In an ancient country with a great and enduring civilization, people are hastening forward so quickly that on the long and winding way they have missed countless gifts from their forebears, and even got lost where is home, as they are bogged down in the calculation of gain and loss.In the spirit of "dedication, friendship, mutual aid and progress", volunteers of different colors, ethnicities, nations and regions in the world have participated in conservation of urban and rural heritage in China, which is the ultimate expression of what the United Nations is all about. The conviction to better the world is guiding more and more passionate youth to get involved in voluntary programs. Since the first Chinese workcamp on urban and rural heritage conservation, Pingyao Workcamp, was established on August 25, 2011, young people from all around the world have been continuously applying for volunteering in China and enthusiastically embracing this country. Up till now, workcamp has been smoothly operated in the following sites: Pingyao, Xinjiang, Suzhou, Tongli, Tunpu, Gui"an and Xiangzhigou.
The Chinese Workcamp on Urban and Rural Heritage Conservation was advocated and founded by Ruan Yisan, knows as the "guardian of ancient city" and "father of world heritage sites in China". It is jointly organized by such famed or authoritative institutions as the Ruan Yisan Heritage Foundation (from Shanghai), REMPART (from France), National Trust (from England), and Carpenters Without Borders (from France), also in cooperation with the Guizhou Nuo Opera Culture and Communication Co., Ltd. The workcamp is of a sharing platform without borders, where inheritance and innovation are the focus, people of multiple nationalities, based on tolerance, mutual respect and understanding, are able to communicate and help each other. It offers an on-the-spot service to all the volunteers and the full-time professionals would assure them of a secure, rewarding and unforgettable experience in the workcamp.
We expect more youngsters to become a part of international volunteering, in the hope that what they do can popularize value of heritage, arouse the awareness of heritage protection in civil society, and further to slow down the withering of traditions and foster cultural confidence. Please get moving now! That’s not only for the sake of nostalgia.
To keep nostalgia, to fly poetry, and they are bound to lure me back, in spite of noble aspiration in my mind.