Diverse Values, Shared Future

North Campus, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, May 30^th 2018: On May 30^th, in the Lecture Hall of the 6^th Teaching Building at GDUFS, the Symposium on Values between Chinese and International Students from Higher Education Institutions in Guangdong Province was held, focusing on constructing a community of shared future for mankind.

NI Xi, Deputy Division Chief of the Department of Ideological and Political Work from the Department of Education of Guangdong Province, and LIU Haichun, Vice President of GDUFS, were invited to address the symposium.

During the address, both NI and LIU emphasized the significance of the symposium as well as the setup of the Guangdong Research Center for Communicating Core Socialist Values across Higher Education Institutions. On behalf of GDUFS, LIU conveyed his sincere wishes for enhanced collaborations between higher education institutions in Guangdong Province.

NI Xi

LIU Haichun

After the address, four lecturers, including WEI Chuanguang from Jinan University; ZUO Pengjun from South China Normal University; Stephen Rake from the School of Interpreting and Translation Studies at GDUFS and WU Jingshu, a Russian student from GDUFS, impressed the audience with an intense collision of diverse values around one shared future.

The attentive audience

During the speech, WEI highlighted that achieving a shared value recognition was of primary necessity during the whole procedure of constructing the community of shared future for mankind, requiring mutual respect, reciprocal equality and principled inclusiveness for diverse cultures and societies. Despite a variety of cultural backgrounds and historical disputes, as he added, the wisdom of seeking common ground and reserving differences should always be remembered.

WEI Chuanguang

Stephen Rake presented three core statements during his speech, focusing on the world order. Having discussed the development of the community of a shared future for mankind, he emphasized that there would be no tolerance for any exceptional or privileged value in any civilization. More importantly, he pointed out the significance of the community, among which enhancing and achieving win-win cooperation was one of the most important goals.

Stephen Rake 

To deepen the theme, ZUO revealed the spiritual and cultural connotations of constructing the community in five perspectives — that the community was our reflection and conclusion on the civilization of science and technology; our awareness and realization of the present situation; our expectation and admiration for future development; our reformation and revolution of humane feelings originating from splendid traditional Chinese culture, and our integration and development of outstanding civilizations worldwide.

ZUO Pengjun

In the final speech, WU expressed her point of view that the diversity of world culture was more of a common advantage rather than the source of disputes for mankind. She also appealed to us all that only if the whole society shows full respect and understanding for the community of a shared future for mankind and improved our civilization degree and personal qualities, could we go further on the forbidding yet anticipated road.

WU Jingshu

Having been equipped with the basic concepts of the community through the illuminating speeches, the audience from home and abroad threw dozens of questions at the four lecturers, exploring further meanings and getting better understandings via their communications with the speakers.

Diverse views collided here

Group photo