The launching ceremony of the collaborative project between RUC Volunteer Team and the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir was held at the Student Center on September 15th.
The Malanhua’er Children’s Choir made a stunning appearance at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where it sang the Olympic Hymn in Greek. The children in the choir are all from Fuping County, a mountainous area in Hebei Province. As part of its cooperation with Fuping County, RUC has been offering cultural and artistic support for the choir.
The ceremony was attended by RUC President Lin Shangli, Vice President Wang Yi, Acting Head of Fuping County Xu Tao, Director of the RUC Youth League Committee Ding Li, teachers and children from the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir, RUC volunteer representatives and RUC Art Troupe representatives.
RUC Art Troup kicked off the ceremony with an orchestral quintet “My Motherland and I”.
Ding Li offered a detailed introduction to the implementation scheme of the collaborative project. She said that RUC will provide academic tutoring, history education, aesthetic education, and other support for the choir online and offline.
RUC volunteer representative Gu Siyuan shared her stories as a volunteer teacher. She was born in Fuping County and she has returned there to teach and help children.
Zhao Yixuan, the representative of the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir told the story of how they left the deep mountains and came to Beijing, fulfilling their dreams with song.
As an emblem of friendship, the RUC Choir sang “My Motherland” and the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir sang “Big Eyes” and “Let Us Sail Off Together”. The children’s crystal-clear voices are reminiscent of their wonderful performance on the Olympic stage.
Vice President Wang Yi awarded a flag to the “RUC – Malanhua’er Volunteer Team”. She pointed out that this was not only the handover of a flag but also the passing on of love and friendship.
Xu Tao recalled the profound friendship between Fuping County and North China United University, the predecessor of RUC. He expressed gratitude to the RUC team who went to Fuping County this May and put forward valuable advice on poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, industrial development, and other aspects. He said that Fuping County would use the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir as an example to lead and develop art education, with music education as a key feature. In the meantime, they will comprehensively promote the talent-cultivating mode of the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir. He hoped that the collaborative project could facilitate the new development of the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir and art education in Fuping.
President Lin Shangli expressed his welcome to the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir and thanked its heart-warming performance. He said that he was deeply moved by the beautiful voice of the children. He was also touched by the selfless dedication of Ms. Deng Xiaolan, who devoted herself to teaching music to village children and brought the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir to the Winter Olympics, introducing them to the whole world.
RUC has a deep bond with the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir. Fuping County provided food, shelter, and support for RUC’s predecessor North China United University during the revolutionary years. Therefore, RUC has the responsibility to provide support and service to Fuping County. What’s more, Ms. Deng Xiaolan’s mother Ms. Ding Yilan was an alumna of RUC. RUC will continue to pass on their legacy. The collaborative project between the RUC Volunteer Team and the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir will be an educational service, a moral cultivation project, and a social service program, and will play an important role in art education.
Before, the RUC Volunteer Team had already organized volunteers to provide offline tutoring for the Malanhua’er Children’s Choir during its participation in the Beijing Cultural Forum. The cumulative volunteer time was 237 hours.
