On June 10, on the occasion of the first United Nations' "International Day of Dialogue among Civilizations", the "Civilization Dialogue of Ancient Capital: From the Parthenon to the Old Summer Palace" was successfully held at the University of Athens in Greece. Co-hosted by the Institute of Cultural Development and Communication of Communication University of China and the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens in Greece, this event was themed "Civilization and Peace", focusing on the contemporary path and expression of cultural heritage protection and dialogue among civilizations represented by the two ancient capitals.
Guests including academic experts, institutional representatives, media platforms, and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage from China and Greece attended the event. The event kicked off with the rich oriental charm of Taijiquan and guqin performances.
At the opening ceremony, a video message from Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, was released, addressing to the global thematic event of the first United Nations' "International Day of Dialogue among Civilizations". Minister Wang Yi pointed out that dialogue among civilizations is the bond of peace, the driving force for development, and the bridge of friendship. We should promote dialogue among civilizations from three aspects: being defenders ofcivilization equality, practitioners of cultural exchanges, and promoters of cultural progress.
Ernesto Ottone Ramírez, Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO, expressed his gratitude to the organizer, Communication University of China, in his video message. He believed that it was of great significance for the global cultural development to have an academic dialogue between Greece and China, the two ancient civilizations, on the first United Nations' "International Day of Dialogue among Civilizations".
Fang Qiu, the Chinese Ambassador to Greece, pointed out in his speech that in the current era of profound global changes, it is urgent to draw wisdom and strength for future development from ancient civilizations, to transcend cultural barriers through cultural exchanges. Exchange and mutual learning are the essential requirements for the development of civilizations. He hoped thatscholars from China and other countries would jointly write a new chapter of exchange and mutual learning in this forum.
Dimitrios Drosos, the Dean of the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens, said in his speech that both China and Greece have profound historical and cultural traditions. This forum brought together scholars from both countries to discuss cultural exchanges between the two civilizations. He hoped that this dialogue would be fruitful and inspiring for the future development of the two civilizations.
Zhang Shuting, the President of Communication University of China, pointed out in his speech that Communication University of China has long been committed to promoting exchanges, dialogues, cooperation, integration, and mutual learning among different civilizations through media, art, and culture. It advocates free exchanges and equal dialogues among different civilizations, advocatestruthful, objective, and conprehensive presentation of different countries, ethnic groups, societies, and civilizations in the process of global communication, and advocates passing on different civilizations in a way that combines technology and humanity.
Xiong Chengyu, the Chinese dialogue chair and Dean of the Institute of Cultural Development and Communication of Communication University of China, presided over the opening ceremony and delivered a speech titled "Culture Promotes Civilization, and Communication Determines Inheritance". He believed that culture is a manifestation of regional differences, while civilization is a process of cultural integration and evolution. Against the backdrop of the continuous evolution of communication media, the leap-forward communication of civilizations depends on the systematic promotion from mass communication to immersive communication. In this era, the understanding of cultural diversity should shift from spatial dialogue to temporal inheritance, and thus promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
In the gift-presenting ceremony of the "Olympic Cultural Scroll III", the two sides exchanged commemorative gifts symbolizing friendship and cultural inheritance, implying that the two countries will move towards a common future of development on the basis of inheriting ancient civilizations.
Ma Jingni, the Dean of the Old Summer Palace Research Institute, introduced the exhibition to Ambassador Fang Qiu and President Zhang Shuting.
Before the opening ceremony, the participating guests visited the "Old Summer Palace Thematic Exhibition", which presented the historical evolution, architectural system, and current protection progress of the Old Summer Palace in a multimedia format, showing a new picture of the international communication of Chinese cultural heritage in the digital context.
The "Civilization Dialogue of Ancient Capital: From the Parthenon to the Old Summer Palace" set up three sub-forums, namely "Civilization and Peace", "Protection and Reproduction", and "International Young Scholars' Dialogue Workshop". Nearly 40 scholars from China, Greece, and other European countries delivered speeches in turns. They conducted in-depth, open, and comprehensive discussions on topics such as Greek culture and philosophy, Chinese culture and philosophy, comparison of Chinese and Western cultures and civilizations, global cultural dialogue and mutual learning, cultural relic protection and restoration, cultural characteristics of Greece and Beijing, aesthetic styles of the Parthenon and the Old Summer Palace, and new media communication of contemporary cultural relics, expressing their expectations for building cultural mutual learning and cultural consensus between China and Greece.
Greece is regarded as the main birthplace of European civilization and even Western civilization. Similiar to China, it has created a long-standing material and spiritual civilization. This dialogue on ancient capital civilizations was held in Greece, where China and Greece jointly discussed issues of civilization and peace in a deep, direct, and effective way, making a positive attempt and effort to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Article translated by a large language model.
Editor: Li Jichu
