The opening ceremony of the China-Malaysia Youth Leaders Camp, titled "Cultural Integration and Ecological Protection", was held at Yunnan University (YNU) on Oct 10. Hosted by Yunnan University, the camp is one of Yunnan's featured international education exchange programs under the "Closer People-to-People Ties Through Education" initiative.

The opening ceremony of the China-Malaysia Youth Leaders Camp is held at YNU. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

It aims to strengthen inter-university exchanges and cooperation between China and Malaysia, make students more globally-minded, and foster friendship among young people from both countries.

Yang Shaojun, vice-president of YNU, delivered remarks at the ceremony, along with Yang Wei, vice-president of Yuxi Normal University; Wu Yinmei, vice-president of Zhaotong University; Chen Yong, vice-president of Pu'er University; and Lan Yan, director of the Yunnan Center for International Education Exchange. Representatives from relevant departments of the participating universities, all camp participants and their accompanying teachers attended the ceremony.

Yang Shaojun (left) presents the camp flag to representatives of the participants. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

Jia Fanqi, a student at Yunnan University's School of Journalism; Ng Wing Yee, a student at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology in Malaysia; and Wang Wenling, a faculty member at Yunnan University's Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, delivered speeches as representatives of Chinese students, Malaysian students, and accompanying teachers, respectively.

Running for 10 days, the camp brings together 44 students and teachers from eight universities in China and Malaysia. Through university visits, field research, youth dialogues, and cultural activities, participants will explore shared challenges in cultural heritage preservation and ecological conservation, while building stronger ties and expanding cooperation between young people from the two countries.