On December 5, the 2nd College Students’ “Telling Chinese Stories Well” Competition came to a successful conclusion. SDJU International student Amouzou Kodjo Fortunat from Togo won the Best Storytelling Award for his work “A Question from My Homeland, An Answer from China”, which received the highest score in the international category.
Hosted by Shanghai Theatre Academy, the competition was themed “Elegance of China, Harmony of the World.” The second-round selection brought together 121 outstanding works from 62 universities nationwide. After rigorous evaluation by expert judges, 50 works advanced to the national finals, including 25 works in the Mandarin category, 15 in the dialect category, and 10 in the international category.
SDJU international student Kodjo Fortunat’s work “A Question from My Homeland, An Answer from China” tells the true story of an African young man dedicated to bringing advanced agricultural technologies from China back to his hometown to support local development. Through sincere emotions, a distinctive international perspective, and profound cultural resonance, the work successfully advanced to the international category and ultimately received the Best Storytelling Award.
Kodjo Fortunat’s work offered a heartfelt reflection on China-Africa agricultural cooperation and vividly demonstrated how Chinese solutions contribute to global development. The achievement not only reflects the deep affection that contemporary international students hold for China, but also highlights the global appeal of “telling Chinese stories well.” While teaching the course An Overview of Chinese Culture for international students, teachers including Wang Yuanyuan and Tian Ping from School of Arts and Sciences have integrated the three-dimensional educational goals of value guidance, competency development, and knowledge acquisition. Through the course, international students not only gain knowledge of Chinese culture but also participate in cultural practices and take the initiative to share Chinese stories, becoming storytellers and communicators of Chinese culture.
