On Sept. 13, the Hainan FTP International Student Content Creation Project launched in Haikou, with the goal of encouraging young content creators from around the world to record their real lives in China and tell their stories of studying in Hainan through the limitless language of images.

The project follows a model combining special training with site visits and work selection, and includes special training camp courses and cultural tourism experiences. The course training focuses on core creative skills such as social media account operation, practical skills, and secrets to gaining views and followers. Over forty international students from eleven countries including Pakistan, Morocco, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand participated in the training course.

The Hainan FTP International Student Content Creation Project training courses were a huge success.

Hainan University Instructor and content creator Aleksei Andreev speaks to the students.

Hainan Provincial Omnimedia Center Senior Photographer, Videographer, and Director Ma Yiming shares strategies with the students.

Business owner, translator, and Island Delights shop owner Nicki Johnson on stage at the event.

Hainan International Media Center editor and director Dora Ding gives students an introduction to her work in the media.

On the first day of the event, Hainan University Instructor and content creator Aleksei Andreev, from Russia, shared his social media experience as well as how to attract followers from different cultures. Hainan Provincial Omnimedia Center senior photographer, videographer, and director Ma Yiming gave a lecture on shooting and editing videos shot on mobile phones, including the production of vertical short clips and horizontal longer video formats, as well as mobile phone camera movement, editing, projection operation, AI dubbing, and multilingual subtitle generation. Nicki Johnson, from the US, spoke on translating Hainan through the lenses of culture and nature, telling the story of her 20 year sojourn on the island and media work, and HIMC editor and director Dora Ding gave the students an introduction to cross-cultural communication strategies, different strategies for different social media sites, how to handle cultural sensitivities, and data analysis, training the next generation of Hainan FTP international student social media influencers.

Students paid close attention to the speakers during the lectures.

According to Russian lecturer Alex, his talk was based on his own experiences after arriving in China - the language barrier and unfamiliar environment, along with many other challenges. He hopes that by sharing his personal experiences and lessons learned, he can help other young creators avoid similar bumps in the road. He believes that thanks to the excellent photos and videos that can be created with mobile phones and sports cameras, there’s no need to buy expensive, high-end pro equipment, but the target audience has to be considered in advance so that content themes can be appropriately targeted.

(Photos provided by the organizer)