The 2019 Belt and Road International Youth Summer School, co-sponsored by the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation and the Youth Time International Movement, kicked off Monday in Chengdu, Sichuan.

The seminar, with the theme Cooperation Along the Silk Road, Innovation in Entrepreneurship, focused on the topic Integration of Funds and Technology Innovation through expert lectures, forum discussions, interactive workshops and related cultural exchange activities.

More than 80 outstanding young entrepreneurs, young college students and industry experts from nearly 20 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, including China, participated in the workshop. The China Soong Chingling Foundation hosted the workshop and exchange center, and was supported by the Sichuan Foreign Affairs Office as well as the co-organizers, the Entrepreneurship Corporation and the Youth Time Activity Consultation.

At the opening ceremony, Hang Yuanxiang, executive vice-chairman of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, pointed out that the second Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum had a successful run in Beijing in April. President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the forum and painted a beautiful future of high-quality collaboration for the Belt and Road. Hang Yuanxiang said that the construction of the Belt and Road is a practical platform to promote the building of a community of shared human destiny.

The Belt and Road Initiative has gained inclusion into documents from the UN, Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other important international mechanisms, and has become the largest platform for cooperation. Sichuan hosted this camp to make full use of its regional advantages in the construction of the Belt and Road, build a high-quality exchange and sharing platform, promote entrepreneurial innovation, and deepen exchanges among Chinese and foreign youth.

Hang said that since its establishment in 1982, China Soong Ching Ling Foundation has always adhered to the tenet of "peace, unity and future". The foundation will continue to work to enhance international friendship and also make new contributions for building a platform, which will promote exchange, cooperation and mutual learning between Chinese and the rest of the world. This will lead to further understanding among people of countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, and the creation of a community of shared future for humankind.

Zhao Zhenxian, vice-chairman of the Sichuan People's Political Consultative Conference, said during the opening ceremony, "We appreciate the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation for their support to Sichuan's opening-up."

Zhao said this year's event goes under the theme of Bridge Capital and Technology: Cooperation Along the Silk Road, and Innovation in Entrepreneurship in Sichuan. The event will broaden awareness of the Belt and Road Initiative, and bolster Sichuan's involvement in it.

Julia Kinash, president of the Youth Time International Movement, said during the opening ceremony, "The Belt and Road Initiative is an extensive global effort that looks to connect multiple nations in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas through infrastructure and trade, fostering new international relationships and cooperation to boost global economic growth and continue to stimulate and expand various existing and new markets. As the initiative continues to grow and develop, this will create new opportunities for young entrepreneurs and professionals such as yourselves to capitalize on and create a positive impact that will benefit everyone for generations now and to come."

Following the opening ceremony, Dr Vladimir Yakunin, head of the department of state governance in political science at Moscow State University, made the keynote speech Belt and Road Initiative: Opportunities and Challenges.

Additionally, Mr. Li Jinfeng, deputy director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road Initiative of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, gave the keynote speech Achievements, Problems and Prospects of the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to the organizers, the summer school will last until July 12. The ambassadors and trainees will also visit the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and Haite Group, as well as some historical and cultural locations in Sichuan.

In December 2010, the Youth Time International Movement was founded in Prague, Czech Republic. It emerged from the Rhodes Youth Forum with an aim to build a platform for youth of different cultures and ages. Since 2011, the Youth Time International Movement has organized summer schools in Russia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Italy and Germany. From 2016 to 2018, the movement, together with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, organized in Beijing and Shanghai the summer school, which has now come to Chengdu, Sichuan, for this year's event.