The First “Win-Win Cooperation—the Belt and Road International Conference on Museums” Convenes in Armenia, with the Cultural Heritage of Hunan and Hunan Museum Attending upon Invitation
From July 21st to 24th, Yang Yaowu, second-level researcher of the Comprehensive Planning and Finance Division of the Cultural Heritage of Hunan, and He Chunping, fourth-level researcher of the Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology Division, led a delegation, while Duan Xiaoming, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of Hunan Museum, and his entourage traveled to Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia, to attend the first “Win-Win Cooperation—the Belt and Road International Conference on Museums”. This conference was hosted by the History Museum of Armenia and convened under the guidance of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia. Museum representatives from countries including China, Georgia, Iran and Armenia participated in the conference.
“Win-Win Cooperation—the Belt and Road International Conference on Museums”in session
He Chunping delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. He comprehensively and insightfully elaborated on Hunan Province’s rich historical and cultural resources, the development achievements of its museum industry, and the bright prospects for international exchanges and cooperation. Meanwhile, he clearly expressed our firm determination and positive attitude to deepen exchanges and cooperation with museums around the world and jointly commit to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
He Chunping is delivering a speech
The conference organized thematic discussions around three topics: “Balancing Tradition and Innovation in Museum Practice”, “Sustainability of Museums: Practices and Challenges”, and “Technology and Innovation: Application of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Museum Management—Advantages and Challenges”.Duan Xiaoming delivered a keynote speech titled “Culture+Technology: Empowering the Digital Transformation of Cultural Relics and Building a New Format of Cultural Industry”. He focused on practices and achievements in leveraging technology to empower the dynamic utilization of cultural relics and advance digital construction, highlighting the use of distinctive museum collections such as artifacts from the Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tombs and Bronze Ware from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties in Hunan.
Duan Xiaoming stated that he is willing to deepen cooperation with museums in countries along the Belt and Road, jointly explore the application scenarios and industrial prospects of the integrated development of “Culture+Technology”, and work together to build a new pattern of win-win cooperation for the prosperous development of museums along the Belt and Road.
Duan Xiaoming is delivering a keynote speech
During the conference, the Hunan Museum actively responded to the Belt and Road Initiative for cultural exchange and mutual learning, and jointly signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding(MoU) with Armenian National Institute for the Protection of Historical Environment and Cultural Museums and the Belt and Road Cultural Development Association. The MoU explictly states that a regular cooperation mechanism will be established through various forms such as joint exhibition curation, digital sharing of cultural relics, and exchange programs of professionals. In accordance with the provisions of the memorandum, the three parties will regularly hold thematic exhibitions in Armenia and China, and conduct in-depth cooperation in areas such as exhibit selection, exhibition design, and academic research. This move marks a new stage of substantive progress in museum cooperation between China and Armenia.
Duan Xiaoming is being interviewed by Armenian National Television
Group Photo of the Participants
