NSU hosts seminar on cultural heritage of Bangladesh, China

The International Seminar on Protection and Inheritance of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China and Bangladesh was held at North South University in Bangladesh on Dec 17-18, according to NSU officials.

It was jointly sponsored by the Confucius Institute, the Department of Political Science and Sociology of NSU, the Institute for Minorities Studies in the Southwest Border Region and the School of Ethnology and Sociology of Yunnan University.

The two-day forum attracted the participation of around 16 experts and academics to conduct in-depth discussions on the protection and research of intangible cultural heritage. 

Topics included China's current heritage protection system, an analysis of inheritance and changes in traditional values in the media and consumer culture, the protection and inheritance of the culture of the Rohingya people -- and significance and value of the promotion of Confucianism in South Asia.

Among participants were He Ming, director of the Institute for Minorities Studies in Southwest Border Region of Yunnan University; Atiqul Islam, principal of NSU; Abdur Rob Khan, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at NSU and Sk Tawfique M Haque, chairman of NSU’s Department of Political Science and Sociology.

In his speech, He Ming explained that intangible heritage was the crystallization of the wisdom of older people in the world, and it was a valuable tailor of human civilization. 

Bangladesh and China have a long history, and the people of two countries have created a bridge in their intangible cultural heritage and both of them have made outstanding contribution to the construction of the human spiritual world, He Ming said. 

He also expressed his hopes that China and Bangladesh could carry out more exchanges in the future and make a more significant contribution to the preservation and protection of intangible cultural heritage for both countries.

Professor Atiqul Islam pointed out in his speech that the world is made up of people from different ethnic groups. No tolerance of other cultures and traditions will only increase hatred and cause damage, he said. 

Only by studying and protecting minorities with a more open mind can we enrich their intangible cultural heritage, professor Islam added. 

After the seminar, the Institute for Minorities Studies in Southwest Border Region of Yunnan University signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Department of Political Science and Sociology of NSU.

Officials said the two sides would cooperate on establishing a China-South Asia Research Center and conducting a socio-cultural survey in South Asian countries.

They also agreed on cooperation in student exchange projects and joint graduate cultivation projects.

In addition, they drew up a plan to host an international academic forum in Kunming, capital city of China’s Yunnan province, in 2020.

The International Seminar on Protection and Inheritance of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China and Bangladesh is held at North South University in Bangladesh on Dec 17. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

Attendees of the international seminar pose for a group photo at North South University.  [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

A signing ceremony between Yunnan University in China and North South University in Bangladesh is held at North South University on Dec 17. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]