On December 13, the opening ceremony of the 4th Presidents' Forum of Universities in Red River Basin was held. The forum was sponsored by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education and jointly organized by Honghe University and Hai Phong University, Vietnam. Representatives of 23 universities and scholars from China and Vietnam attended the forum online and offline. Ouyang Junhu, vice president of Yunnan Arts University, was invited and delivered a speech on behalf of Yunnan Arts University and participated in an interactive exchange with other presidents. Hou Yunfeng and Chen Wenting from the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange of Yunnan Arts University accompanied him at the meeting and participated in the Research Meeting on the State of Quality Assurance of Local Education for Students Coming to China in the Context of the Epidemic.
The theme of the forum was "High-quality Development of International Exchange between Yunnan and Vietnam Universities in the Post-epidemic Era". At the opening ceremony, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hien, vice president of Hai Phong University, Ms. Ni Huifang, vice president of China Education Association for International Exchange and president of Yunnan Education Association for International Exchange, Mr. He Min, vice governor of Honghe State, Mr. Wang Fan, vice president of China Foreign Affairs University and Mr. Zhao Derong, vice director of Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, delivered speeches. From the good-neighborly diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam to the fruitful trade exchanges, from the colorful cultural exchanges to the comprehensive and in-depth educational cooperation, from the new challenges faced in the new era to the new problems arising from the epidemic, from the current difficulties to be overcome together to the positive outlook for the future, both sides sincerely exchanged views and placed high hopes on the common development of Yunnan-Vietnam higher education.
During the forum, representatives from education departments and universities of Yunnan and Vietnam focused on the challenges and problems faced by international talent cultivation in Yunnan and Vietnam universities and international cooperation in vocational education between Yunnan and Vietnam in the post-epidemic era. It enhanced mutual trust between Yunnan and Vietnam universities, strengthened mutual communication and interaction, and energized and enhanced confidence in cooperation for the continuous promotion of international exchange in education between Yunnan and Vietnam in the post-epidemic era.
In his speech, Vice President Ouyang Junhu introduced that in recent years, relying on the characteristics of disciplines and specialties, Yunnan Arts University has been actively carrying out cultural and artistic exchanges and cooperation activities oriented to South and Southeast Asia, ASEAN and Vietnam, such as the "5th Annual World Ethnic Music Conference and Southeast Asian Music Workshop" in 2015, "Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Photography, Painting and Letter Writing Exhibition" in 2016, "Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Exhibition Photography" in 2018, "Asian Higher Art Invitational Exhibition" in 2020, "Invitational Exhibition of Metal Handicraft Works in South and Southeast Asia" in 2021, and "The Third International Forum on Music and Culture of Cross-border Communities between China (Southern China) and Neighboring Countries and Yunnan-Southeast Asia Cross-border Communities' Song and Dance Music Exchange Workshop" in 2021. These high-level cultural activities will continue to strengthen the foundation of exchanges and deepen the connotation of cooperation.
In the interactive exchange session with presidents, Vice President Ouyang Junhu responded to a question from Mr. Gan Xuechun, secretary of the Party Committee of Honghe University, on "How to promote high-quality development of education internationalization in the post-epidemic era?" and "In the post-epidemic era, what are the good experiences and practices of Yunnan Arts University in arts and cultural exchange and international education?" He shared the effective experience and positive thinking on relevant contents accumulated by Yunnan Arts University in recent years from two aspects. In order to continuously promote the opening of education to the outside world under the background of the epidemic, he put forward constructive suggestions from the perspectives of giving students a welcoming feel on online courses, improving the information quality of teachers, digitizing educational resources and adjusting the adaptability of management mechanism. His ideas were unanimously affirmed by the participants.
Finally, Vice President Ouyang Junhu expressed his sincere hope on behalf of Yunnan Arts University. Yunnan Arts University is willing to strengthen the foundation of cooperation with Chinese and Vietnamese institutions and rely on the "Red River Basin University Union" as a high-level platform to strengthen communication with each other. Yunnan Arts University will work with the colleges and universities in Vietnam to carry out two-way short-term and medium-term art training, teaching, internship, practice and other cooperation projects for the benefit of each other's construction and development, carry out different levels to two-way artworks exhibition, academic forums, multiform interaction and exchange of artistic talents, expand educational exchanges and information exchange, promote pragmatic, innovative and developmental cooperation, broaden exchange channels, enrich the content of cooperation, and further improve bilateral and multilateral sustainable cooperation mechanisms, jointly promote the development of international educational exchanges between universities, and jointly make new contributions to the prosperity of culture and art.
