SHENZHEN had chosen “Start Here” as the catchphrase of the 2011 Universiade, according to a conference at the Citizens’ Center on Thursday.
It is a combination of two contributions. One was “We start here” by He Zhi’an, a Guangzhou resident, and the other was “Let’s start here” by Tan Xiaohui, a student from Nanchang in Jiangxi Province.
Tan, a student at Nanchang Meteorological School, saw the advertisement seeking the slogan when surfing the Internet in dormitory.
“When I saw the ad, I reflected that Shenzhen was a pioneer city of China’s reform and opening up and, at that moment, the sentence ‘Let’s start here’ flashed in my mind,” said Tan.
He, an art teacher at a primary school in Guangzhou, attributed his inspiration to innovative education during childhood.
“The slogan must manifest the passion of young people, then I remember the word ‘start,’ a simple but powerful word. Start is the breakthrough point and the rest follows,” said He.
The slogan “Start Here” shows the value of Shenzhen as a pioneer city in China in the face of globalization. It also shows the position of Shenzhen as the vanguard and experimental field of China’s reform and opening up, Vice Mayor Liang Daoxing, said at the news conference while explaining the meaning of the catchphrase.
It can further show Shenzhen Universiade’s effort in promoting friendship and social harmony.
“The slogan also connects with the life and fate of young individuals who have come to the city to start businesses, seek happiness and change their life orbit. Everything starts here,” Wu Yumin, of the Mass Communications Department at Shenzhen University and a member of the slogan judging panel, said.
The office also revealed nine other entries of the top 10 slogans approved by experts and will give awards to the winners.
The Executive Office of the Shenzhen 2011 Summer Universiade started soliciting slogans Oct. 18 last year and received more than 16,000 contributions.
(Han Ximin)