Author: Beyonce Diamond Kpogli
A Public Forum on China’s Global Civilization in Action was successfully held in Accra on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, by the Africa-China Centre for Policy and Advisory (ACCPA), a Sino-African research and policy think tank and advisory firm, in partnership with the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana.
The Confucius Institute (CI) at the University of Ghana is a non-profit educational institution with the stated mission of promoting the teaching of Chinese and facilitating cultural exchanges between China and Ghana.
The forum’s central theme was China’s new proposal called the Global Civilization Initiative, which outlines key pillars on how we can build a harmonious and peaceful world without antagonism and confrontations, as we have seen in recent times.
The need for cooperation, unity, and communication is greater than ever as nations around the world grapple with similar issues as they work to find peace and progress and explore modernization.
The forum brought together some 200 participants and key policy experts from both the public and private sectors, as well as Africa-China experts, who discussed and shared perspectives on China’s Global Civilization Initiative and how that could be leveraged to build peace, stability, and prosperity in our world today.
The forum opened with insightful keynote speeches delivered by H.E. Ambassador Anani Demuyakor, Former Ghana’s Ambassador to China, Danzhu Lou, the Director of Political Affairs at the Chinese Embassy in Ghana; Prof. Gabriel Nii Noi Dowuona, Professor at the University of Ghana, and Professor Jimin Wang, the Chinese Director at the Confucius Institute of the University of Ghana.
The keynote speeches stressed the relevance of respecting the diversity of civilizations and sticking to dialogue instead of confrontation as we seek to build a safe, equitable, and peaceful world.
The panel discussion that followed also re-echoed some of the key tenets in the GCI proposal and, more specifically, how that can be applicable in the context of Ghana and Africa at large.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Forum, Paul Frimpong, the Executive Director of the ACCPA, expressed satisfaction with the level of enthusiasm of participants in gaining an understanding of the key pillars of China’s Global Civilization Initiative proposal.
According to him, “it’s evident that our world today requires new ways of thinking when it comes to building sustainable peace and stability. China’s GCI is a sincere appeal to the entire world for extensive inter-civilizational communication, which is extremely beneficial, practical, and long-lasting.”
Professor Jimin Wang of CIUG equally shared similar sentiments on how cultural tolerance could become a key cornerstone for creating sustainable peace in the world.
