Europe meets China at Europaburg
25 young students from China, Austria, Albania, Ukraine and Hungary met in Neumarkt in Styria from July 28 to August 2 to explore similarities, differences, values and approaches and to promote a deeper understanding of each other’s culture and politics.
In cooperation with the Confucius Institute Graz, EYFON organized a new format for the first time this year, focusing on the current challenges facing Europe and the world as well as relations between the European Union and China. Intercultural understanding was strengthened and new friendships forged through joint activities, lectures and discussions.
The participants dealt with energy policy, mobility and the circular economy and gained valuable insights into China’s approach to Europe, including its foreign policy goals and ideas. One of the highlights of the program was the Castle Talk on “How to Deal with Making Business in China”, in which Dr. Wan Jie Chen from the Confucius Institute Graz, Karl Hartleb from ICS Styria and Dr. Claudia Weyringer discussed relations between Europe and China. In addition, the participants took part in various activities organized by the Confucius Institute, such as Chinese language lessons, Qigong, calligraphy workshops and a cooking course. With the support of TeamGeist, there was also plenty of sport, games and team-building activities.
“I really enjoyed this program and I think it was a great opportunity to meet people from other European countries and from China. It gave me a special insight into the lives of other people and their culture….“
– said one of the participants from Austria at the end of the week-long event.
