On the afternoon of June 22nd, the farewell party for the graduates of Silk Road School in the year of 2022 was successfully held in the student activity room of Silk Road School. Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, this farewell party was held both online and offline. More than 40 students of Silk Road School from Pakistan, Russia, Cameroon, the United States, Canada, Nepal, Thailand, Italy and other countries and regions gathered here and participated in this warm and moving graduation activity jointly. The farewell party was hosted by Prof. Jiang Xiaoli, Deputy Dean of Silk Road School and Deputy Dean of International College.

Du Peng, Vice President of Renmin University of China and Dean of Silk Road School，Li Jiugao, Dean of International School and Sino-French Institute, and Deputy Dean of Silk Road School，Wu Cong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Suzhou Campus, Huang Dahui, Deputy Dean of International Relations College and Deputy Dean of Silk Road College, attended the farewell party.

Before the activity, all the teachers and students watched the graduation videos together, and everyone present was deeply moved.

In his speech, Du Peng sent warm congratulations for the 18 graduates of Silk Road School, and he spoke highly of their willpower for overcoming the difficulties and continuing the studies. Through reviewing the Silk Road history as well as the mission of the Silk Road School, Du Peng emphasized the importance of cultural exchanges and hoped that everyone can become the wise man who understands China, the scholar who studies China and the ambassador who introduces China, so that we can make great contributions for the development of human civilization and world peace.

On behalf of SRS, Li Jiugao and Wu Cong awarded certificates to students who won the outstanding graduation thesis and outstanding graduates. ELODIE CARDONNET from Italy, SEO HYUN HAN from South Korea, MD ARIFUR RAHMAN from Bangladesh, DUSITA LERTKRAI from Thailand, NDOUNFON RAFIA TOU from Cameroon, and JEFFREY YAW GYAMERA ASAMOAH from Ghana won the honorary title of outstanding graduates. SEO HYUN HAN and DUSITA LERTKRAI received the honorary certificate of outstanding graduation thesis.

Though across the screen, the interactions and communications among students were never affected. The students expressed their gratitude and reluctant to leave for the Silk Road School and Renmin University of China in the farewell party. RAFAEL (Sun Yujie) from Dominica thanked his old school and teachers for their support all along in the speech. He shared his reflections and perceptions on the “connected world” through his personal experiences in classes and social activities, RAFAEL hoped to continue the untiringly struggle together with his classmates with a shared vision of a better world! LILIANE (Li Nian) from Rwanda said “thanking the Silk Road School for providing such a superior platform for us, so that we can gather here from different countries and majors; we learn from each other and make progresses together. This unforgettable time stimulates me deeply and provides me the courage for facing the future difficulties.

Except for the students present, the students online also interacted with the audiences actively through live broadcast. DUSITA (Zhang Yiling) from Thailand made a speech online as the representative for excellent graduates. She shared her experiences in the Silk Road School, especially her education and life experiences during the pandemic, she said “online teaching is a big challenge for us, we are grateful for the contributions of our teachers, especially my tutor, because they provide great help and thoughtful kindness for us. On behalf of myself and all the graduates, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the Silk Road School and Chinese government. I will remain the greatest gratitude to China, being an everlasting friend with Chinese people, and trying my best to maintain the friendship between China and Thailand in the future.”

JEFFREY (Li Fujie) from Ghana expressed his sincere gratitude to the Silk Road School for its first-class education and support provided to the students against the backdrop of COVID-19, he also paid the utmost respect to his tutor in local language of their country. He said: “I am very lucky to be able to study in the Silk Road School with so many friends from different countries.Although our study time in the Silk Road School has come to an end, I hope we can keep in touch and explore the world together in the future.”

Wu Cong sent the two words of “Road” contained in the Silk Road School and “Ren” contained in the Renmin University of China to the students in his speech. He expressed the hope that no matter which “road” the students choose, they should take questions and reflections to listen, to see, to practice and to explore; No matter what kind of “person” they become, they should seek truth from facts and be firmly grounded to shoulder the mission of “studying for people”, watchingover the people, serving the country and promoting the world commonwealth. It is expected that the graduates of Silk Road School can stand on a more extensive international platform to show their talents and make their dreams come true!

In the speech, Li Jiugao extended greetings and blessings to the graduates of Silk Road School in 2022, and he proposed two wishes for the students of Silk Road School. First, writing the chapters of your life by means of pragmatic attitude and the idea of life-long learning. Second, realizing the life values in the vision of world and at the height of human community with a shared future. He emphasized that all the students of Silk Road School should shoulder the mission of “building a community with a shared future for mankind” and hoped that they can memorize the Suzhou stories and propagate the Chinese voice after leaving the Silk Road School, at last, Li Jiugao expressed that he would welcome the Chinese and foreign ambassadors with wine, food and beautiful sceneries. The Silk Road School will always be the solid support of every student. When the epidemic is over, welcome the students to visit our campus!

The teachers and students present sat around the table to take photos with the students who participated in this online farewell party.

Along the way, the Silk Road School has always grown up with the Silk Road students together, witnessing their continuous efforts and gains. The Silk Road students gathered here with colorful world cultures, and will also leave the school with a new understanding of Chinese society, economy and culture. It is expected that they can achieve successes in every country and field in the future, being the bridge and bond among China and the countries along the “Belt and Road”, being the new force in constructing a community with a shared future for mankind, propagating the voice of China in the collision of cultures, and relating the good stories of China on the world stage.