The 23rd Beijing Forum opens

China News Service, Beijing, November 8 (Reporter Zhou Xin) On November 6, the 23rd Beijing Forum opened in Beijing. This forum has the theme of "Technological Change and Diverse Civilizations". Nearly 400 guest scholars from 29 countries and regions participated in the forum to discuss exchanges and mutual learning among diverse civilizations in the era of technological change.

On November 6, the 23rd Beijing Forum opened in Beijing. (Photo courtesy of Peking University)

Gao Song, President of Peking University, pointed out that the Beijing Forum has grown into a high-end academic dialogue platform across regions, disciplines and cultures in its more than 20 years of existence. It is hoped that the guests attending the conference will rely on the Beijing Forum, a platform for the exchange of ideas, to have in-depth discussions, lead science and technology for good through mutual learning among civilizations, promote common prosperity with scientific and technological innovation, practice global civilization initiatives, and contribute academic wisdom to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said in a special report that in the context of the overlapping of geopolitical challenges and the rapid development of artificial intelligence, and the pressure on multilateral mechanisms and international cooperation, we should adhere to multilateral cooperation, promote balanced and pragmatic cooperation between China and Europe, resolve differences through dialogue and consultation, mutual respect and common rules, avoid the development of artificial intelligence from sliding into confrontation, and make technological power serve scientific progress and common prosperity of all mankind.

In the keynote report session, former Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova explained the importance of dialogue among civilizations and the diversity of civilizations based on relevant UNESCO projects and declarations. She believes that while embracing technological progress, higher education must abide by its humanistic and social mission, focus on cultivating young people's global competencies, and provide talents who advocate inclusive dialogue to global multilateral governance.

At the opening ceremony, the Asia AI Network initiative was launched. The network is jointly initiated by several top academic institutions in Asia and is open to the region. It is committed to building a long-term, equal and open academic community with scholars as the center.

This forum has a total of 10 sub-forums, 2 special forums and 3 overseas forums. Discussion topics cover philosophical reflections on technological change, digital humanities, global collaboration for digital intelligence and health, innovation in engineering education in the digital intelligence era, and social value empowered by science and technology. Special forums focus on topics such as the construction of an Asian artificial intelligence academic community and the future development of digital intelligence education.

The Beijing Forum was founded in 2004 and is jointly sponsored by Peking University, Beijing Municipal Education Commission and Choi Jong-hyun Academy of Korea. So far, more than 7,000 dignitaries and well-known scholars from more than 80 countries and regions have attended the conference. (over)