Brightening the Future

1. Project introduction

Brightening the Future - UNNC Student Civic Engagement (SCE) originated from the summer social practice (SSP) Program. With the ongoing development of the volunteer projects, student participation in civic engagement has been enriched to the benefit of them and project stakeholders. The projects are varied, and include  large-scale competitions and high-level conferences, research on animal and plant protection, study of traditional Chinese culture and more.

The project has been running for 16 years, since its inauguration in 2006 ( with a year suspension in 2020 due to pandemic health and safety) and the project has developed 165 project options in total. 2431 volunteers have taken part, with projects spanning  36 countries and 23 Chinese provinces and regions. Projects includes various kinds of teaching activities, such as teaching specific subjects, physical education, artwork, work and technical education, fun events, and more. The target beneficiaries are children from rural areas and those cared for by extended family due to parents working in different areas, children with downs syndrome, and elderly people with no family.

With the development of the projects over the last 16 years, key flagship sub-projects have emerged, including Summer Seeding Program, Summer Social Practice Project, and Dare to Dream Project. Moreover, based on the existing programs, new sub-projects have been created and developed. These all demonstrate the idea of UNNC’s international and inspiring teaching and learning and illustrate how the university takes responsibility for cultivating students’ sense of civic duty...

2. Completed sub-projects in 2023

Summer Seeding Program

Summer Seeding Program, a project of UNNC’s international volunteer teaching program, aims to provide a fun English teaching experience to children in rural areas through the collaboration of UNNC international and domestic students. While expanding the horizons of children based in rural areas, this program also enriches the summer experiences for UNNC volunteers.

Summer Social Practice Project

This program provides teaching assistance on 21 locations, including supporting the education dreams of children looked after by extended family as their parents work in other regions left-behind, fundraising for impoverished and sick children, and improving classroom conditions in underprivileged schools. It is dedicated to caring for students and children in poverty-stricken areas.

"Chasing ● Heritage" Traditional Culture Project

This project organises cultural heritage visits for UNNC students, allowing them to personally experience and understand traditional Chinese culture such as making opera facemasks, shadow puppetry, and Huayin Laoqiang (a type of Chinese opera). Its aim is to deepen students' understanding and experience of Chinese traditional culture and enhance their cultural confidence.

“Green Wild” Wildlife conservation project

The Green Wild project facilitates visits for UNNC students to wildlife and plant conservation areas, allowing them to gain first-hand knowledge about the living habits of rare Chinese animals and plants such as golden monkeys and pandas. Its objective is to expand students' knowledge in this field and raise their awareness of conservation.

3. Ongoing sub-projects in 2023

Dare to Dream Project

This project is based in local schools in Ningbo. Through weekly themed class meetings, UNNC students offer creative and thought-provoking lessons, helping broaden children's horizons.

Guarding the Hope Project

This long-term teaching volunteer project involves various activities, including traditional cultural education, English teaching with fun activities, narrative appreciation, and natural science, aimed at enriching the extracurricular education of students in the participating schools.

19th Hangzhou Asian Games Volunteer Service

UNNC has been entrusted by the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee to recruit student volunteers for the 19th Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou. Volunteers will receive training and work with external stakeholders, helping enhance students' social practice awareness and skills and cultivating their sense of social responsibility.

4. Showcase selected projects

Summer Social Practice Project

In this year’s Summer Social Practice Project, a total of 21 locations were created, with more than 200 volunteers contributing their efforts and energy in various locations.

A total of 14 student volunteers from Summer Social Practice: Shandong Yiyuan Project carried out a fortnight long volunteer teaching activity. The focus of this activity was extracurricular education. During the activity, the volunteers led the children to learn about leaves in nature, encouraging them to pick and name a unique leaf.Subsequently, the volunteers guided the children to use these fallen leaves to create new artwork, fostering their environmental awareness, stimulating their creativity, and enhancing their hands-on skills. In addition, the volunteers also encouraged the children to unleash their creativity using simple items like tablecloths and paper cups, allowing them to showcase their own perception of the world through colours. They also played music that the children enjoyed and taught them some fun dancing skills. Through diverse activity formats, UNNC volunteers enriched the children's extracurricular education and provided them with a unique and joyful experience.

19th Hangzhou Asian Games Volunteer Service