2021 GD Youth Link:3rd Guangdong International Youth Sports Dialogue held in Guangzhou

Zhou Wei

“S ports are an important indicator of social development and human progress， and a significant manifestation of overall national strength and the cultural advancement of a society，” President Xi Jinping said.

Sport is also a form of people-topeople exchange that may touch hearts and bring people together.

The year 2020 witnessed sports events of national and international importance， including the Tokyo Olympics， the 14th National Games of China and the approaching 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The Guangdong People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries attaches great importance to friendly exchanges in youth sports with foreign countries and joined the Guangdong Youth Sports Federation as the co-host of the Third Guangdong International Youth Sports Dialogue.

As one of the 2021 GD Youth Link series， a brand activity of the GPAFFC since 2018， the Sports Dialogue invited Olympic champions； high school and college students； experts in sports； educators from the United States， Japan and China； and an emergency physician of the Beijing Winter Olympics to discuss and exchange views about the theme “Faster， Higher， Stronger， Together： Youth Sports Development and Safety” online and offline.

Wang Xunzhang， chairman of the Guangdong Overseas Returned Scholars Association and former vice chairman of the Guangdong Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference； Chen Guangjun， deputy general director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Guangdong government and vice chairman of the GPAFFC； Gao Jingping， chairman of the Guangdong Youth Sports Federation and vice chairman of the Chinese Rowing Association， also attended the dialogue and addressed the meeting.

“Safety comes first in sports. Young people come first in international exchanges.”

Wang Xunzhang said the theme of the dialogue — “Youth Sports Development and Sports Safety” —was well timed. He said he hoped international cooperation in sports injury prevention and emergency treatment may help more young students enjoy sports.

Chen Guangjun said the dialogue helped bridge practitioners and educators from Guangdong and other countries in sports safety， sports science and sports accessibility， which diversified the province’s international youth exchanges.

Gao Jingping emphasized that sports safety was essential to the development of youth sports. She called on young people of all ethnic groups in Guangdong to learn how to exercise correctly and called for public awareness on sports safety.

Professor Zhong Shizhen， an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering， welcomed the staging of the dialogue with his personal endorsement. “Safety comes first in playing sports，” Zhong said. “Young people come first in international exchanges.”

During the live connection， Jamie Zaninovich， vice chairman and chief operating officer of the Pacific 12 college sports conference （PAC-12） in the United States， said he looked forward to visiting China again to maintain youth sports exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

Toda Hirohisa， an overseas consul member of the GPAFFC and chairman of the Japan Rhythm Dance Federation， spoke on related measures in Japan’s youth sports and the importance of sports exchanges. He had high expectations about restarting the ChinaJapan-South Korea youth aerobics competition next year.

John Tanner， head coach of the women’s water polo team at Stanford University and the 2020 US Olympic and Paralympic Committee College Coach of the Year， gave a speech on the proper balance of sports and academics.

Dr. Fu Yan， a member of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics skiing medical protection team， was invited by GPAFFC， with support from the CPAFFC， to share the story of China’s first medical group specialized in the treatment of skiing injuries and to cheer for the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics.

Setting standards

Xian Dongmei， two-time Olympic champion in women’s judo and chair of the Chinese Judo Association； Chen Bin， a Southern Medical University professor； Zhang Jiewen， an Olympic champion and associate professor at Sun Yat-sen University； Killian Hollo， International Sports Health Foundation （Singapore） executive director； He Peizhang， Arizona State University football （American） team member； Dean Bryant， sports teacher at the Guangzhou ISA School； Olivia Zoppa and Jinyao Zhang DeSandies， international students studying in Guangzhou； and other Chinese and foreign representatives also participated in the dialogue and shared their expertise or personal experiences.

With a view toward raising public awareness about the safety and physical health of youth， the organizing committee joined hands with professionals and international consultants to issue a safety proposal for Guangdong youth sports. They called for “safe sports， healthy sports， smart sports， happy sports， and green sports”. They also launched the Youth Sports Injury Emergency Response Protocols （National Group Standard）. This protocol was drafted jointly by experts at home and abroad in sports medicine and the sports industry， representing an attempt for Guangdong to carry out international cooperation in youth sports management.

Multimedia coverage of hotspots

Media coverage of the dialogue included a warmup pre-release， live coverage on WeChat and Tiktok and photo coverage on Sina Weibo， as well as exclusive online interviews for journalists. Video footage of the dialogue can also be found on Bilibili. Voice of the Greater Bay Area Channel of China Central Radio， Nanfang Daily， Yangcheng Evening News， China News Service， Guangzhou Daily， Phoenix News， Ta Kung Pao， and Wen Wei Po covered the event from various perspectives： “Experts gathered for sports in Yangcheng”，“Proud！ Guangdong Shaoguan Youth， first Chinese to board the American college football field and score”，“Smart sports for a strong body” and“Youth Sports Injury Emergency Treatment Procedures Released”， among others. These multi-angle insights into the dialogue and related hot topics received positive responses and widespread attention.