On August 4, the Shanghai portion of Camp Gung Ho, co-organized by the China Prospect Program and the Helen Foster Snow Foundation, co-organized by the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives and hosted by the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology , held a closing ceremony in the Concert Hall of the USST.

The ceremony featured a video that allowed guests and students to review the entire Camp Gung Ho 2024 programme. Forty-six campers from the U.S. and seven U.S. staff members spent an unforgettable thirteen days in China, where they not only experienced the food, culture, and beauty of the country, but also had in-depth exchanges with different people from all dimensions of the society. The U.S. students worked with their peers from China to design a sustainability project, give advice to the U.S. Ambassador Burns, and organise a talent show, amongst other enriching Summer Camp Mission.

Zhu Xinyuan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, gave an opening speech for the closing ceremony. President Zhu said he was very happy that the Camp Gung Ho 2024 could be held at USST, ‘Although the camp is short, we are very pleased to see that everyone actively participates in various activities, has the courage to communicate, dares to express themselves, and interprets “friendship, cooperation, and mutual benefit” with their own actions. the spiritual connotation of ‘friendship, cooperation and win-win’.’ President Zhu hoped that all the young people who participated in this summer camp would grow up to be high-quality talents with broad vision, excellent ability and international competitiveness. Shanghai Institute of Technology will continue to uphold the concept of openness, cooperation and win-win situation, and is willing to work with people from all walks of life who support educational exchanges between China and the United States to jointly promote educational exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. China-US exchanges will achieve more fruitful results, and inject more power and hope for the young generation of the United States to understand and know China.

Zhou Hanmin, Member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and President of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association (SPDA), gave a speech for the Camp Gung Ho 2024. President Zhou recalled the efforts made by both sides to build opportunities for civil exchange between China and the United States after the initial contact with the Helen Foster Snow Foundation in 2020, and led the audience to watch a video on Shanghai's bid to host the World Expo and the theme film of the U.S. Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, ‘The Garden’. ‘The girl in the film is called Ryan Spencer, she would have been twenty-four years old this year, and I would like you to help us reach out to her and ask her to come back for another visit.’

 

Sean Stein, President of The American Chamber of Commerce in the People’s Republic of China (AmCham China) spoke, encouraging American students to learn the Chinese language. Sean Stein mentioned that over ninety years ago, Helen Foster Snow came to China with the initial goal of completing a great American novel. Instead of choosing to stay in the U.S., she chose to come to distant China in order to complete the novel, because if one wishes to better understand one's own country's culture, it becomes very important to learn and understand new cultural perspectives and to see one's own culture from a new perspective. ‘If we only know our own culture, it's like having only one eye; learning new cultures gives us both eyes and a clearer perspective on the world.’

Teng Junjie, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Chairman of the Shanghai Television Artists Association, spoke. Using the Happy Birthday Song, the song with the shortest lyrics in the world, as an example, he suggested that people's goodwill can make the world a better place, and that young people in China and the U.S. should make efforts to collaborate and build a better future.

 

During the thirteen-day trip, forty-six students aged 12-18 from seven states in the U.S. experienced the beauty of China in different dimensions in Shanghai and Wuxi. It is reported that the summer camp was selected and screened by the organisers from both the US and China. All the shortlisted American students had more than five years of Chinese language learning experience, and all the shortlisted Chinese students demonstrated strong English language skills. The camp sets extremely high standards for the ability and willingness of campers and staff to communicate across cultures. During the programme, language becomes a bridge rather than a barrier, reducing the number of ‘introductory’ and ‘exploratory’ aspects of previous cultural exchange programmes, and allowing the Camp Gung Ho 2024 to focus more on building a camp culture characterized by the ‘Gung Ho Spirit’. This allows the camp to focus more on building a camp culture characterized by the ‘Gung Ho Spirit’.

Lucas Walburn and Katy Nichols, the American representatives of the Camp Gung Ho 2024, shared their experiences on the camp. Lucas Walburn said, ‘When I first arrived at Camp Gung Ho 2024, I thought I would never be able to interact with the Chinese students. I was wrong. This has been one of the best friendship bonding experiences of my life. All of us have so much in common. We enjoyed all kinds of outdoor activities and games together and had fun in our lives. As we approached the end of camp, saying goodbye was impossible. We couldn't bear the fact that we would never see each other again. We said our tearful goodbyes and gave our new inseparable friends the warmest of hugs. If I had the chance, I would experience it all again. Learning Chinese and coming to China has broadened my horizons and given me a better understanding of the world and the relationship between the United States and China.’ Katy Nichols said, ‘I was surprised when I walked into that small room. I looked around and saw that it was packed with bunk beds, luggage, and a separate bathroom. I thought to myself, ‘How can this possibly work? There were three strange Chinese girls looking at me who were from a completely different country. We were completely from two worlds. As we greeted each other in a friendly manner, I couldn't imagine that we would become good friends. I mean, how could we possibly do that? Language and cultural barriers are just one of the many obstacles we face. But as time passed, I learnt that we were actually the same; we both loved gossip, pranks, and an interest in music. By the end of the week, we had become inseparable, saying ‘I love you’ and ‘goodbye’ through tears. Without this experience at Camp Gung Ho 2024, I would never have realized how amazing people from all over the world are. What once held me back from seeing the world is now what drives me to explore it. The journey has been long and arduous, but it is the challenges that have given me a deep interest in China, its beautiful people, and its unique culture. ’

Eric Chipman, director of the Gung Ho programme at the Helen Foster Snow Foundation, delivered a speech at the closing ceremony: ‘I am very happy to have the opportunity to bring these students who are interested in China to China, and I believe that after their journey through this camp, they have met many Chinese friends, gained a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, and gained a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of China, and I believe that when they return to the United States, they will become a bridge linking China and the United States, just as Helen Foster did more than 90 years ago. they will return to the United States and become a bridge linking China and the United States, just like Helen Foster did more than 90 years ago.’

The Camp Gung Ho 2024 received extensive attention and support from people from all walks of life in both China and the U.S. During the time in Shanghai, in addition to the guests present at the closing ceremony, the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology provided a high-standard hospitality programme and a team of volunteers for the lodging and dining of the American students, the International Education Association Shanghai put in a great deal of effort in organizing the preliminary preparations for the U.S. students' visit to China, doTERRA(Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd. provided financial support for the US-China student exchange activities, Sha Hailin, President of the Shanghai Public Relations Association、Chen Qingchang, Director of the International Exchange Department of the Shanghai Institute of Technology、 Zou Yanling, Head of Operations for the San Francisco Bay Area Council in China、Gao Zheng, Founder of MKT for Good、 Stephanie Ann Gutierrez, Director of OKiKi Shanghai Harbor Kindergarten、Du Mingqian, manager of Dalian Botao Culture and Technology Co., Ltd. overseas marketing and other outstanding representatives from all walks of life in China and the United States to take time out of their valuable time to communicate with students, the Boeing Company, the United States, the FedEx Group, the Utah Jazz, Shanghai Institute of Technology, the Shanghai Bailun Investment Group, Hopscotch International Centre and other organizations to actively coordinate the resources of all parties to jointly for the Camp Gung Ho 2024.

Wang Weilian, Secretary General of China Prospect Program, the Chinese organizer of the event, said: ‘This unforgettable trip has made us realize that the spirit of “Work Hard, Work Together” , which was designed by Helen Foster Snow, is still alive and well today, 90 years later. Together with the old and new friends we made at this event,China Prospect Program plans to continue to carry forward the spirit of Gung Ho and create more opportunities for international exchange and dialogue.’