The Yenching Global Symposium 2018 kicks off at Peking University
Apr 17, 2018
Peking University, April 17, 2018: The Yenching Global Symposium 2018 kicked off at Peking University on April 12.
This year’s symposium, with a theme of Renaissance: China’s Journey in a Global Future, focuses on China’s multi-faceted revival in a rapidly changing world.
Professor Yuan Ming, Dean of the Yenching Academy of PKU, gave her welcoming remarks to the attendees and elaborated on the theme of this year’s YGS.
The Renaissance starts with the letters ‘Ren’, which in Chinese can be translated into four words: 人 (people), 认 (cognition), 任 (responsibility), and 仁 (benevolence), which represent traditional Chinese culture and philosophy, Professor Yuan said.
With the world at a crossroad, China has become an undeniable player in shaping tomorrow. The Yenching Global Symposium 2018 will be a journey to explore this global change at its nexus.
With around 200 delegates attending the four-day event, the Yenching Global Symposium aims to serve as a platform for more discussions and interactions among these change-makers from different backgrounds, so as to encourage a better understanding of China.
Wilford Mwanza, a young scholar from Zimbabwe said that PKU’s Yenching Global Symposium is serving as a bridge between China and Africa, enabling the two peoples to learn from each other’s experience. Speaking of his expectation from this forum, Mwanza said that his answer would be partnership.
Molly Bodurtha, a young professional from the US, is surprised by the big changes taking place in Beijing and China, though she had lived in the city for years before going back to the US. By attending this symposium, Bodurtha looks forward to hearing both the Chinese perspective and the international perspective on the country’s development and projects, such as the Belt and Road Initiatives.
Each year, the symposium features prominent Chinese and international scholars and leading professionals’ lectures and seminars.
This year’s keynote speaker Li Shan, CEO of Silk Road Finance Corporation, delivered a speech on China’s Belt and Road Initiatives, explaining it from an established practitioner’s perspective and contextualizing the initiative on the global stage.
Peking University founded the Yenching Academy in 2014, as an effort to invite a global cohort of scholars into this unique intellectual environment. The Yenching Academy provides a master’s program for multidisciplinary studies of China with the hope of cultivating a new generation of global leaders. The Yenching Global Symposium, as the academy’s flagship event, is a continuation of this mission.
Written by: Amanda Hu
Edited by: Zhang Jiang
Source: PKUInternational
