Climate and Environmental Governance and Poverty Eradication

In 2019, the Global Engagement Program (GEP) of Zhejiang University launched the first National University International Organization Elite Talent Competition. 21 universities, 66 teams, and 296 contestants across the country, focused on the theme of “China’s Participation in Global Affairs: Practice and Thinking”, submitted high-quality case analysis reports through data collection, text analysis, investigation and research, etc. After careful evaluation by 5 senior experts in the field of international organizations, 9 teams were shortlisted for the finals and won the first, second and third prizes, and 28 teams won the Excellent Case Award. We have compiled the excellent cases of this competition into a book, which is in front of you. The writing of the reports may be a little clumsy, the research may not be in-depth, the views may not be sharp, and the theory may not be complete. Nevertheless, what we see is the young generation’s ambition and commitment to “the affairs of the family, of the state and of the world are all my concerns”, their concerning about global issues and a sense of mission and responsibility to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Professor Zhang Ning, the special guest commentator of the competition, spoke highly of the competition:“This competition helps students in universities to understand the operation mechanism of international organizations, attract young Chinese to learn the working mechanism of international organizations, and promote the global governance capability of protential talents for international organizations.” Lu Ziyan, the first prize winner and a contestant from Shandong University, said, “As the team leader, what moved me during the whole preparation process was the sincere cooperation of the team. I never forgot the inspiration I had during the discussion in each meeting, and I was even more moved by the countless times I stayed up all night. Through this competition, we have gained a deeper understanding of China’s participation in global governance. We are honored to witness China’s great cause of poverty alleviation, as well as to contribute our own strength in participating in and spreading this great cause!” Deng Hao, winner of the best Style Award and a contestant from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, said:“As young people, we often feel confused in the context of grand goals and crises, but through this competition we we found a way to solve these problems from a small fulcrum. I hope that our efforts will be more tangible in the future, and I hope that all our friends can grow up and take over the responsibility of the instructors and experts, so as to contribute to the realization of internationalism.” As one of the initiators and organizers of the competition, I am very pleased with the success of the competition. Through this competition, the participants raised their awareness of global governance and systematically trained their practice and research and analysis capabilities. With the emergence of several strong research teams, this competition and those reports reflected the perspective and concerns of Chinese youth on China’s participation in global affairs.