On November 6, 2015, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Forum 2015 was held at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Approximately 300 world-renowned scholars from different countries and regions attended the Forum. With the theme of “The Harmony of Civilizations and Prosperity for All”, the Beijing Forum seeks to promote the study of humanities and social sciences around the world. It endeavors to promote academic development and social progress across the world in order to contribute to the development and prosperity of all humankind.
In the beginning of the ceremony, Zhu Shanlu, Chairman of the Peking University (PKU) Council, expressed his sincere gratitude to those who had sponsored and made contributions to Beijing Forum. He reviewed the history of the Forum and gave a projection of the Forum’s future development. He emphasized the purpose of the Beijing Forum, which is to promote communication and cooperation between different people of the world and to contribute to civilization. He stressed that, despite the different roads we choose, all humans had the same goal and all had benefits to gain in a peaceful and prosperous world. He then extended a sincere welcome to over 300 renowned scholars present at the Forum and gave a brief introduction of several main speakers.
After that, Du Zhanyuan, China’s Vice Minister of Education, delivered his remarks. He said the world had undergone profound changes. In this new era, the Beijing Forum holds great significance in promoting mutual understanding and mutual respect of cultures, and it also helps with the promotion of prosperity for the entirety of human civilization. He stressed that all human civilizations were essentially similar—but with some different features. Humans should respect and tolerate different forms of civilizations and work for progress together.
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, recorded his remarks and delivered his speech through large screens in the front of the hall. He expressed his hope to see progress made in promoting peace, development, and human rights at the upcoming United Nations Climate Conference in Paris.
The next speaker, Chey Rae-won, Chairman of the SK group, explained that we need to use our collective minds and come together to solve many major social problems. Social enterprises should also improve their efficiency and help provide answers to social problems. At the end of his presentation, he greeted the guests in Chinese and wished happiness and well-being for all.
Shortly afterwards, Lin Jianhua, President of PKU, indicated that the idea and goals of Beijing Forum had been accepted and welcomed by the international academic circle. In this new era, we should view micro problems from a macro angle. The world is changing rapidly and the rise of non-Western countries has caused the world to focus on the newly-developing countries and regions. How to attain sustainable development for young economies and emerging countries like China is a big concern for all of humanity. The Beijing Forum provides an important platform to have academic discussions about the developing world. In the end, President Lin wished the Beijing Forum a great success.
After the opening ceremony, there was a brief break, and then the keynote speech session began.
Written by: Xin Yuan
Edited by: Wei Yuchen
