CityU holds 2022 International Symposium on Studies of China and African Portuguese-Speaking Countries and Book Launch
The “2022 International Symposium on Studies of China and African Portuguese-Speaking Countries and Book Launch”, jointly organised by the Institute for Research on Portuguese-Speaking Countries (IROPC) of the City University of Macau (CityU), Consulate of Angola to MSAR, the Macau “One Belt, One Road” Research Centre, and the Research Centre for Information of “The Belt and Road” and Contemporary Portuguese-Speaking Countries, was held via online conference yesterday.
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Guests attended the virtual event included: Dr Estanislau dos Santos, Vice-Consul of the Consulate General of Angola in MSAR; Professor José Magode, Rector of the Joaquim Chissano University in Mozambique; Dr Rodrigo Brum, former Deputy Secretary-General of Forum Macao; Professor Carmen Amado Mendes, President of the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre in Lisbon; Professor Salvatore Mancuso of the University of Palermo in Italy; Assistant Professor Jorge Tavares da Silva of the University of Aveiro in Portugal; Professor Fernanda Ilhéu of the University of Lisbon in Portugal; Associate Professor João Alexandre Lobo Marques of the University of Saint Joseph in Macao; Assistant Professor Cátia Miriam Costa and Dr Yichao Li of ISCTE - Institute of the University of Lisbon in Portugal.
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Professor Jun Liu, Rector of CityU, mentioned that this symposium received substantial contributions and support from the Consulate General of Angola in MSAR and Joaquim Chissano University in Mozambique. The event was a token of the synergies of international institutional cooperation for shared benefits, having in mind the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and all nine Portuguese-speaking countries. Rector Liu concluded by wishing the academic investment will be reinforced and extended in the future.
In representation of Consul-General, Dr Eduardo Galiano, the Vice-Consul of the Consulate General of Angola in MSAR, Dr Estanislau dos Santos pointed out the importance and role of Forum Macao in his speech, namely the extension of its supporting action to culture and academics. Dr Estanislau further praised the institutional cooperation and wished that the next book could be published in 2023, covering the main topic of the symposium. He concluded by wishing more Angola students can benefit from this cooperation.
During the event, Rector Liu, Professor Ip Kuai Peng, Vice-Rector and Dean of IROPC, and Associate Professor and Associate Dean Francisco Leandro, co-author of the academic publication, officiated the book launch. The China, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe: From sporadic bilateral exchanges to a comprehensive multilateral platform is officially available to the public.
Vice-Rector Ip stressed the importance of the Fourth International Academic Symposium as a significant milestone to the study of the Portuguese-speaking countries and their relations with China and MSAR in the context of the Greater Bay Area and conveyed gratitude for the support received from MSAR Government and the Higher Education Fund.
Associate Professor Francisco Leandro said that the IROPC has been devoted to academic production since its inception and planned to publish nine publications about the relations between China and the nine Portuguese-speaking countries. The third volume launched today gathered 29 scholars from China, MSAR, São Tomé and Principe, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Portugal.
Professor José Magode, Rector of the Joaquim Chissano University, stressed the importance of international academic cooperation and the need to bring it into a meaningful synergetic result and expressed delight to continuing this meaningful cooperation with CityU.
Dr Rodrigo Brum, former Deputy Secretary-General of Forum Macao, asserted that it is the right time to fully explore the potential of Angola for mutual benefit to create a platform for academic study to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine in the context of China- on Portuguese-speaking countries. He further called attention to the importance of interpersonal relations as a multiplier of synergetic links.
Professor Carmen Amado Mendes, from the University of Coimbra (Portugal), President of the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre in Lisbon, praised the organisation of this symposium in her speech and identified the major challenges in the economic, investment, technological, industrial and academic cooperation, as well as the possibilities offered by bilateral and trilateral cooperation. The export diversification, the transition to a low carbon economy, the social agenda, and sustainability were among the most challenging aspects of future cooperation for mutual benefit.
In the afternoon, scholars from universities worldwide, including the University of Palermo, University of Aveiro, University of Lisbon, Catholic University of Portugal, ISCTE-IUL Lisbon, University of Saint Joseph, University of Joaquim Chissano (Mozambique), University of Agostinho Neto (Angola), Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (Brazil), held online exchanges on various topics, namely multilateral, trilateral and bilateral cooperation between China-Angola and Portugal, health technology innovation in Portuguese-speaking countries, South-South cooperation, and relations between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. The discussions were concluded in cordial atmospheres. The conference was also attended by representatives from the Macau University of Science and Technology, the Macao Polytechnic University, the University of Saint Joseph, as well as leaders, academic members and students of CityU.
Source: Institute for Research on Portuguese-Speaking Countries
