Plant a bookmark, and you can harvest a vegetable. This concept involves concealing vegetable seeds within the bookmarks themselves. This is the "Silent Growth of 'Vegetables'" series of cultural and creative products themed around the 24 solar terms, designed by female university students. "I am very grateful to these university students. Through these cultural and creative products, more people have come to know about our Banpu Village," said Chen Kanan, Party Secretary of Banpu Village in Cicheng Town, Jiangbei District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, with delight. "These products are both aesthetically pleasing and culturally rich, representing a tangible instance of art empowering rural revitalization." The cultural and creative products mentioned by Chen Kanan were recently unveiled to the public at the "Rural Vision · Her Creative Art" launch event for products designed by female university students. Encompassing over 90 varieties across five major categories, these items astonished attendees with their boundless creativity. Batch after batch of female students, utilizing the platform established by the Jiangbei District Women's Federation, have been integrating their creativity into local contexts, revitalizing the countryside through design, and carving out a growth path that progresses from skill development to practical empowerment. Six years ago, the Jiangbei District Women's Federation launched the "She Pre" entrepreneurship training camp for female university students. Initially focused on courses like interview techniques, resume writing, and workplace etiquette, the program aimed to empower participants in their career creation and employment pursuits. By 2022, the project had been promoted city-wide, reaching all universities in Ningbo. Over these six years, the program has evolved from theoretical career guidance to include corporate visits and rural field trips, cumulatively benefiting over a thousand female students. The Women's Federation's approach to nurturing female talent adheres to the principles of talent development, designing a progressive pathway that moves from knowledge acquisition to on-the-ground experience, and finally to practical application and refinement. In its early stages, the "She Pre" training camp concentrated on foundational workplace skills. After 2022, the program's content gradually expanded to incorporate visits to enterprises and rural communities. Zhou Zimeng, a participant in the initial training phase, chose to work in rural operations in Anshan Village after graduation, infusing this scenic and historically rich area with youthful "her power." "The initial resume-writing training helped me secure interview opportunities, and the subsequent rural visits showed me more possibilities for career development. After graduating, I selected Anshan Village as the first stop in my professional journey," she stated. The year 2025 marks a significant upgrade for the project—the introduction of the "Art Empowering Rural Communities" practical initiative. The inclusion of this project signals the program's entry into a new phase of the cultivation model. This initiative requires students not only to complete creative designs but also to participate in the entire process, from market research and product design to launch and sales, experiencing a complete innovation and entrepreneurship cycle. "The growth demonstrated by the students in this project is pleasantly surprising—they have not only enhanced their professional skills but also gained valuable social experience through field research and teamwork," remarked Pang Jing, a teacher from the School of Design and Media at Zhejiang Fashion and Textile College. Under the organization of the Jiangbei District Women's Federation, a design team of 16 female students from Zhejiang Fashion and Textile College spent four months conducting multiple in-depth visits to villages in the Yaojiang area, conducting field research on local culture and industrial characteristics. They drew inspiration from the ancient ferry culture of Banpu Village, the Juzhang culture of Wangjiaba Village, and the bonsai cultivation practices of Hongxing Village, transforming these elements into design features. After their launch, these products will be available for long-term sale at the Banpu Village Tourist Service Center and other village businesses, and will also be featured at commercial district and metro station markets during events like International Women's Day. A key differentiator of this project from previous campus-based design initiatives is its direct market orientation. All proceeds from the sale of these cultural and creative products will be donated to the Jiangbei District Red Cross Society to support women and children in difficult circumstances within the district. This design element achieves a public welfare goal while simultaneously providing practical experience for the students. "When the cultural and creative products we designed gain market recognition, what we gain is not just a sense of accomplishment, but a genuine enhancement of our professional capabilities," shared Huang Jingyi, a participating student. This cultivation model for female university students, which transitions from theory to practice and from the classroom to the field, not only provides a new pathway for women's growth but also injects fresh vitality into urban-rural integrated development. Wang Junbo, Chairperson of the Jiangbei District Women's Federation, also expressed deep feeling, stating, "Only by closely integrating the cultivation of female talent with the needs of economic and social development can we achieve a win-win situation for individual growth and societal progress, realizing a harmonious resonance between the practical growth of female students and the integrated development of urban and rural areas." As the new year begins, the Jiangbei District Women's Federation will continue to focus on linking and integrating resources, deeply promoting university-local cooperation and urban-rural integration. Through methods like creative markets and project support, they aim to further extend the chain of assistance for female students' entrepreneurship and employment, helping more of them to put down roots in Ningbo and grow alongside Jiangbei District.
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