Nishan world civilizations forum offers platform for cultural exchanges, mutual learning

The 2022 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival & the 8th Nishan Forum on World Civilizations kicks off in Nishan, east China's Shandong Province, on September 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Xinyi)

The 2022 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival & the 8th Nishan Forum on World Civilizations kicked off Monday in Nishan, east China's Shandong Province, attracting scholars from home and abroad to share opinions on issues related to the future of mankind.

Focusing on the theme of "the diversity of human civilizations and the shared values of mankind", as well as cultural exchanges and mutual learning between the East and the West, and overseas dissemination of excellent traditional Chinese culture, activities like dialogues between mayors of international sister cities, a three-day visit to Shandong by diplomatic envoys, and a world youth forum will be held during the event which will last to Wednesday.

Nishan is the birthplace of Confucius. Re-experiencing Confucius' important thoughts of harmony at the Confucius cultural festival and the world civilizations forum held in Nishan is of great practical significance against the background of today's complex and ever-changing world situation.

The world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Increasing barriers in trade, science and technology and other areas have led to constant conflicts, and the impact of global warming is increasing. In this context, it is crucial for countries around the world to get together to solve common problems, and the Nishan forum is precisely a platform for dialogues to solve these problems.

The forum focuses on exchanges of thoughts through dialogues, which is an effective way to solve problems facing mankind, and demonstrates a positive attitude towards the problems.

It advocates cultural exchanges and mutual learning between the East and the West, and calls on people around the world to understand each other, and seek common ground while shelving differences, which reflects the broad-mindedness of the Chinese people.

The forum respects the diversity of human civilizations and the common values of mankind, and instead of discussing the development of one country, it hopes for co-existence and common prosperity of all countries, and pursues the great harmony of the world, demonstrating China's sense of responsibility.

The Nishan Forum on World Civilizations was founded in 2010, and has been held successfully for seven sessions, with fruitful results achieved.