On June 25, 2024, Belt and Road School (BRS) of Beijing Normal University(BNU) held the 2024 Commencement Ceremony in Beijing and Zhuhai and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Master's Program for Developing Countries.

Wang Shoujun, Executive Vice President of BNU and Dean of BRS, warmly engaged with the graduates and congratulated them on the ten-year achievements of BRS in nourishing master's students from developing countries. He noted that over the past decade, under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), BRS has cultivated many outstanding international talents, fostering profound exchanges and mutual learning across the globe. It has also encouraged collaborative efforts toward the high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation. He urged the graduates to become active practitioners of exchange and cooperation between their respective countries and China, and he expressed hopes for even greater development and progress for BRS in the coming decade.

Sun Zhonghe, President of Academy for International Business Officials at the Ministry of Commerce of PRC, congratulated BRS on the successful ten-year operation of the Master's Program for Developing Countries. He emphasized that over the past decade, BRS has cultivated many application-oriented talents with international perspectives and friendships with China for the relevant countries. This has significantly enhanced the independent development capacity of the recipient countries and has highlighted the golden brand of China's foreign aid training, receiving widespread acclaim. Besides, BRS made important contributions to the high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation, as well as the establishment of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Former Prime Minister of Kyrgyz Republic and Honorary President of the Belt and Road School Alumni Association, Djoomart Otorbaev; along with former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, Grzegorz W. Kolodko; former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zlatko Lagumdzija; former President of Serbia, Boris Tadić; former President of the CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, Enrique Garcia; Professor and Permanent Fellow at Erfurt University, Carsten Herrmann-Pillath and Professor Pan Qingzhong, Executive Vice Dean of Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University, along with other distinguished professors from BRS and prominent alumni representatives from around the globe, extended their heartfelt congratulations. They celebrated the achievements of BRS over the past decade and offered their best wishes to the graduating class of 2024. They emphasized that BRS has long been committed to nurturing future leaders from developing countries. The experiences gained at BNU can help international students learn from China's successful development and deepen their understanding of the roles that China and BRI play in today's world, which is highly consequential for the advancement of their home countries. They encouraged the graduates to face new challenges together, strive to promote the high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation, and foster mutual development between developing countries and the global community, illuminating the path toward a more prosperous, equitable, and hopeful future for all.

At the commencement ceremony, Liu Qian, the Vice Dean of BRS, extended her warm congratulations to the class of 2024. She highlighted that a decade of experience in training talent from developing countries was a tremendous asset for BRS and serves as the foundation for establishing a global alumni network for BRI. Liu encouraged the graduates to embrace their mission of nurturing future leaders for developing countries and expressed her hopes for their reunion on the international stage. Faculty representative Pompeo Della Posta reminisced fondly about the wonderful moments shared with students. He reiterated the school's motto, "For a Better World," and inspired the graduates to take on their responsibilities by fostering understanding, building mutual trust, and contributing to collaborative development across nations. New teacher representative Chen Biwei conveyed his confidence in and expectations for the graduates, urging them to fully leverage the knowledge and skills they acquired while studying in China to make a meaningful impact on global progress in their future leadership roles.

Outstanding graduate representatives from Kenya and Bangladesh, Mabel Ambiyo Omurambi and Romana Akhter, conveyed their heartfelt gratitude for the invaluable resources and opportunities provided by the School, as well as the high-quality curriculum and dedicated guidance from their teachers. They encouraged their fellow classmates to apply the knowledge and experiences gained in China to benefit their home countries. Alumni ambassadors from Tanzania and Sierra Leone, Ramadhani Mashaka Shabani and Carew Emmanuel Lenox Elton, expressed their commitment to actively embracing leadership roles as alumni ambassadors. They aim to foster the development of a global alumni network for BRS, create more opportunities for fellow alumni, maintain strong connections with the school and China, and collaborate towards global prosperity by addressing critical issues such as poverty alleviation and economic development.

Romana Akhter, who was honored as a courageous individual by Zhuhai, received Hatoyama Belt and Road Yuai Foundation Acts of Courage Award in recognition of her selfless act of rescuing a drowning child. This award celebrates her noble character, commitment to helping others, and disregard for personal gain. The celebration also featured awards for outstanding students, excellent papers, and special contributions, highlighting their remarkable achievements in academics and social practice while encouraging them to continue excelling in their future endeavors. Alumni ambassadors from various countries made appearances, further signifying the development of the school's global alumni network. The event concluded on a high note with a performance of "We'll Be the Stars" by the graduating class of 2024.

The faculty of BRS and 66 graduates from 27 countries gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Master's Program for Developing Countries, along with the successful graduation of the class of 2024. The event was hosted by Zhang Kunling, the Branch Secretary of CPC, and Zhan Mowen, Assistant to Dean. Since 2014, BRS (Emerging Markets Institute) of BNU has continuously hosted the Master's Program for Developing Countries, organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Education. This program aims to cultivate senior economic management talents and future leaders of developing countries who possess a strong theoretical foundation in economics, professional expertise in management, and policy analysis capabilities, all while being closely connected to practical development challenges. To date, it has nurtured 392 outstanding students from 71 developing countries. As of now, BRS has trained a total of 574 talented individuals from 90 countries. Over 50% of its graduates hold positions in government departments, including the presidential office, cabinet, senate, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce in their respective nations, while more than 20% work for leading enterprises and corporations within their countries. These graduates are playing an increasingly vital role in the socio-economic development of their nations and have become a key force in promoting political and economic cooperation between their countries and China, thus serving as a solid talent foundation for the high-quality joint construction of BRI.

Standing at a new starting point, BRS remains committed to providing high-quality educational resources and growth opportunities for international students from all over the world. Its goal is to cultivate outstanding talents who possess a strong sense of Chinese identity, an international perspective, and professional competence to support the high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation. The School aims to contribute wisdom and strength to building a community with a shared future for humankind and to write a new chapter in its development.