The joy of giving

Yijia sees her three-month experience related to the competition as "a lesson in teamwork" and "a rehab course" against stage fright. Earlier, she was a bit shy and the thought of a public presentation would make her nervous.

"I will share my enlightening experience with my schoolmates. Together, we plan to launch and run a charity club on campus to realize sustainable development goals," she says.

Since 2017, the competition has attracted more than 1,800 high school students from home and abroad, who put forward innovative ideas to promote the welfare of African people, especially women and children.

The competition was co-initiated five years ago by the China-Africa Business Council and the United Nations Population Fund to achieve sustainable development goals. By the end of last year, welfare projects incubated by the competition had reached more than 51,287 people in 16 African countries, including Sudan, Mozambique and Rwanda.