Egyptian youth share bonds with Beijing at speech contest-Xinhua - 新华网

CAIRO, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese-language speech contest themed "Youth Dialogue on Chinese and Egyptian Civilizations," focusing on Beijing culture, has brought together contestants from across Egypt to share their understanding of Beijing culture and their personal connections with China.

Ashraf Al-Azzazi, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Culture, said in his opening remarks on Monday that both Chinese and Egyptian civilizations have long histories and serve as outstanding examples of cultural diversity and intercivilizational dialogue worldwide.

Young people serve as a bridge between the two civilizations, Al-Azzazi added.

Xie Yu, director of the promotion department of the Information Office of Beijing Municipality, said that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and that people-to-people exchanges are an ongoing process with no finish line.

Omar Ahmed, a third-year student at Cairo University and first-prize winner of the contest, told Xinhua that although he had never visited China, learning Chinese at the Confucius Institute had made him feel as if he had already encountered Beijing.

The contest was organized by the Information Office of Beijing Municipality and co-hosted by the China-Arab Research Center for Cultural and Tourism Cooperation and the Confucius Institute at Cairo University. ■