On April 11,the openingceremony of Chinese Pavilion volunteer training program forWorld Expo2017 in Kazakhstan was held in Beijing. Altogether, 11 universities from all over China were chosen to send volunteers for the training and DUFL was among them. Present at the ceremony were Deputy-minister Shu Huan from the PromotionDepartmentofChina Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Director Ruan Wei from the Office of World Expo Affairs of CCPIT, Deputy-ministerWang Ruifrom the Exhibition Department ofChina Chamber of International Commerce(CCOIC).

The 18 DUFL volunteers felt deeply honored to be selected because each one of them underwent several rounds of written examinations and interviews before they were finally chosen. These graduates and undergraduates came fromthe School of Russian Studies, of English Studies, of Advanced Translation and Interpretation, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Department of French.

At the opening ceremony, Deputy-minister Shu Huan said advised thatthe volunteers wouldplayanimportant roles in each Expo and they wouldshoulder the responsibility to tell China’s stories to the world and to demonstrate the image of young people in China in the new era.

Xu Siruifrom the School of Russian Studies of DUFL delivered a speechon behalf ofallthevolunteerstudents at the ceremony.She shared her previousvoluntaryexperiences and expressed her vision to work forthe World ExpoinAstana, Kazakhstan. She said that all the volunteers should take this opportunity to fully enrich themselves andto better display the friendly,positive, cooperativeimage ofChinese youth.She anticipated thatthe Chinese Pavilion volunteers would use the world’slanguages to tell China’s stories,display China’ s image, and spread the voice of china.

The2-day training includedExpo knowledge, psychological adjustments, foreign affairs etiquette and image building. Volunteersalso receivedpsychological tests.Those who passed the final testswouldbe sent to Astana, Kazakhstan in June, 2017 towork on posts as display illustration, guest reception, inter-pavilion exchange,organization of large-scale activities, translation and interpretation.

This is the second time DUFL has involved itself in voluntary work for Expo after Shanghai Expo.