The Fifth SCEN China Youth Summit at the wonderful Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 2 December attracted 555 Delegates. 37 schools were represented from 9 local authorities, SCIS, the Edinburgh Chinese Community School, and 10 schools from Hong Kong. The venue was superb as was the hospitality. The varied programme was highly stimulating and managed to capture so much of what is happening across our growing number of schools and communities. Our Mandarin class pupils gave a fascinating and lively dance. Feedback from the pupils was very positive and this experience has undoubtedly whetted their appetites for continued learning on China related matters.
Martin Coyle (2A4): “On Friday I went to the Fifth SCEN China Youth Summit to perform the dance for the Chinese pop song ‘Small Apple’. It was very fun and I would love to do it again. It was very interesting learning about Chinese culture and watching the many different performances that were very good.”
Jagoda Halicka (4A7): “Last Friday, I was honoured to attend the Fifth SCEN China Youth Summit to give a speech in Mandarin as well as perform a dance to the Chinese song “Xiao Pingguo” (Small Apple). It was a very, very interesting experience which allowed me to learn more about Chinese culture as well as listen to other people’s opinion on the importance of language which really inspired me to continue studying Mandarin. All in all, I’m really glad I had the opportunity to attend this event and I hope that I can attend a similar one in the future.”
Grace Holland (2a5): “last Friday I was able to attend the Fifth SCEN China Youth Summit to perform a dance called little apple. I really enjoyed the trip especially meeting two girls from Hong Kong. I learned so much about their lives in Hong Kong and how different their lives are compared to mine. I would love to go next year!”
Lewis McLachlan 5A3: On Friday I felt very privileged to be able to participate in the Fifth SCEN China Youth Summit. I was able to perform a dance called ‘Xiao Pingguo’ which translated to small apple. It was great fun and also interesting to learn how other people view the Chinese culture. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would like to go again next year for the Sixth China Youth Summit or any other conferences in the near future.
William Cheng (5a9): on Friday, I was given the privilege to attend the Fifth SCEN china youth summit. It was an interesting experience as I was allowed to communicate with foreigners from Hong Kong. I was able to learn more about my culture, and hear the opinions of others. I am glad I went this year, and would gladly go to another one next year.
Rhianna Isaac (3a6): Last Friday I got the opportunity to take part in the fifth SCEN china youth summit In Edinburgh. I found it very interesting and learned a lot about other people’s experiences with learning Chinese and it showed me that I can do many things if I can speak even a little bit of Chinese. I even got to participate at the conference by performing a dance called ‘xiao pingguor’ which was very fun. I met people from hong kong and they said that they love ‘xiao pingguor ‘and I found out a bit about their lives in hong kong. I thoroughly enjoyed the event and I would love the opportunity to go again.
Lucia Doyle (3a2): On Friday the 2nd of December I was given another opportunity to go to the Fifth SCEN China Youth Summit. We watched performances and even had the chance to hear about others’ experiences in learning Mandarin and what other amazing chances they had on going on trips. I also had the chance to talk to the secondary school pupils from Hong Kong. They were happy to listen to our experiences in Scottish schools and how different it was here than back in Hong Kong. Back in 2014 I was able to participate in the 3rd SCEN conference in Gleneagles. This event was just as enjoyable as the last. I hope I will be invited back to future conferences one more time.
Callum Holland (5a1): I found the SCEN conference a greatly interesting and thought-provoking experience. Getting the opportunity to listen to some very great speakers regarding China was hugely enjoyable. I am very glad I went!
Gabriel Curran (4a10): On Friday 2nd December my classmates and I, along with the other pupils studying Mandarin, went to the fifth annual SCEN China Youth Summit in Edinburgh. The event was held in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, and there were presentations by many schools from across Scotland about their experiences of studying Mandarin or visiting China. There were also musical performances such as a scene from a famous Chinese Opera, and a well-known Scottish marching band. The pupils from St Ninian’s also gave a presentation and performed the dance “Small Apple” for the conference audience. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were inspired by the pupils from Hong Kong who gave a presentation in English about their experience of visiting Scotland and a Scottish school. It has encouraged us all to continue to study Mandarin into the future and has sparked a strong desire to learn about the culture and the language.
