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2018 World Philanthropy Forum
On 5-7 September 2018 in Shanghai, the curtain was raised on the third "World Philanthropy Forum" (WPF), hosted jointly by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), Tsinghua University and the University of Hong Kong (HKU), and co-hosted by the China Welfare Institute.
With the theme of "Building a Sustainable Community of Shared Future for Mankind", the Forum focused on poverty eradication, good health and well-being, high-quality education, sustainable cities and communities, and the partnerships that help achieve the United Nations(UN)' sustainable development goals. A total of 17 keynote speeches, 8 high-end dialogues and a charity dinner were held around eight topics, including: "Leading Sustainable Development through Education", "Co-building of Global Health Partnerships", "World City 2050", "Vocational Education and Youth Development", "Arts & Humanities and Philanthropy", "Global and Regional Poverty Eradication and Governance under the New Era", "The Belt and Road Women's Forum- Women's Growth and Leadership", and "Resource Shared for Sustainable Development". During the forum, the academic committee meeting of the WPF and the Annual Meeting of Collaboration Networks for Philanthropy and Social Services were organized.
The officiating guests attending the opening ceremony included Ms Li Xiaolin, Co-Chairman of the World Philanthropy Forum and President of CPAFFC, Ms Chen Xu, Co-Chairman of the World Philanthropy Forum and Chairperson of the University Council of Tsinghua University, Mr Gu Zhaoxi, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Mr Xu Kunlin, Vice-Mayor of Shanghai, Professor Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK, Professor Zhang Xiang, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKU, Dr Surakiart Sathirathai, former Vice-Prime Minister of Thailand, Professor Marc Tessier-Lavigne, President of Stanford University, and Mr Jan Mattsson, former Under-Secretary-General of the UN and Executive Director of the Museum for the UN. The forum invited over 350 guests from the UN system and embassies in China from 16 countries, international organisations, business circles, academic circles, media circles and the Chinese government, and social organisations of China (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan).
Professor Tuan took part in a high-level dialogue with Professor Zhang Xiang and Professor Marc Tessier-Lavigne. The three Presidents had a fruitful discussion on leading sustainable development through education. During the opening ceremony, Professor Tuan signed the "Cooperative Memorandum of the World Philanthropy Forum" together with the CPAFFC, Tsinghua University and HKU, forming a joint force to train leading social services talents in the world, carry out the world philanthropy index research and support the Chinese social work cooperation mechanism.
Dr. Leung Fung-yee, Anita, Council Member of CUHK, Professor Wong Suk-ying, Associate Vice President and Professor Steven Ngai, Department Chairman of Social Work gave speech at sessions titled "Arts & Humanities and Philanthropy", "The Belt and Road Women's Forum- Women's Growth and Leadership" and "Vocational Education and Youth Development" respectively, sharing thoughts with audience on relevant topics under the respective sessions.
Since 2016, the World Philanthropy Forum was held annually with commitment to promotion and implementation of philanthropic services, academic exchange, policy advocacy and experience sharing of charities worldwide. The fourth WPF will be held in Hong Kong on 5 to 7 September in 2019.
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Academic Symposium on Quantum Information Science and Technology Jointly Organized with NSFC
The Academic Symposium on Quantum Information Science and Technology co-organized by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Beijing-Hong Kong Academic Exchange Centre (BHKAEC), was held in CUHK from September 17 to 21. Guests officiating at the opening ceremony included Prof. Fanny Cheung, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK and Chairman of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Symposium; Mr. Li Nai-yiu, President of BHKAEC; Mr. Wang Wenze, Deputy Director of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Office of NSFC and Prof. Liu Renbao, Professor of the Department of Physics and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Symposium. The two renowned keynote speakers are Prof. Sun Chang-pu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dean of Graduate School of China Academy of Engineering Physics; and Prof. Li Quan, Professor of Department of Physics.
The symposium was held under typhoon yet still attracted around a hundred participants. Over 50 scholars and postgraduate students came from mainland China for the event. Apart from the 2 keynote presentations, a total of 32 academic presentations were delivered to enhance intellectual exchange between scholars, experts and students in the field. Scholars and students from local universities including the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, City University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University also joined the symposium. Among CUHK speakers are academic members from the Department of Physics and Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering. The event successfully brought together experts and scholars to share ideas for future research and collaboration in quantum information science and technology.
Since 2007, CUHK and NSFC have co-organized annual academic symposia with different themes, providing platforms for intellectual exchange between scientists and scholars in the mainland and Hong Kong, while exploring collaboration opportunities. Previous topics included Smart Cities, Bio-informatics and Its Applications, Chemical Biology, Condensed Matter and Optical Physics, Developmental Studies in Health and Diseases, Control and Automation, Climate Change, Digestive Disease, Big Data, Adolescent Mental Health and Disorders and Big Data Driven Management and Decision. For information of previous symposia, please click here.
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The Cross-Strait Forum on Humanities and Social Sciences 2018
The Cross-Strait Forum on Humanities and Social Sciences, a joint academic event of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), developed with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Fudan University (FDU), Nanjing University (NJU), National Central University (NCU), National Taiwan University (NTU) and Peking University (PKU) was held in Nanjing from 15 to 16 September. The sixth Board Meeting of the Forum was convened during the event. A delegation of CUHK participated in the event and joined the Board Meeting with members including Prof. Chiu Chi Yue, Faculty Dean of Social Science; Prof. Lai Pan Chiu, Faculty Dean of Arts; and Prof. Leung Yuen-sang, Professor of History.
The theme of the Forum this year was "Integration and Revolution: Modern Transformation of Chinese Traditional Culture". Nearly 50 scholars from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan attended the event, exchanging ideas on the connection between cultural traditions and contemporary society. Prof. Chiu Chi Yue, Prof. Lai Pan Chiu, Prof. Leung Yuen Sang and Dr. Shi Yuanyuan delivered talks at parallel sessions to share ideas with participants. Prof. Leung also chaired one of the sessions, leading discussions concerning the review of modern Chinese academia. Professor Lai gave remarks on behalf of CUHK at the closing ceremony.
Board members exchanged views on further direction and development of the Forum at the Board Meeting during which they reported the latest progress of the forum proceedings and expressed views on expanding the forum scale, in enhancing the influence of the cross-strait activity in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The cross-strait forum was first convened by CUHK, NJU and NCU in 2007. In order to fully utilize this platform and create greater impact for closer connection across the regions, CUHK took the initiative to expand the Forum by inviting more member universities and research organizations. Since 2014, board members have been increased to seven to include CASS, FDU, NTU and PKU. Please click here for information of the past forums.
