BEIJING, Oct. 16 (China News Service) – The China-Serbia Humanities and Arts Education Seminar, hosted by the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange (CCIPE), was recently held at the China Cultural Center in Belgrade, according to the center. As one of the key events during the Serbian leg of the visit by a Chinese delegation for China-Europe humanities and arts education exchanges, the seminar brought together representatives and experts from more than 10 educational and cultural institutions in the field of China-Serbia humanities and arts education.
Cao Diefeng, Deputy Director-General of the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange; Han Dianxiu, Education Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Serbia; and Mina Zirojević, President of the Serbia-China Cultural and Educational Exchange Association, attended the seminar and delivered speeches.
Han Dianxiu expressed congratulations on the convening of the seminar in her remarks and affirmed the exchanges and cooperation between China and Serbia in the field of humanities and arts education. She noted that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Serbia comprehensive strategic partnership, and that educational cooperation is an important component of bilateral relations. China is ready to work with Serbia to take this seminar as an opportunity to deepen practical cooperation in humanities and arts education and contribute to building a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era.
Mina Zirojević stated in her remarks that the Association has long been committed to promoting Serbia-China educational and cultural exchanges, and that people-to-people exchanges have created more room for cooperation between the two sides. Young people are the future of Serbia-China friendship, and it is particularly important to strengthen exchange programs for youth. She expressed the hope that this seminar will generate new cooperation ideas and bring more results to fruition.
At the seminar, Wang Dingming, President of Lanzhou University of Arts and Science; Zhang Chun, Dean of the School of Arts at Renmin University of China; Zang Hongyan, General Manager of Beijing Silk Road Culture Development Co., Ltd. and representative of a governing unit of the Sino-European Alliance for Educational Cooperation in the Humanities and the Arts; Tang Xiaohui, Dean of the Open Class Smart Aesthetic Education Research Institute; and Serbian institutional representatives including Ilija Tatić, Director of the Open University Subotica; Mirjana Blagojev, Vice Dean of the Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad; Branka Popović, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of Arts in Belgrade; Marijana Prpa Fink, Head of the International Research College of Theatre Arts for Children and Youth; and Sanja Radusin Smiljanić, Director of the Kikinda Terra Center for Fine and Applied Arts, respectively introduced their institutions’ resources, flagship activities, and cooperation needs. Meanwhile, the two sides conducted pragmatic discussions on topics such as the development of humanities and arts education, youth exchanges, and the building of the Sino-European Alliance for Educational Cooperation in the Humanities and the Arts, reaching preliminary intentions for cooperation.
Cao Diefeng stated in his summary remarks that the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange actively invites Serbian institutions to join the China-Europe Humanities and Arts Education Alliance, and is willing to use the Alliance as a platform to support Serbian institutions in project matchmaking, resource coordination, and event organization with China, and to jointly advance practical China-Serbia cooperation in humanities and arts education, enhance mutual understanding between Chinese and Serbian youth, and serve as a bridge for deepening people-to-people exchanges between the two countries and promoting mutual learning among civilizations.
During their stay in Serbia, the delegation also visited the Chinese Embassy in Serbia, the Department of International Cooperation of Serbia, the University of Arts in Belgrade, the Children’s Cultural Center Belgrade, and other institutions, actively carrying out a series of activities including seminars and exchanges, institutional visits, and the signing of cooperation agreements. In addition, the delegation made a special trip to the site of the bombed Chinese Embassy in the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to pay tribute to the martyrs and remember history.