Pursuing dreams through the learning of Chinese language
The 6th Annual Jiangsu Cup Chinese Speech Contest for the greater Washington Metropolitan area was held at George Washington University on November 6, 2016.
The 6th Annual Jiangsu Cup Chinese Speech Contest was held at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. on November 6, 2016. The main sponsors for this event were the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences (CCAS) and Confucius Institute at the George Washington University, the Institute for International Student of the Nanjing University, and the Jiangsu International Cultural Association and Jiangsu International Cultural Exchange Center. Frances Taoran Sun, the Executive Director of Global Initiatives offered welcome remarks on behalf of the George Washington University. The 2015 Jiangsu Cup Gold Award Winner, Colleen Mulrooney has also travelled to Washington from the College of William & Mary to offer some encouraging words to the 2016 finalists.
In this year’s competition, there was a total of 13 institutions participating. After three months of preliminary competition, 17 finalists from 9 institutions have successfully made it to the final round. The final competition includes three parts, pre-prepared speech, Q&A on China and Jiangsu Province, and improvised speech. Regardless of the differences in majors and background, all 17 finalists have demonstrated tremendous knowledge and courage, most importantly, their passion to learn more about China through language and culture. Many finalists have said in their speeches that they’d like to become diplomats some day in the future to build bridges between the U.S. and China. After nearly 5 hours of competition, Manish Paranjpe from Johns Hopkins University and Katherine Olson from Virginia Tech won the two Gold Awards with leading scores.
The First Secretary of the Education Office of the Chinese Embassy, Dr. Fengshou SUN, gave remarks on behalf of the embassy. He emphasized the importance of understanding each other’s culture through learning the language. He acknowledged Nanjing University and the George Washington University for their dedication and achievements in promoting the educational and People-to-People exchange between the U.S. and China, and the “Jiangsu Cup” serves as a true bridge for promoting the bilateral relations and friendship between the two countries.
让汉语学习助推理想的实现
第六届“江苏杯”大学生中文演讲比赛在乔治华盛顿大学孔子学院成功举行
11月6日，由江苏省国际文化交流中心、南京大学海外教育学院和乔治华盛顿大学孔子学院联合主办的第六届“江苏杯”（美国大华府赛区）大学生中文演讲比赛在乔治华盛顿大学孔子学院隆重举行。来自大华府地区13所大学在此次比赛竞逐。而其中9所大学的１7名选手最终参加了决赛。经过激烈角逐，来自约翰霍普金斯大学的胡歌、弗吉尼亚理工大学的凯瑟琳各自以丰富的语言知识和幽默流利的表达获得金奖，另有6名选手获得银奖，9名选手获得铜奖。获奖选手将有机会去南京大学学习汉语和其他学科或在2017年夏天去江苏省游历，体验中国。
这次比赛分备稿演讲、知识问答和即兴演讲三个环节。参赛选手们虽然学习的专业不同、背景不同、口音不同，但他们都能用流利的汉语讲述自己和中国的精彩故事以及对江苏、对中国的深厚情感。参赛选手表达了他们对悠久的中国文化、特别是对魅力江苏的由衷赞叹和喜爱，传达出努力学好汉语、缔造世界和平的决心和美好愿望，也与观众分享了汉语学习给自己带来的快乐。选手们汉语水平之高、应答之幽默机智给现场观众和评委们留下了深刻的印象。
乔治华盛顿大学孔子学院院长孙陶然女士首先致辞；江苏省国际文化交流中心副秘书长张焕发先生、南京大学程爱民教授分别介绍了“江苏杯”对传播中国文化、江苏人文特色发挥的积极作用；中国驻美使馆教育处一等秘书孙凤收博士则褒奖了中国南京大学和美国乔治华盛顿大学在促进中美人文交流上的不懈努力与成就。他也充分肯定了“江苏杯”在促进中美互相了解与合作方面的“桥梁”作用。
Gold Award Winners
- Manish Paranjpe 胡歌 - Johns Hopkins University
- Katherine Olson 凯瑟琳 - Virginia Tech
Silver Award Winners
- Julia Reinhold 叶宁琳 - The George Washington University
- Reid Bradt 毕瑞达 - The George Washington University
- Austin Lowe 楼欧斯 - Georgetown University
- Emily Morley 文爱丽 - The University of Virginia
- Elizabeth Telford 伊丽莎白 - The George Washington University
- Dayna Bailey 白丹娜 - The George Washington University
Bronze Award Winners
- Christian Martin 马晨仰 - United States Naval Academy
- Nikolai Lipnicky 李国磊 - George Mason University
- Peter Vigil, Jr. 魏百卓 - American University
- Isaac King 王毅杰 - The University of Virginia
- Addie Brower 白爱迪 - United States Naval Academy
- Julian Erville 王水廉 - St. Mary's College of Maryland
- Emma Rafaelof 江小莲 - The George Washington University
- Tegan Gutierrez 周美玲 - American University
- Christopher Couper 顾伟博 - The George Washington University
