20th Campus Reading Festival Kicks Off, Blending Tradition with Innovation

With the sound of spring, the pages of books are turned, revealing beauty accompanied by literature. On the afternoon of April 21st, as the 30th World Book Day approaches, the 20th Campus Reading Festival, jointly organized by the library of Suzhou Vocational Health College and the Youth League Committee, held its opening ceremony at the Cultural and Art Center of the Shihu Campus. Chen Hao, member of the Party Committee of SVHC and Vice President, attended the ceremony and gave a speech. Nearly 200 representatives of faculty and students participated in the event, including relevant leaders from the the Publicity Office of the College Party Committee, the Student Affairs Office, the Library, the Youth League Committee, outstanding campus reading promoters, and appointed reading guidance teachers. The opening ceremony was hosted by Ms. Li Yajun from the library.

The director of the campus reading festival organizing committee and vice president Chen Hao delivered an enthusiastic speech. He reflected on the festival’s two-decade journey—from its humble beginnings as the “Bookish Campus Newsletter” to today’s "Lakeside Lecture Hall”, a multifaceted cultural platform featuring lectures, class-based reading initiatives; from "Creating Book Aroma Classes" to the“Hundred-Book Navigation Program”. The campus reading festival has always resonated with the college and its disciplines. While the forms of reading have changed, the original intent of“cultivating people through culture and nourishing the heart through literature” remains unchanged. In light of today’s rapid development of AI, he emphasized that we are in an era driven by technology, and we must think about how to “read, reflect, act, and reach far”amidst the torrent of information. Therefore, he proposed three expectations for students: to be inheritors of Chinese culture, practitioners of new trends of the times, and builders of a healthy China, allowing the genes of traditional culture to be integrated into professional beliefs, and using youth to build a book-loving society in China.

Subsequently, the library reviewed the activities of the 19th Campus Reading Festival and introduced the projects for the 20th Campus Reading Festival. They released the 2024 “Campus Reading Report”of SVHC and officially launched the library's official WeChat account. In addition, awards and appointment letters were presented to outstanding reading guidance teachers and reading promoters from the 19th Campus Reading Festival, as well as to newly appointed reading guidance teachers for the 20th festival. Representatives of the awarded “Book Aroma classes” were also given banners as awards. At the end of the ceremony, students from the school's clubs such as Dandelion Society, Dance Association, Arts Troupe Vocal Group, Hanfu Association, and China-foreign Friendship Bridge presented exciting performances including singing, recitations, dance medleys, songs, Hanfu fashion shows.

Twenty years of a path filled with the fragrance of books, with an unwavering original intention; a new journey is set to start, with mission on our shoulders. Since 2006, our school has successfully held the campus reading festival for 20 consecutive years. From the initial single reading activities, it has developed into a multi-dimensional brand project that includes classic reading, cultural walks, and cultural experiences. The event has attracted over 100,000 participants in total and has incubated distinctive educational outcomes such as “Book Aroma Class”. It has been recognized as an “Excellent Institute for National Reading in Suzhou”, “Excellent Jiangsu Province College Library”, and “Demonstration School for Book Aroma Campus Construction in Jiangsu Province”.

In 2025, the organizing committee of the Campus Reading Festival will, guided by deep learning and implementation of Xin Jinping cultural thoughts, actively respond to the call of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party for nationwide reading. They will adhere to the fundamental task of cultivating moral values in schools and hold the 20th Campus Reading Festival with the theme "Guided by Books, Soaring with Dreams" . Based on the school’s list of a hundred must-read books, the event will engage all faculty and students in five main activities: book lectures, cultural exhibitions, medical-themed walks, Lakeside Lectures, and interactive workshops. Utilizing books as a bridge, the festival aims to deeply integrate the spirit of the medical profession with a humanistic sentiment, fostering cultural confidence and a sense of responsibility in medicine.

Let this festival ignite a renewed passion for reading, infusing every corner of our campus with the power of literature and nurturing a generation of compassionate, skilled healthcare leaders ready to uphold the ethos of “humanistic depth, technical excellence, and unwavering responsibility”in the new era!