Symposium on “Cultural Heritage: Protection and Management Policies in China and Italy”

In December 2016, a symposium themed “Cultural Heritage: Protection and Management Policies in China and Italy” was jointly held by Zhejiang Institute of Administration (ZIA) and Scuola Nazionale dell’Amministrazione (SNA) in Italy.

SNA Special Commissioner Prof. Bruno Dente and ZIA Vice President Mr. Huag Huazhag addressed their open remarks at the symposium. From the ZIA side, Director of Academic Affair Office Prof. Sun Xiong, Associate Prof. Huang Jia and Zhang Hongling from the Department of Sociology delivered keynote speeches on “The protection and exploration of ancient villages and towns in Zheiang”, “The protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage in Zhejiang”, and “The protection of cultural heritage and the urban organic renewal”. At the invitation of SNA, directors, legal advisors and professors from MiBACT introduced information on “Policies of protection and preservation of cultural heritage in Italy”, “The administration of cultural heritage in Italy: organisation and levels of government”, and “The national policies of education and research in protection and promotion of culture in Italy”.

Apart from exchanges of views on cultural heritage protection, the scholars from China and Italy paid a visit to Rome and Milan and conducted a field survey on cultural heritage protection and creative industry.

The symposium marks a new cooperation programme between ZIA and SNA since the signing of MoU. Previously, on the basis of their joint research project, the two schools held a forum themed “The Scope and Means of Zhejiang-Italy Cooperation” at ZIA in 2015. They will be committed to expanding new areas for cooperation and promoting exchanges in the long run.

2015 Forum on “The Scope and Means of Italy-Zhejiang Cooperation”

On December 8^th, 2015 Forum on “The Scope and Means of Italy-Zhejiang Cooperation” in the Context of Transformation and Upgrading, co-organised by Zhejiang Institute of Administration (ZIA) and Italian National School of Administration (SNA), was held in ZIA. Vice President of ZIA and Prof. Renzo Turatto of SNA attended and addressed the forum.

The forum was an indispensable part of the MoU between the two institutes, and also an important international academic conference held in ZIA. The Italian side paid high attention to it, and dispatched a delegation of 7 persons consisting of the research group of SNA, an official from Italian Ministry of Economic Development, professors from European University Institute and Bocconi University. Previously, the two sides had made initial research into “the scope and means of Italy-Zhejiang Cooperation, and the research group from ZIA had conducted research in a couple of enterprises and departments in Italy.

The forum comprised a variety of activities, all of which stuck closely to its theme. Government officials from both sides introduced the environment for investment in Zhejiang and Italy. The experts from respective research group made keynote speeches on the potential for Zhejiang-Italy cooperation and the problems lying ahead. Participants from Italy-invested companies also contributed their thoughts and ideas. The forum achieved general consensus in the end. Participants believed that Zhejiang and Italy share similarities in the structure of industry; the two regions have a considerable number of small and medium-sized enterprises; Italy is advantageous in textile, machinery, agriculture and culture industry, and Zhejiang features its vibrant private economy and is now undergoing a critical stage of transformation and globalisation. The forum also explored the means by which the two regions might cooperate and solve problems in investment.

During the forum, ZIA and SNA also exchanges opinions to promote school-level cooperation. After the forum, ZIA also organised a research tour to Comer Industries, an Italian owned enterprise, and Wolong Group, a Chinese enterprise which has acquired a number of companies in Italy.

The China-Russia bilateral symposium on  "The Collapse of the Soviet Union and Lessons for China"

The China-Russia bilateral symposium was held at ZIA on November 4^th 2014. Professors and postgraduates from ZIA met experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences for the discussion on the topic of "The Collapse of the Soviet Union and Lessons for China".

Professor KOLIN Konstantin, Dr. CHIORNY Yuri, and SHABALOV Mikhail made respective speeches on "The Role of Mikhail Gorbachev in the Collapse of the Soviet Union", "Strategic Planning—from Soviet Union to Russia", "Ideology and Ethical Issues in the Collapse of the Soviet Union". ZIA's professors from department of sociology and culturology and department of politics addressed on this topic later at the symposium. The experts and scholars from the two parties also had discussions on fields they were interested in.

ZIA's Vice-President JI Shengqing highly appreciated the symposium, saying this would enhance the cooperation between the two parties. He indicated that the open discussions were good example of "harmony in diversity", an important component of Chinese culture. He hoped that the two parties would have exchanges and collaborations in a broader scope in the future.