還記得前兩天在CGTN直播中那位頭戴皮毛氈帽、身著胡羌特色服飾，完美cosplay了來自美索不達米亞平原西域特使的CGTN外籍編輯Nadim Diab嗎？憑藉著俊朗的外表、陽光開朗的性格和豐富的表現力，鏡頭前Nadim給許多觀眾留下了深刻的印象。
敦煌直播結束後，Nadim馬不停蹄地趕回北京，投入到「一帶一路」國際高峰合作論壇的報導中。今天，Nadim趕到了位於北京市朝陽區國家會議中心的國際合作高峰論壇新聞中心，捕捉到了各國記者上會的繁忙身影，還同CGTN非洲分臺的主播Beatrice Marshall進行了深入交流。讓我們一起通過 Nadim 的記者手記來領略峰會前夕媒體中心的盛況吧！
For an international conference on an ambitious plan to connect over 4.4 billion people together through ideas, information and infrastructure, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation lived up to the expectations it set for itself… even before it starts.
A day before the meeting goes underway, the Media Center at the China National Convention Center was already a full house. Journalists from home and abroad – some wielding their cameras, others clinging on to their mics – were in search for other media workers and guests with whom they can discuss, debate and deliberate.
The venue felt like a microcosm for what the Belt and Road Initiative is trying to achieve: connectivity.
Journalists at the Media Center of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 13, 2017. /CGTN Photo
People-to-people exchanges is one of the five core areas of interest (along with policy coordination, infrastructure construction, unimpeded trade and financial integration), and on Saturday, exchanges were aplenty – about each journalist’s plan of attack, personal views about China’s outbound investment, and individual experiences in Beijing.
Indistinct chatter played on a loop, echoing through the different venues of the venue – a reminder that conversations were constantly being held, opinions exchanged and bonds forged.
Nadim說，「一帶一路」峰會新聞中心不僅為各國記者溝通交流提供了平臺，還讓平時很少有機會能見面的CGTN各分臺記者和主播齊聚一堂。
The vast working space (10,000 square meters in area) was not only an opportunity for journalists with different, sometimes opposite, views to come together, but also a rare occasion for a CGTN-style family reunion.
Correspondents from CGTN’s broadcast centers in Beijing, Nairobi and Washington DC were under the same roof (and breakfast table), and television reporters were teaming up with their colleagues in the digital department to produce live broadcasts on social media platforms.
Nadim在新聞中心見到了來自CGTN非洲分臺的氣質主播Beatrice Marshall。她說中國在非洲的公路、鐵路和工業園等方面的投資給她的祖國肯亞帶來了巨大變化。
Sipping on my second coffee cup for the day (at only 8:30 in the morning), I intently listened to Beatrice Marshall, a news anchor for CGTN Africa with a sunny smile and impassioned eloquence, telling about how she witnessed, through her work in the field, Chinese investment in highways, railways and industrial parks, make a much-needed change in Kenya, her home country, and all 54 countries that make up the African continent.
She dismissed allegations that such investments open the floodgates of low-wage Chinese labor to Africa, and noted that Beijing finances projects as much as it funds training programs for locals to carry out the job themselves. It wasn't cheap talk, the intense enthusiasm with which she was expressing herself was a clear sign of unshaken conviction in what was coming out of her mouth.
When the interviewer becomes the interviewee: Beatrice Marshall from CGTN Africa answering questions from Chinese media at the Media Center of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 13, 2017. /CGTN Photo
While heading back to CGTN studios at the Media Center for final rehearsals before the big show, Zou Yun, a reporter for the channel and my live stream co-host for the day, rushed forward to a blue-eyed man in a suit. She and Roee Ruttenberg turned out to ex-colleagues, having worked together at the offices of CGTN America. Zou Yun left Washington for Beijing years ago, but distance had no effect on their friendship.
Who said journalism can't be fun? CGTN Digital’s Nadim Diab posing with fellow CGTN correspondent Zou Yun for a selfie during their live broadcast from the Media Center of the Belt and Road for International Cooperation. /CGTN Photo
誰說上會記者一定要一本正經，不苟言笑！這不，Nadim還在工作間隙和他當天的直播拍檔，來自北美分臺的美女記者鄒韻來了張自拍！兩人在今天下午的直播中介紹了媒體中心的各項設施和供應的食品，還請一些記者談了他們對峰會的看法。
I had seen Zou Yun on television, and repurposed some of her pieces for online use, but before today, we had been strangers. My brief experience in live streaming had taught me that chemistry is key when the spotlight is shining on two hosts, and, by luck or some divine intervention, we managed to vibe well, volleying views and jests back and forth as we toured inside the Media Center, introducing its many facilities, sampling food along the way, and inquiring from other journalists about their focal points during the two-day event.
Food for thought: A book show at the Media Center of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 13, 2017. /CGTN Photo
Food for the stomach: one of many desserts served in the canteen of the Media Center of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 13, 2017. /CGTN Photo
Nadim說，中外各國記者圍繞著「一帶一路」峰會設置了不同的議題。
Everyone had their own agenda. Some were in a quest to find what the forum could do to US-China trade ties, which have been enjoying a phase of stability following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with US counterpart Donald Trump in Florida. Others were seeking answers to whether the Belt and Road framework could replace the faltering Trans-Pacific Partnership. And a few we interviewed expressed interest in the 「soft connection」 dimension of the initiative – the flow of ideas and people, and cooperation in science, technology, medical care and environmental protection between China and the countries and regions along the growing network of Belt and Road routes.
This tri-lingual CCTV reporter said he wished to interview a representative of World Trade Organization to enrich his coverage about the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. /CGTN Photo
Regardless, everyone was willing to ask, inquire and listen, to engage in constructive dialogue and find common grounds, despite their differences, to build on – and that’s what lies at the core of the Belt and Road Initiative and its upcoming forum.