On October 29, Okayama University held the Seventh Okayama Cup Speech Contest online connecting universities in the northeastern region of China and SixERS (Chiba University, Niigata University, Kanazawa University, Okayama University, Nagasaki University and Kumamoto University).

The speech contest has been held annually since 2014 in cooperation with SixERS，Consulate-General of Japan in Shenyang and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Beijing Representative Office with the aim to encourage Japanese language learners in northeast China and strengthen the relationship between Japanese and Chinese universities. Last year, the contest was regrettably canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic; however, this year’s contest was moved online thanks to the cooperation of related organizations. As the guest of honor, ZHANG Jingping, Director, Division of International Cooperation and Exchange, Northeast Normal University was present.

In addition to the competitive speech category, a new “recitation” category was added to encourage language learners with varying levels of proficiency to take part. As a result, forty-eight students from twelve universities in northeast China entered the contest. The first round was conducted by evaluating video recordings of the participants, after which five students from each category were selected to take part in the final round, where contestants presented their speeches online to representatives from northeast China universities and SixERS.

After being evaluated by KATAE Takashi, Consul-General, Consulate-General of Japan in Shenyang, Vice President for International Affairs SUZUKI Takayoshi and SiXERS faculty in attendance according to strict criteria, Zhang Zhi-Bin from Dalian University of Foreign Languages and Liu Si Yu from Dalian University of Foreign Languages were selected as winners of the speech category and recitation category, respectively. The two prizewinners were also awarded a study trip to Okayama University. Additionally, Lin Mei from Dalian University of Technology was awarded the special Consul General Prize from the Consulate-General of Japan in Shenyang.

Okayama University has been collaborating with universities in the northeastern area of China for over thirty years and will continue to promote academic exchange between SixERS and Chinese Universities with the intention of encouraging students to serve as a bridge for friendship between Japan and China.