On the afternoon of Aug.24th, Vladimir Yakunin, president of Russian Railway Corporation, Founder of the International Public Forum ‘Civilization Exchanges’, delivered a speech in the lecture hall of LZU Graduates Activity Center at the invitation of LZU and CSCLF. President Wangcheng chaired this meeting.
Vladimir Yakunin introduced what is Civilization Exchanges and its significance to the modern society and pointed out that the world has entered a truly pluralistic civilization era, and the dialogue among the representatives of civilizations is to establish a special new path to the similarity of human civilization, and only under the dialogue among representatives in the civilizations, the global charming prospects can be realized.
Vladimir Yakunin thinks that any definitions, especially those precise definitions, are actually against the nature of the definition. For the definition of civilization, it can explain as ‘civilization is a community of history, culture and fixed lifestyle. Civilization has its own standards, development goals and values, and these values adjust their relationship in society through legal system.’
Yakunin said that there still exist conflicts in the world. The reason is that, to a large extent, the active and effective dialogue between various civilizations did not carry out and not understanding or appreciate the others so as to bring the trauma to peaceful coexistence among civilizations. It is not clear whether the dialogue is legal or not, therefore, the dialogue among civilizations is of great significance. “For members of the community, the purpose of the dialogue is not to achieve their own interests, but to show the potential for new developments in terms of social development, and to pave the way for the realization of new developments.”
Yakunin also said in the lecture that with the growth of China's economy, China will inevitably interact with other civilizations, and only through dialogue can we learn from each other, enhance “soft power” of Chinese civilization, even “the inclusive power”.
Mr. Yakunin’s passionate speech evoked a strong reaction among the audiences. In Q & A section, many audiences asked questions, and Mr. Yakunin gave a detailed explanations.
President Wangcheng showed his gratitude for Mr. Yakunin’s wonderful lecture. He expressed that as Chinese President Xi Jinping said, the human civilization can not be divided into good or evil, but due to equal exchanges, the human civilization becomes more and more colorful. Only we adhere to an open and tolerant attitude towards different civilization can we create a harmonious society among different social systems, different religious faiths and different cultural traditions. The interaction and cooperation on the silk road among Asian and European countries, should follow the “peaceful cooperation, openness and tolerance, mutual learning, mutual benefit and win-win” spirits, to promote civilization and mutual learning, respect other choices, insist on win-win cooperation, develop peaceful dialogue, promote the civilizations and cultures of all ethnic groups along the silk road.
