About 200 doctors and nurses attended the "Asian Culture for Asian Games" Intercultural Communication Lectures on April 21 Friday. The healthcare professionals are from more than 30 hospitals across Zhejiang province and are going to provide medical services for the upcoming Asian Games and the Asian Para Games.

The event was jointly held by the Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine (SAHZU), the School of International Studies and the medical department of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Organising Committee. 

Professors from Zhejiang University majored in international studies, experts from the Foreign Affairs Office of Zhejiang Provincial People's Government, and doctors from Peking University Third Hospital who have served the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, talked about their inter-cultural communication experience, strategies and skills, international etiquette rules, and lessons learned from the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

"Different countries have different cultural customs, and the purpose of the lecture is not to make doctors and nurses memorize the customs of each country, but to improve their sensitivity to cultural differences." One of the invited lecturers, Professor LI Yuan, director of the Asian and European Languages Department of the School of International Studies Zhejiang University, emphasized this in her lecture.

Foreign teachers and students of Zhejiang University as well as SAHZU doctors and nurses with international background introduced their home countries and culture to the audience in excitement. Countries like Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Russia are highlighted in the lectures.

During the Asian Games and Asian Para Games, nearly 20,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions will gather in Hangzhou. Multiple cultures will meet and mingle here. How to provide good medical services for athletes with different cultural backgrounds will be one of the primary problems faced by the medical staff of the Asian Games. It is hoped that this intercultural communication lectures could provide some help to the doctors and nurses of the Games.