The commitment to service-learning has long been a core practice and value for students at The Beijing Center. This semester, the Spring 2021 students had the opportunity to visit an organization that The Beijing Center has collaborated with for years, Five Loaves and Two Fish.
At Five Loaves and Two Fish, the dedicated volunteers continue to support local communities of migrant children in Beijing, by providing them a safe space to improve their education and nurture their well-being, as their families work towards a better living. As part of this community service, The Beijing Center students participate by extending their knowledge to help the children learn more by running lively activities for the children on the weekends.
On arrival, the students were welcomed by Fr. Zevola Giovanni, the organization’s founder, and devoted supporter. While The Beijing Center’s Executive Director, Dr. Simon Koo, and Fr. Giovanni exchanged a few words, the students became acquainted with the children they would be teaching for the day.
Through such service-learning activities, which are part of the academic curriculum at The Beijing Center, students are able to develop holistic perspectives by encountering and engaging with marginalized communities, while also providing an invaluable experience to children who greatly benefit from additional and diverse learning activities.
Founded in 1998, The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies (TBC) is a center of higher education in mainland China committed to fostering mutual understanding between China and other cultures through cultural exchange, education, and research. What makes us unique is our placement in a long and storied tradition of Jesuit education, one that teaches us that true cultural engagement starts first with friendship. To learn more, visit http://thebeijingcenter.org or email [email protected].
This semester, The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies (TBC) has welcomed exchange students from AJCU schools to participate in the YES (Young Envoys Scholarship) program. With anticipation and curiosity, the exchange students have set foot on this unfamiliar land for the first time, starting their new chapter of study abroad.
This is the first American edition of Anderson’s fascinating account of Britain’s first diplomatic mission to China in 1792. By the end of the eighteenth century the East India Company had been trading with Chinese merchants for two hundred years, but in a strictly limited way.