Company Special: Bluestar summer camp helps children bridge different cultures

China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd did not expect in the beginning that its summer camp would run for 26 years and become one of the most efective tools to facilitate the company's cultural integration, for it originated from a simple thought.

"We started to organize the summer camp in 1990 to help Bluestar's Chinese employees take care of their children during the summer vacation," said Liu Yawen, assistant to the president of China National Chemical Corp, also known as ChemChina, the parent company of Bluestar and one of the top chemical products manufacturers in the country.

The first summer camp attracted 11 children, who spent a week touring the city of Lanzhou and the grasslands in Gansu province. Since 1997, the number of children joining the camp has been about 1,000 each year.

In 2009, the camp also opened to children of Bluestar's foreign employees after the company became more international. It has since taken on a new role as a bridge between different cultures.

"We want to transmit China's image and culture through the eyes of foreign youngsters and also hope those children tell their parents what Bluestar and the Chinese are like when they go home," Liu said.

Bluestar has made several overseas acquisitions since 2006 to accelerate its internationalization.

As of now, the State-owned enterprise owns five foreign companies, including Qenos in Australia, Elkem in Norway and two French companies - BSI and Adisseo. It also has more than 30 Chinese subsidiaries across the nation.

The annual summer camp usually lasts 20 days and starts in July. Children, aged between 8 and 15, of the chemical giant's employees worldwide are eligible to attend. To date, more than 13,000 employees' children have taken part in the summer camp.

This year, some 940 Chinese and foreign children are participating in the camp which started on July 20 and will run until Aug 10. Nearly 140 children, including 45 from eight overseas countries including France and Australia, are at the Beijing No 1 camp, one of 22 sites in 18 cities nationwide.

Under the theme of "civilization inheritance", activities and curriculum are designed to promote personal growth, social responsibility, corporate awareness and an understanding of international culture.

A highlight of this year's summer camp was the Nation's Day held on July 31 at the Beijing camp.

Children from France, Australia and Norway introduced the culture and customs of their home countries in fun and fresh ways.

The French team sang a wellknown song called Champs-Elysees, the name of the most famous thoroughfare in Paris.

The Australian team performed a medley of Australian pieces that showcased different aspects of the local life, including Australian football; an imitation of Sia, a popular local singer; and a performance of Waltzing Matilda, a song "close to every Australian's heart", the team said.

The Norwegian team performed a stage play based on the story of Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen.

"Peer is a normal man who is seduced by a troll princess. Her father, the mountain king, has some demands for Peer and one of them is that Peer has to become a troll and stay in the mountain forever. Peer is very egoistic and never faces his problems, so he refuses and runs away," a team member said.

Jonathan Clancy, board member of Bluestar and CEO of Qenos, attended the Nation's Day celebrations with his wife and two children.

"I have had the great privilege to meet the Chinese President Xi Jinping twice in Australia and I listened to the Chinese Dream. There are eight parts of the Chinese Dream and one of those parts is Beautiful China," Clancy said.

With a culture of tolerance, love and opening-up, the Bluestar international summer camp was a truly beautiful place to experience the Chinese Dream, he said.

In addition, children at the Beijing No 1 camp were divided into five classes and each presented their class song and emblem at the Nation's Day.

Students in Class 5, for example, chose Welcome to Beijing, the theme song of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, as their class song.

"The lyrics of this song are dificult to memorize, but they only took half a day to finish learning," said Huang Zhiying, head teacher of the class.

Laia, a Spanish girl whose mother works for Bluestar Silicones, said she felt lucky to win the chance to join the summer camp and experience a different culture.

"The camp is special because you can meet people from different countries and different cultures. I have made many new friends here," she said.

In addition to doing sports and other activities, Laia and other foreign teens spent a weekend with the families of their Chinese friends.

Having the foreign campers stay for a weekend with Chinese families will be a permanent part of the camp, to help them understand Chinese life better.

"I visited the lakes of Beijing with them and went to shops to buy gifts," Laia said.

"I tasted some traditional food like dumplings and Peking roast duck. I went to a special restaurant where as we ate we could watch a show," she added.

The Spanish girl also said she loves martial arts and wants to learn them.

Nine, a French teen, said this was her first time to attend a summer camp. "Everything is amazing here and everyone is happy to be here," she said.

The 13-year-old visited several popular tourist sites in Beijing, including Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/07/2015 page14)