China Focus: Social media boosts Chinese youth's "2030 Vision"

On a clear morning in Beijing, five-year-old Liu Qianya, 5, smiled at a live-streaming camera and presented her own "2030 vision."

Her picture showed people living happily together in a humongous vase, with green as the dominant color, symbolizing her hope that poverty will be eradicated by 2030.

Liu was attending an awards ceremony of the Imagine 2030 campaign at the UN Compound, where 17 young people were recognized for their creativity in expressing their visions of the world in 2030.

From Oct. 24 last year, the campaign has used social media to encourage children and teenagers to develop their ideas in painting, video and other forms.

"We've had 200 million views and 28 million comments on our hashtag on Sina Weibo," said Nicholas Rosellini, UN resident coordinator in China. "It really helped us to get the message out about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."

Rosellini was referring to the 17 global goals set by the UN in Sept. 2015.

As one of the country's most active social media platforms, Weibo is an easy way to follow online trends.

"I've been following the campaign on Weibo since its start," said Su Huimin from east China's Shandong, standing beside a poster he designed about discrimination against AIDS patients. "I tend to spend a lot of time on social media."

"I was born in a rural area where gender inequality is deep-rooted," said Li Pan from central China's Henan Province. She wrote an article calling for gender equality by 2030 based on her personal experiences.

"I'm a fan of Wang Yuan and was surprised to see his name on the same tag as the UN," she added. "So I clicked on it and got interested right away."

The combination of social media and celebrities like Wang Yuan, a 16-year-old singer and Internet sensation, have been crucial to the success of the campaign.

"It's a great thing when we have role models online, who are interested in the quality of society and things like the SDGs," said Ali Al-Jumaily. "It inspires others to think about things and to get involved."

Wang Yi, deputy director of the international department of All-China Youth Federation (ACYF), who promotes events via social media, agreed.

"It's a smart move for them to use to Weibo and stars like Wang Yuan," she said. Wang Yi has great faith in social media to get more young Chinese involved in the SDGs, as well as to show their efforts to the world.

The idea resonates with Wang Yuan who showed his own paintings about quality education, one of the 17 SDGs. His "2030 Vision" is that quality education will be the norm for every kid.

"Hopefully more people, especially youngsters, will get to know the goals and concepts given my influence on the Internet," Wang said.

As for Rosellini, social media's role will stay prominent as the campaign goes on.

"The campaign will last for years to come," he said. "We need to keep using local social media platforms which Chinese people are familiar with."

"We have to keep people's interest, involvement and engagement not just for 2017, but all the way up to 2030," he added. Endi