World civilizations symposium held in Beijing

Over 100 people, including experts, scholars and officials from home and abroad, attended the Symposium of Nishan Forum on World Civilizations held in Beijing on Sunday, and voiced their views on Asian civilizations and a community with a shared future.

With a theme of diversity of civilizations and Asia's future, the symposium was a part of the session, "Safeguarding the Diversity of Asian Civilizations", which is a parallel session of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations.

Xu Jialu, head of the Council of Nishan Forum on World Civilizations, said at the symposium that Asia should and is able to do more in showcasing and protecting the diversity of civilizations and to help them flourish, as well as building a happier Asia, which is a great and unprecedented cause.

Chen Lai, a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said ancient Chinese philosophers had proposed values for different civilizations.

"Confucius said that, 'A gentleman seeks harmony, not conformity', showing respect to different cultures," Chen said. "Mencius proposed that we should have good intentions toward others. I think it's an inclusive attitude toward other people and their civilizations."

Chen said that it's of great importance to promote such philosophies to enhance the exchanges and mutual learning of diverse civilizations.

Kim Kwang-Ok, a professor in the Department of Anthropology, Seoul National University, said the symposium is a time to seek communication and integration methods by sharing views on the diversity of civilizations.

Scholars also voiced their views on topics that included the ways of mutually sharing and learning about the diversity of civilizations, and how to build the future of Asia with youth.