The Third Dialogue of China-Europe America Museum Cooperation Initiative was successfully held in Bailitai Campus, Nankai University (NKU) from May 18-19. At the opening ceremony, the Initiator, introduced the theme of the dialogue Museum: Bridge of Civilization Dialogue, and called the Faculty of History a pioneer in Museology Research. Gao Anming, Deputy Director and Editor-in-Chief of the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, and Chen Yulu, President of NKU, delivered speeches. President Chen Yulu looked back at the long history of Museology major of the Faculty, and pointed out that Museology major of the Faculty was the earliest of its kind in universities nationwide: the Museology major was specialized in 1959 and officially set up in 1979. Nankai University Museum was built in 2001, which serves as an ideal platform for the teaching practice of Museology. Chen stated that NKU will continue to embrace, learn from, and interact with world civilizations with an open and inclusive attitude.
Coincidently, the Dialogue was held on the 46th International Museum Day themed Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing. Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sports of Culture of Greece, and Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO (2009-2017) acknowledged the important role of museums in this complex world, which casts an eye on both the past and the present and can enhance social tolerance and cohesion. Deborah Lehr, Chairman and Founder of the Antiquities Coalition, provided constructive suggestions on how to prevent illegal trade in cultural relics.
The development of Museology depends on unity of various social forces and shift of the research focus to people, rather than things. Louis Godart, who was the cultural adviser to three Presidents of Italian Republic, said that the museums collect universal human values and can effectively promote world peace. Gretchen Dietrich, Executive Director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts at the University of Utah, believed that art museums should actively engage in dialogues with the community. Yu Yunquan, President of the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, summarized the platform role of museums in implementing global civilization initiatives. Sarah J. Chicone, Dean of the Department of Museum Studies at Johns Hopkins University, said that museums can not only influence public discourse, but also serve as a place for individuals to establish identity, preserve memories and create significance. Arthur de Villepin, Co-founder and CEO of Villepin Gallery, hoped that China can promote the development of museums through more proactive incentive policies.
The first sub-forum theme of this dialogue is How Museums Provide a Permanent Platform for Art and Cultural Exchange, hosted by Yu Xinzhong, Dean of NKU’s Faculty of History. At the beginning of the forum, Professor Liu Yi, Curator of the NanKai University Museum, shared his reflections: museums are an important platform for human artistic and cultural exchanges; the civilization is undoubtedly diverse, and cultural chauvinism should be resolutely boycotted.
On the second day of this dialogue, Dean of emlyon business school Asia, presided over the second sub-forum, expounding how museums propel cultural integration through technology. John Gabarron, Director of the Cristobal Gabarron Museum and Gabarron Foundation in Spain, pointed out that new technologies are a double-edged sword, which can not only create new forms of cultural exchanges and dialogue, but also give rise to new challenges and moral problems. However, John Gabarron also clarified that museums should keep pace with waves of technology. Yao Yang, Curator of Tianjin Museum, Producer of Asian Digital Art Exhibition, Paolo Tassinari, a graphic designer, and Aldo Cibic, an architect, also expressed their keen insights. Yao Yang admitted that museums are limited by information fragmentation, while digital technology may make up for such shortcomings, and the key to cultural integration lies in people, especially teenagers. Paolo Tassinari pointed out that writing remains one of the most powerful means of communication among humans, while Aldo Cibic affirmed that even different cultures may produce mutual understanding and respect.
The final sub-forum of this dialogue was hosted by Yuan Shengwen, Vice Dean of NKU’s Faculty of History, focusing on the important role of museums in cultural heritage protection and considering how to enhance public awareness of the common future of humanity through the protection of art and culture. Tess Davis, Executive Director of the Antiquities Coalition, emphasized that cultural crimes will probably trigger human right issues and economic problems, and even threaten national security, and countries around the world urgently need to carry out joint actions across departments and countries. Associate Professor Zhang Jingwen, also Deputy Curator of the NanKai University Museum talked about how to make use of digital technology to spread cultural heritage, and put forward two actions for the museum community: further fastening the digitization of cultural heritage by taking advantage of new technologies, and building an exhibition and education platform for inheriting the value of cultural heritage; and carrying out interdisciplinary cooperation and dialogue to attract and encourage public participation. Renata Codello, Secretary General of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, introduced the positive effects of technological means such as digitization of archives and photos and sharing of information resources on the protection and dissemination of cultural heritage. In addition, Katie Chan, Honorary Chairwoman of the Art Concept Culture Institute, summarized the cultural construction in Hong Kong, and artist Wu Qian emphasized the close connection between artists and museums.
At the closing ceremony, some guests exchanged their understanding of museums. Joan McEntee, former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, said that museums can increase public happiness and eliminate obstacles to enhance social tolerance. Hu Dingyi, the champion of the ZJU & CEA Youth Program International Communication Challenge 2023, pointed out that visiting museums is the best way to learn about a city. Louis Godart stated that no civilization can exist independently, and museums are windows of human communication and understanding.
At last, Yu Xinzhong, Dean of NKU’s Faculty of History, spoke highly of this grand event. This high-end forum opened a new chapter for the Faculty's museology research. Dean Yu gave a profound summary of the special significance of museums. Museums are not only material relics of historical and cultural heritage, but also the construction and reinterpretation of ideas and spirits, and a unique place for social interaction. Meanwhile, Dean Yu shared his gains, saying he was impressed by the concept of paying more attention to people than things. He also emphasized that repeated keywords such as diversity, opening, and tolerance are worth noting. Dean Yu also reiterated the spirit of President Chen Yulu's speech at the opening ceremony, and said that museology major of the Faculty is based on profound history science, and has the characteristics of integrating ancient and modern times with Chinese and the Western characteristics since its birth. There is still much room for the development of museology in China. Yu Xinzhong stated that the Faculty of History will continue to make efforts to enhance international cooperation.
The Initiator made a summary of the Dialogue, shared his reflections on the Spanish famous painting Las meninas, and expressed sincere thanks to the staff of the Faculty who prepared the Dialogue. He declared that the fourth dialogue will be held from May 22-23, 2024, with a theme of Museums: A Land of Creativity.
