Round-Table Discussion Titled "Chasing the Silk Road Dream with Z Generation" Held in Xi'an

At the award ceremony of the "Youth on the Silk Road" Short Video Contest held on June 10th, a round-table discussion titled "Chasing the Silk Road Dream with Z Generation" drew extraordinary attention.

During the round-table discussion, Zhou Ting, Dean of the School of Government and Public Affairs at the Communication University of China, Zhao Yuewang, Deputy General Manager of Shaanxi Tourism Group Co., Ltd. and Board Chairman of Silk Road Cultural Tourism Company, Rachele, the third prize winner of the contest and a video blogger from Italy, and her partner Luca, discussed the cultural exchange opportunities brought by the short video contest and shared their perspectives on the new roles and forces of Generation Z in international communication.

Generation Z plays a crucial role in promoting cultural exchange, mutual learning, harmonious coexistence, and the international dissemination of Silk Road stories among countries along the route.

As one of the review experts of “Youth on the Silk Road” Short Video Contest, Zhou Ting said in the round-table discussion that this contest received excellent short videos from over 20 countries along the Silk Road and enabled youths from different countries to exchange ideas and insights, which is of profound significance. “Though the ‘Generation Z’ youths live in different social contexts, they share the pursuit of dreams, the exploration of the unknown, the responsibility for society, and the concern for global issues. Their spirit gives me every confidence about the future”, Zhou Ting noted.

In Zhou’s opinion, short videos have become an important approach for people today to share their lives as well as opinions and understand the world. “Generation Z” youths serve as decision-makers and builders of global sustainable development in the future. They record daily life and enhance communication between different cultures through short videos, expanding common ground while shelving differences. They will indeed make better and more favorable decisions for promoting human well-being in the future.

Short videos make cultural exchanges more visual, vivid and interesting. Rachele and her partner Luca shared their video-shooting experience and understanding of intercultural communication.

Rachele believes that making short videos for cultural exchanges can not only broaden personal horizons and attract more young people’s attention and participation, but also promote further cultural exchanges and interaction among different countries, promoting in-depth cultural communication. She said, “Xi’an is the starting point of the Silk Road and my hometown Italy is the end of it. Using videos to show Chinese culture and driving more people to know about life in Italy is the most important motivation of our video creation.” Luca, on the other hand, added that the code for producing a brilliant video is searching for, exploring, and magnifying each youth’s strengths and characteristics.

During the round-table dialogue, the guests also discussed the way to promote the inheritance and development of the Silk Road culture through the cultural tourism industry to contribute to friendly exchange among countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

Zhao Yuewang, Deputy General Manager of Shaanxi Tourism Group Co., Ltd. and Board Chairman of Silk Road Cultural Tourism Company, stated that with the design concept of “Silk Road and Culture can be found everywhere”, Shaanxi Tourism Group integrates the diverse exotic civilizations along the Silk Road into every scenario, incorporates popular IPs and famous legends about the Silk Road into the theme park facilities, and provides performances and immersive interaction on the theme of Silk Road, enabling more people to realize and feel the charm of the Silk Road culture.