On April 19, Liya Zhou, a world languages teacher at Boynton and DeWitt middle schools, participated in the 15th United Nations’ Chinese Language Day Celebration, Learn from Chinese Characters, Coexistence in Harmony.
Zhou joined the celebration to lead the traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony for nearly 200 people, including permanent representatives from various countries to the United Nations, senior diplomats, UN staff, members of the Chinese Book Association, representatives from the media, and friends.
“Presenting the Tea Ceremony at the event was truly an amazing experience,” Zhou said. “I feel deeply honored and inspired by the praise from all the guests. Promoting cultural diversity is not just a duty, but a passion of mine as a world language teacher. I am committed to persisting in this meaningful work for the betterment of my students and my community.”
During the event, both Chinese and foreign guests visited the Chinese character-themed exhibition. They experienced cultural projects such as ”Ten Bamboo Studio Paper Samples,” “Chinese Character Tracing,” and “Rain Flower Tea”.
Fu Cong, the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, shared in a speech during the day that for thousands of years, “harmony” has always been an essential spiritual core of Chinese civilization, reflecting the Chinese nation’s beautiful yearning for an ideal society since ancient times. He called on the international community to draw wisdom and strength from Chinese concepts such as coexistence in harmony and jointly promote global governance in a more just and reasonable direction.
Chinese is one of the six official languages of the United Nations and is also one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
At the Ithaca City School District, we are committed to reversing the legacy of racism and establishing communities built on love and joy. Essential to this work is providing meaningful, interdisciplinary learning experiences for all students and staff. Liya Zhou’s participation in the United Nations’ Chinese Language Day Celebration serves as a reminder of the significance of educators who actively embrace opportunities to promote cultural diversity and understanding and bring back these unique experiences to our classrooms.