Students and professors from Duke Kunshan University took part in a high-level meeting at the Vatican focused on East-West collaboration in confronting global challenges.
The conference at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences was one of three cross-cultural dialogues staged in Italy and Vatican City last month and co-sponsored by Duke Kunshan’s Humanities Research Center (HRC).
Gender equality, global poverty and the climate crisis were on the agenda at “Dialogue Between Civilizations on Global Commons”, which was held on June 27-28 at the academy’s Casina Pio IV headquarters.
Representing Duke Kunshan were HRC co-director Dr. James Miller, professor of humanities; Dr. Zairong Xiang, assistant professor of comparative literature; and undergraduates Siyu Wang and Tianyu Zhang.
The students contributed to formal and informal discussions at the two-day conference, which highlighted the need for the international community to work together to address issues of global concern.
Wang from the Class of 2025 said it “proved to be an immensely enlightening experience”.
“It offered me a unique perspective on how these critical issues, such as Sustainable Development Goals set by the U.N., are discussed and addressed by a diverse range of stakeholders, each with their own backgrounds and employing various approaches,” Wang said.
“It was fascinating to witness the intersection of political, economic and cultural perspectives converging to tackle these important global challenges.”
Tianyu Zhang from the Class of 2024 said they shared their perspectives as “undergraduate students growing up in the 21st century and educated in a China-U.S. institute where the interactions between cultures are a ubiquitous part of life”.
“It was an inspiring opportunity to be exposed to the assemblage of and clash between different ideas and thoughts from leading global scholars in the field of philosophy, religion, literature and cultural studies,” he said.
As part of proceedings, academics from China, the United States and Europe gathered on June 25-30 at the Pari Center in Tuscany for a sustainability-themed event titled “East and West Philosophy in Dialogue”.
The research center also co-sponsored and participated in a dialogue at La Sapienza University in Rome. More details can be found on the HRC website here.
