From November 7th to 9th, the Beijing Forum 2014 was held in Beijing, with the theme of “The Harmony of Civilizations and Prosperity for All - China and the World: Tradition, Reality and Future”, embracing 9 panel sessions and 2 special sessions. Professor Dongxiao Zhang, Dean of the College of Engineering and Executive Vice Dean of Institute of Ocean Research, Peking University chaired its special session “Human and Ocean”.

Over seventy percent of the earth's surface is covered by ocean. How to understand the status of ocean in the earth system and the ocean’s effect on the survival and development of human is a hot topic for many countries. Increasing international competitiveness by acquiring more resources from ocean has become one of the main development strategies of coastal countries in the 21st century.

Focusing on two themes, namely, “Marine Science and Engineering”, and “Sustainable Marine Development and Maritime Silk Road”, the special session “Human and Ocean” invited over 20 scholars from China, Canada, and Norway to give presentations on topics that are related to the two themes, and provided a platform for the scholars to have in-depth discussions.

At the beginning of the session, Zhang extended a warm welcome to all the participants, and gave an introduction to the Institute of Ocean Research, founded at Peking University last year.

According to Zhang, the institute aims to promote research on marine strategy, ocean humanities and social sciences, marine science and engineering, and especially focuses on six areas, including marine basic research and observation, marine biological resources and drugs, marine technology and equipment, marine energy development and ecological environment protection.

The annually held Beijing Forum, which was initiated in 2004, is an international forum which aims at promoting the study of humanities and social sciences around the world. So far it has witnessed the involvement of a total of over 4000 participants including well-known politicians and noted scholars from more than 70 countries and regions around the world. This year’s forum is approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education, under the auspices of the Beijing Municipal Government, and co-sponsored by Peking University.

The opening ceremony of Beijing Forum 2014 at Diaoyutai State Guest House

More info about Beijing Forum 2014: http://www.beijingforum.org/html/folder/1-0.htm