing Foreign Studies University team with Dr. Zu Liangrong

Many students expressed their expectations toward the following activities, such as communicating with others from different universities and getting improved together with outstanding scholars.

Teachers and classmates dining in the cafeteria

The summer camp includes a systematic study at the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization in Turin, Italy, and visits of ILO headquarters, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, etc. From tomorrow onwards, tutors and students from BFSU will continue to bring more forward-looking reports!