Donghua University (DHU) and Kenya's Moi University (MU) last week virtually hosted a series of Sino-African Forums: The 2020 Sino-Africa International Symposium on Textiles and Apparel, Sino-Africa Cultural Exchange Forum & 5th International Forum on Fashion Communication. The forums gathered 133 experts and scholars from nearly 20 countries including China, Kenya, UK, France, Canada and Netherlands. The success of this event is expected to further deepen China-Africa cooperation and exchange at multiple levels and fields, as well as boost industrial development.
Twenty-five renowned experts delivered keynote speeches, including Mr. Michael Stanley-Jones, Secretariat of the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion Programme and co-Secretary of the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, Prof. Liu Hongwu, Dean of Institute of African Studies of Zhejiang Normal University, Prof. Meng Jian, Director of Fudan University National Center for Cultural Innovation Research, and Prof. Feng Xiujun, Dean of the School of Marxism of Central University of Finance and Economics, and Ms. Eva Zo Rasendra, Director of the Confucius Institute at Antananarivo University in Madagascar. Mr. Michael Stanley-Jones said that investment in natural resources and cultural relics in Asian and African regions, as well as combination of the technological innovation with the traditional aesthetics, will help China and African countries win a cutting edge position of the sustainable development of the fashion industry. Prof. Meng Jian pointed out that to build up an international communication system, it is necessary to set up a cultural perspective that is equal, comprehensive and encourages learning and communication. “African culture is a unique part of the global fashion system, and it should be more actively integrated into the international culture.”
The participants exchanged ideas and shared insights into topics varying from “Toward a Stronger Community with a Shared Future through a Shared Knowledge System”, “International Fashion Communication in the View of Mutual Learning Among Civilizations”, and “China’s Image Communication in the Century-old Change”, to “Establishing a Cultural Research Platform for Confucius Institutes and Promoting Sustainable Cultural Exchanges between China and Africa”, “Fashion Agenda for Sustainable Development”, and “Transformation and Opportunity: Sustainable Fashion Innovation in the Post-coronavirus Era”.
（Prof. Meng Jian dilivers a keynote speech.）
The event featured a new combination of the existing conference with the 5th International Forum on Fashion Communication, generating a variety of topics related to sustainable culture, sustainable fashion, sustainable governance and sustainable communication. During this conference, experience and insights on the sustainable development of the textile and apparel industry as well as cultural communication between China and Africa were shared, thus empowering the innovative development of the China-Africa textile industry.
The forums were held with the support of the Belt and Road Research Center, the Fashion & Communication Research Center of DHU and the Africa Center of Excellence in Phytochemicals, Textile and Renewable Energy of MU. Meanwhile, the sub forum “China-Africa Community with A Shared Future” was held by the Marxist Theory and Contemporary Practice Research Base at College of Marxism of Donghua University together with the 21st Century Marxism Research Center at School of Marxism of Shanghai Normal University.
Other heated topics were discussed during the Sino-Africa International Symposium on Textile and Apparel and the Africa Center of Excellence in Phytochemicals, Textile and Renewable Energy, including basic research on textile materials and textile engineering, industrial textiles and non-woven personal protective equipments and materials, creative design of textiles and clothing, and post-pandemic development trends of the textile and apparel industry.
(Experts and scholars from home and abroad attend the online event.)
The events were also attended by, among others, Ms. Ruth Charo, an official of the World Bank, Kenya, Dr. Pam Fredman, President of International Association of Universities, and Mr. Zhao Xiyuan, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese embassy to Kenya.
More than 13,000 people watched The Sino-Africa Culture Exchange Forum opening ceremony via Donghua University’s official Weibo and TikTok accounts. In recent years, Donghua University has actively expanded cooperation on the basis of its disciplinary advantages. Its efforts include holding a series of China-Africa forums, establishing the world’s first Confucius Institute focused on textile, the Confucius Institute at Moi University, organizing BRI-related training programs, and initiating the World Textile University Alliance.
