2020 Annual Meeting of CoACTAS Held Successfully
On November 28th, 2020, the annual meeting of College Alliance for Cultivating Talents of Area Studies (CoACTAS) was co-hosted by School of International Studies (SIS) and Institute of Belt and Road Studies (IBRS) of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) in Zhuhai, Guangdong. More than 130 researchers from over 50 universities or institutes attended the meeting, while some participated via the Internet.
The attendees came from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Nanjing University, Sun Yat-sen University, Wuhan University, Sichuan University, Lanzhou University, South China University of Technology, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Shanghai International Studies University, Beijing Language and Culture University, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing International Studies University, Tianjin Foreign Studies University, Northwest University, Yunnan University, Heilongjiang University, Zhengzhou University, Hunan Normal University, Capital Normal University, Northwest Normal University, Sichuan Normal University, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Qinghai Nationalities University, Guangxi University for Nationalities, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, City University of Macau, etc.
Professor Chang Chenguang, Dean of SIS and Chair of the Alliance, presided over the opening ceremony. First, Professor Li Shanmin, Vice President of SYSU, extended a warm welcome to the attendees and stated that it was the mission for SYSU to cultivate professionals in international and regional studies. Then Ambassador Wu Sike, China’s former Special Envoy on the Middle East Issue, explained the importance of cultivating professionals in international and regional studies when major changes were unfolding in our world, something unseen in a century. Professor Luo Lin, Director of Secretariat of International and Regional Studies of the Ministry of Education of China and Dean of School of Middle Eastern Studies of Beijing Language and Culture University, talked about the significance and methods of such cultivation from the perspective of new liberal arts construction. Also, Professor Li Shanmin offered Mr. Li Huaxin, former Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iraq, an appointment to the position Vice Director of the Advisory Committee of the Alliance.
(Vice President Li Shanmin giving a welcome speech)
(Chair Chang Chenguang hosting the opening ceremony)
(Ambassador Wu Sike addressing the meeting)
(Professor Luo Lin addressing the meeting)
(Vice President Li giving an appointment letter to Mr. Li Huaxin)
After the opening ceremony, scholars were invited to deliver keynote speeches and Professor Chen Jie, Secretary-general of the Alliance and Director of the SIS Platform of International and Regional Studies, presided over the first phase. In their brilliant speeches, Researcher Yang Guang, Dean of Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University, and President of Chinese Association of Middle East Studies, shared his insights into the cultivation of professionals in area studies; Professor Yu Jiang, Vice President of Tianjin Foreign Studies University, talked about major issues in international and regional studies today; Professor Cheng Wei, Vice President of Beijing International Studies University, focused on the functions of international and regional studies—to cultivate and to serve; and Professor IP Kuai Peng, Assistant Rector of the City University of Macau, shared Macau’s international and regional studies and professional cultivation for the studies.
(Professor Yang Guang giving a keynote speech)
(Professor Yu Jiang giving a keynote speech)
(Professor Cheng Wei giving a keynote speech)
(Professor IP Kuai Peng giving a keynote speech)
Then Professor Liu Jianxi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Alliance and Director of the Education Administration Office of Tianjin Foreign Studies University, presided over the second section of the keynote speech delivering. Focusing on professional cultivation for international and regional studies, Professor Chang, Professor Han Zhibin (Director of Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, Northwest University), Professor Ma Xiao (Dean of School of Foreign Languages & Culture, Wuhan University) and Professor Wu Chengyi (Discipline Leader of International and Regional Studies at Heilongjiang University) shared the experience of respective universities from the perspective of foreign language studies or world history studies. From a different view, Professor Sun Xiaomeng from Beijing Foreign Studies University introduced the international experience.
(Professor Chang Chenguang giving a keynote speech)
(Professor Han Zhibin giving a keynote speech)
(Professor Ma Xiao giving a keynote speech)
(Professor Wu Chengyi giving a keynote speech)
After that, Professor Chang hosted a meeting joined by the Advisory Committee, the Council of Chairs, and the Academic Committee of the Alliance. The directors and vice directors of the Advisory Committee and the Academic Committee and the co-chair and vice chair of the Alliance who were present attending this specific meeting. At the joint meeting, Professor Chen Jie, Secretary-general of the Alliance, summarized the work of the Alliance in the 2019-2020 academic year and reported on the revisions of the Alliance’s charter. And then Chair Chang offered the position of vice chair to Professor Gao Guocui from Northeast Normal University, Professor Lv Jing from Sichuan Normal University, Professor Sun Chao from Heilongjiang University, Professor Chen Fang from Renmin University of China, and Professor Wang Zonghu from Capital Normal University.
In the afternoon the parallel sessions were held. Directors and scholars of each member of the Alliance discussed how to cultivate professionals in international and regional studies based on different schools, new liberal arts construction, or other topics. They shared experience with each other and reached a consensus.
(Speakers at the 1st and 2nd parallel sessions)
The annual meeting also had two round table forums centered on cultivating area studies talents of Russian and of Belt-Road language respectively.
(Speakers at the 3rd and 4th parallel sessions)
The College Alliance for Cultivating Talents of Area Studies was launched by SIS and the Institute of Belt and Road Studies of SYSU in 2019 for implementing the guidance of accelerating professional cultivation of area studies in the “Opinions on the Work of the Opening-up of Education in the New Era” issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council of China. The Alliance involves many disciplines relevant to international and regional studies, such as Foreign Language and Literature, World History, International Relations, Management, and Ethnology. At the 2020 annual meeting, over 40 schools or departments from 31 universities applied to join the Alliance which by far is comprised of over 100 schools or departments from 71 universities. On the same day, the Second National Speaking Competition on Area Studies was also held by the Alliance, SIS of SYSU, and IBRS of SYSU.
