Dear Friends of the UCBRC:
2020 has been an unusual year full of turbulence not merely for people from different walks of life, but also for the Sino-US diplomatic relationship. Just in time for the holiday season, you all deserve to take a deep breath and celebrate what you have overcome with your loved ones.
This year we are also grateful and honored to witness the birth and development of UCBRC, a community devoted to creating mutual understandings between the younger generations of these two countries. We would like to first express our gratitude for the firm support of each individual in our diverse UCBRC community, and for actively participating in the various events held by UCBRC. Moreover, we are genuinely thankful for the strong support and substantial encouragement of every team member of UCBRC, for showing up to online meetings after classes or work and contributing to interesting academic discussions on our online platforms. In this end-of-year newsletter, we』ll go through some of the most iconic highlights of UCBRC and hear the last words of 2020 from our presidents and founders.
If you are interested in getting to know more about fostering relationships between China and the U.S., meet new people, and join a global student network, register to become a UCBRC member through the link in "Read More" at the bottom of the page. You are also welcomed to contact us by leaving your comments.
▲「 Highlights of UCBRC」
1. The Intercollegiate U.S.-China Journal
This winter, UCBRC launched the first issue of the Intercollegiate U.S.-China Journal (IUCJ), a bilingual, semiannual academic journal that provides a platform for students across the globe to publish interdisciplinary, academically rigorous research. The IUCJ’s core mission is to shift the prevailing negative narrative surrounding U.S.-China relations towards one of the more positive connections and greater understanding. To this end, the inaugural issue of the IUCJ features a diverse array of student voices on global issues and foreign policy, as they pertain to the U.S. and China. We also hope that by publishing these articles in both English and Chinese, this issue will connect students across the Pacific by providing a common experience upon which to foster dialogue.
Click here to see the first issue of the IUCJ:
https://www.iucj.org/issue-1
2. The Online Art Exhibition Home is…?
This year, our arts and culture team has organized a wonderful online exhibition called Home is…?. This online project successfully featured over 60 works of art that range from paintings, photographs, and digital artworks to videos and installations. Most notably, we have engaged people both from art institutions and non-art related backgrounds, thus presenting the vast creative potential of the participating students and the degree of diversity in their identities and perspectives.
The exhibition itself revolves around four main sections—the transformation of home, cultural associations of the hometown, abstracted constructions of home, and complex identities. Three young artists, Buwei (Pratt Institute), Jianfei Lyu (Wellesley College), and Wenjuan Wan (Tsinghua University), joined our opening panel to share their own interpretations of home. Discussions between participants and artists, therefore, have been made possible to explore the elusiveness and contestation of "home" in contemporary contexts and its relationship with art-making.
Click here to see the exhibition:
https://www.betterrelations.org/en/home-is
Our second exhibition 「Love | Screen」 is calling for artwork submissions: English/中文
3. Podcast and Interviews
This year, we produced 9 interviews and 9 podcast episodes in our Connecting the Dots series. For our interviews, we have covered a wide range of topics including green finance, international collaborations during COVID, cross-cultural friendship, global education practices, non-profit innovations, and so on. Through these interviews, we hope to present the pioneering initiatives and valuable insights of scholars and professionals in the field of US-China relations to a wider audience. As for our Connecting the Dots podcast series, we focus more on the stories and identities of students and recent graduates, in which we chat with them about their opinions on the latest news as well as their initiatives in promoting US-China communications in terms of campus culture, fundraising collaborations, arts and media, and much more. Next year, we hope to further emphasize the diversity of our featured guests to further help UCBRC expand its student and professional network around the world.
Click here to see the interviews:
https://www.betterrelations.org/en/interviews
Click here to see the podcasts:
https://www.betterrelations.org/connecting-the-dots
You can also find us on Spotify as 「US-China Better Relations Coalition」 and on Ximalaya (喜馬拉雅) as 「UCBRC.」
4. Member Communication Events
The UCBRC prioritizes mature and honest dialogue and discussions, to which we have hosted six online discussion forums on various issues, both lighthearted and serious. Past discussion topics included Black Lives Matter, cybersecurity, educational and cultural differences, the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and China’s economic development. We also invite guest speakers from our community and partners such as IMUSE (Initiating Mutual Understanding through Student Exchange). Students were encouraged to share their takes on how the US presidential election has affected their personal life, how China’s economic development has influenced economic stratification and gender equality, and how high-speed rail could become a reality against all odds. Discussions are bilingual and held monthly, and all our members are welcomed to share their insights. Next year, we will invite more guest speakers from diverse backgrounds to lead the discussions. We are also going to launch the ConnecTA project as a channel to connect our members of diverse nationalities.
To summarize, we have achieved many of the goals set for the UCBRC’s inaugural year, and we promise that we will continue to create meaningful events for students from both the US and China to arouse their awareness of the importance of US-China relations.
Finally, let’s hear the last words of 2020 from our leaders, Yanni and Jackson.
Yanni: UCBRC is still a very young organization and we ought to grow together with our members. I hope that they can get the most out of our programs and actively participate in conversations and dialogues. It is the contribution of every member that makes us a better community.
Jackson: The beginning of 2020 was an unexpectedly challenging period for people all over the world, and UCBRC is much needed as a warm community with a positive voice. I genuinely hope that our organization can appeal to more students, ranging from China to Western countries, and let them share their voices with us, which can make our community even bigger and more diverse.
Our social media accounts:
Official Website: betterrelations.org
WeChat Official Account: Better Relations Coalition
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterrelationscoalition
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-china-better-relations-coalition
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UCBRC_Official
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ucbrc_official/
Spotify: US-China Better Relations Coalition
Ximalaya: UCBRC
文案｜Member Relations Team，許軍徽，王佳玥
排版｜Beverly 楊宇楠
責任編輯｜Beverly 楊宇楠，Yuhao 王宇豪