On November 29, the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 Philippine Youth Friendship Exchange Visit "Approaching Qilu Culture and Feeling Rural Revitalization" was held in the Second Lecture Hall of Houde Building.
Deng Yunfeng, Wu Jun, Natsupang Poshyananda and Saing Vichhamony inaugurated the "Shangdong - ASEAN Base for Youth Exchanges ".
Minister and Consul General of the Philippine Embassy in China, Mr. Dinno M. Oblena said in a video message that the event marked an important step in the cultural and educational exchanges between Ilocos Norte and Shandong Province and even between the two peoples. This year, local government leaders of the two countries have made joint efforts to carry out new cooperation in various fields.
In his speech, Sun Yebao, Deputy Director of Shandong Provincial Foreign Affairs Office pointed out that since the beginning of this year, Dezhou University and the Philippines have achieved fruitful results in educational cooperation, and Shandong Provincial Foreign Affairs Office will fully support the cooperation between Dezhou University and Mariano Marcos State University in the fields of cooperative education, joint laboratory construction, student joint training, teacher exchange and academic exchange, and strive to achieve win-win development.
Shirley Castañeda Agrupis, President of Mariano Marcos State University, said in a video message that the event deepened the international cooperation between the two universities and hoped that the exchange visit would be a testament to the strength and depth of the cooperation between us, opening the door to more opportunities for change in the future and fostering a spirit of friendship and understanding between the universities.
In his speech, Wu Jun pointed out that in recent years, Dezhou University, relying on the Dezhou Regional Culture Research Center and the ASEAN Studies Center, has achieved fruitful results in educational cooperation with ASEAN countries. Young people are an important force in promoting China-Philippines friendship and friendly exchanges. It is hoped that the visit of the Philippine youth delegation will serve as an opportunity to strengthen exchanges between Chinese and Philippine youth and build a more solid bridge for China-Philippines friendly exchanges. We welcome outstanding young people from the Philippines and other ASEAN countries to study at Dezhou University, and strive to contribute their youth to the construction of the China-ASEAN Community of Shared Future.
Sheila B. Baquiran, teacher of Mariano Marcos State University said the visit will deepen the cooperation between two universities, and the related exchange activities, especially the experience of rich Chinese culture, and Qilu culture, will help to cultivate cross-cultural competence and form a more objective world view. The hope is to create a new, stronger bond between Mariano Marcos State University and Shandong that will last a lifetime.
Cai Xianjin and Sheila Bakilan presented souvenirs to each other on behalf of Shandong Province and Mariano Marcos State University respectively.
Officials from Shandong Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, Education Department of Shandong Province, Dezhou Municipal Government, Foreign Affairs Office of Dezhou Government, Dezhou University, and students from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Laos attended the ceremony.
