On Nov. 3, the opening ceremony of the 14th Beijing Forum was held in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. "The Harmony of Civilizations and Prosperity for All – Values and Order in a Changing World" was selected as the theme of the Beijing Forum 2017.
During the 3-days conference, topics were divided into 9 sessions: The Transformation of Societies from a Historical and Global Perspective; The Belt and Road from the Perspective of Civilizations Inheritance and Interactions; Global Governance at a Crossroad: What needs to be Done?; New Dynamics of Economic Development in a Changing World; The Spread of Sinitic Civilization in the World; Value, Governance and Sustainability in the Age of Global Urbanism; From Sharing Economy to Sharing Society: Cross-Boundary Experiences of Social Enterprises; Emerging Trends in Sino-African Development Cooperation; and To Prepare for a Globalized Future: Reflections and Explorations.
Three Mexican scholars, all members of the National Autonomous University of Mexico community (UNAM), were invited to participate in the forum within the panel: "To Prepare for a Globalized Future: Reflections and Explorations."
Dr. Alicia Girón, Head of UNAM's University Program for Asian and African Studies, served as moderator of the afternoon sessions during the second day of the conference, as well as panelist with the topic: "Is China Living a Minsky Moment? Between the 'Lender of Last Resort' and the Chinese Shadow Financial System."
Héctor Zavala Guzmán, alumni of the School of Business of UNAM, participated in the second panel. Zavala highlighted the importance of the offices of UNAM abroad, particularly the one in China, since they implement cultural and academic diplomacy strategies aiming to contribute to peaceful solutions on global issues, boosting mutual understanding and friendship, in this case between Mexico and China, and promoting academic cooperation, student mobility, joint research and collaboration networks between UNAM and Chinese higher education institutions.
Mrs. Andrea Zambrano Fajardo, graduated from the Faculty of Economics of UNAM and current master student at the Yenching Academy of Peking University, opened the sessions on the last day speaking about the development strategy of the Belt and Road Initiative: "One Belt, One Road: An Initiative in Tune with a Globalized Future."
The Beijing Forum has been held annually since 2004 with the theme "The Harmony of Civilizations and Prosperity for All," which runs under the Ministry of Education of China and supported by the Beijing Municipal Government. The international academic event is co-sponsored by Peking University, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education and the Korea Foundation of Advanced Studies.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in his congratulatory letter of 2014, that this international conference "has become an influential platform for international academic exchanges and an important gateway for China to communicate with the outside world."
The international advisory board is integrated by well-known politicians and scholars from all over the world, including Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Han Seung-soo, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Luo Haocai, President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies; Jeffrey Lehman, former President of Cornell University; Richard Levin, former President of Yale University; and Ernesto Zedillo, former President of the United Mexican States.
The author finds particularly inspiring the following quote by Sir Colin Lucas, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, taken from his participation in the Beijing Forum 2011: "Difference is necessary. It is necessary as a corrective to the global. It is necessary because it is an intimate element of what makes us humans and it is thus at the heart of creativity without which the energy of global benefit would falter. It is necessary because the maintenance of identity is one of the bases of stable and healthy societies".
