A group of 24 journalists, half from China and half from abroad, participated in a ceremony at the Games' Main Media Centre to mark the start of their work experience at the event.

The programme is also run in collaboration with the International Sport Press Association (AIPS). 

It was first launched at Shenzhen 2011 and is intended to give upcoming reporters an opportunity to learn from each other and experienced mentors as they cover the Games.

There are four young reporters returning to the programme after they also worked at the Winter World University Games in Lake Placid in January.

"I hope we all brought a lot of curiosity and excitement to Chengdu, to delve for the hidden stories of these Games, being unafraid of making mistakes, laughing about them together, because that's what this programme is about: learning from mistakes and growing as a professional," Annika Saunas. one of the returning reporters, said.

At the ceremony, FISU secretary general and chief executive Eric Saintrond spoke proudly of the initiative and how it ties to the organisation's education mandate by "helping to train the next generation of sports media."

"This start to the FISU-AIPS Young Reporters Programme provided the perfect, energetic start to what will be a busy two weeks for this talented group of 24 reporters," read a FISU statement.

Riccardo Romani from AIPS and FISU's Michel Bélanger and Stéphane Jobin are set to serve as mentors for the young reporters in Chengdu, with the Games set to run from today until August 8.

The event was originally scheduled for August 2021 before being postponed to last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A second rescheduling occurred, again down to COVID-19 concerns, which resulted in the current dates.