Volunteers offer help, warmth at summit(1/3)

A journalist asks for information at the media center for the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Friday. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Li Guangda, a volunteer at the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, said he has received many thumbs-up from foreign reporters for his professional and friendly assistance since he began serving at the information desk of the summit's media center.

"It's very rewarding. For many participants of the summit, our volunteers are the first people they meet and have close contact with. Our behavior matters a lot," said the 22-year-old student from Qingdao-based China University of Petroleum.

Li is one of the 2,000 student volunteers recruited from 10 universities in the coastal city, which is hosting the summit on Saturday and Sunday.

Besides the student volunteers, another 18,000 volunteers from all walks of life have also been providing services around Qingdao.

Because the student volunteers wear blue and white uniforms, they are nicknamed "little sea splashes". They have been mobilized to offer various services for the summit, such as assistance to guests with arrival and departure, translation and media requests.

Volunteers are being trained for the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Friday. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Li, an undergraduate majoring in English, submitted his application in January. More than 20,000 students applied to become volunteers for the summit, according to the meeting's organizing committee.

"The enthusiasm from students is beyond our expectations," said Sun Jian, who works for the committee's working group of volunteers. "We've chosen the ones with better expertise that is particularly helpful for the summit, such as students majoring in foreign languages and computers."

Each volunteer has received about 40 hours of training before the summit, he said. "Besides lessons on etiquette, we've invited experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give the volunteers lectures on how the SCO works and the traditions of the countries participating in the summit."

Li has been appointed as a guide in the media center because of his expertise in English. There are other volunteers at the center who are fluent in Russian. They have to know about all events in the media center as well as information about Qingdao, because they are the ones the reporters go to first if they have questions, Li said.

Volunteers are being trained for the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Friday. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

"It's an honor to be part of such an important event," he added. "We just want to leave the guests and reporters with a good impression of Qingdao and the Chinese people.

"More important, I also find joy in meeting people from different countries, which has broadened my views," he said.

Wen Qing, a teacher from Ocean University of China and a volunteer organizer, said it's not an easy job to maintain a good posture and greet people with a smile all day long, as well as offer useful and professional assistance.

"The students told me that they enjoy the work because they genuinely want to offer the best service," she said. "I'm proud of them."