The 11th monthly lecture on consular protection was live-streamed on November 22nd for the teachers and students of Yuetan Middle School in Xicheng District. This lecture, together with the mock drills, was tailored to enhance the safety awareness and the risk prevention ability of students when they are abroad. The number of high school students and teachers attending this “Cloud Class” exceeded 300.

1. Warm-up activities before class and key points review after class

A video titled Consular Protection in Three Minutes was played in Yuetan Middle School prior to the lecture. A pocket-book titled Overseas Travel Safety Guidelines and a folded leaflet titled Eight FAQs About Overseas Travels were distributed among the students. With warm-up activities before class and review practices after class, such extensive learning enhanced students’ awareness of consular protection. Parents were also encouraged to learn more about consular protection, so that the students’ whole families engaged in the learning.

2. Tailored content for the targeted group

Yuetan Middle School is the only public secondary school in China where Japanese is taught as the first foreign language and English as a required course. It is also a demonstration school of international exchange. The organizers learned about what students wanted to know before designing the class, highlighting how to identify and avoid potential safety hazards that are commonly seen in overseas travels and how to protect one’s life and property when traveling aboard amid the pandemic. Wang Xuejun, an expert on international safety education from the Safety Education Commission of the Chinese Society of Educational Development Strategy, with his in-depth knowledge of Japanese policy, was invited to be the keynote speaker of the 11th monthly lecture. Addressing the specific needs of the students with real cases for explicit explanations, his speech was well received by the audience.

3. Scenario-based teaching to improve hands-on skills

Mock drills were organized to simulate emergency scenarios that are most commonly seen when living abroad. The lecturer elaborated on some essential skills for protecting one’s life and property, such as tying emergency escape knot and sheet bend, and globally recognized counter-terrorism sign language, etc. Students were enthusiastic about learning and actively tried the moves themselves.

“During the consular protection promotion activity organized by the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, I learned a lot from the teacher’s vivid teaching and the supporting materials like videos, pictures, and documents. The most impressive part is the knot-tying and counter-terrorism sign language. Virtual learning is as good as learning face-to-face with the teacher. With the professional and practical knowledge the teacher taught us, we now know how to avoid risks and better protect ourselves.” said Zhang Yujie, a student from Yuetan.

“Through this event, I learned that one must ensure his/her safety by confirming the ‘time, place, and persons involved’ before taking actions when studying or traveling abroad. The teacher gave us a detailed professional lecture. We learned the cultural and legal differences among different countries, gained the ability to deal with risks, and raised safety awareness. I hope to see more similar activities in the future.” said Bai Tieran, another student.

“Yuetan is a demonstration school for Japanese language teaching. Students are offered many opportunities to visit Japan. Some of them have plans to pursue further study there. The lecture today taught them knowledge and skills that can’t be learned from books. They are of great practical use for the students.” remarked An Ping, the Director of Foreign Affairs Department of Yuetan.

Next, the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office will organize more activities with more diverse topics and forms for more targeted groups. By making detailed and meticulous preparations, we will “serve the people through foreign affairs related work” and lay a solid foundation for safeguarding overseas safety of Chinese citizens.