Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The 23rd Beijing Forum, entitled “The Harmony of Civilisations and Prosperity for All: Scientific and Technological Transformations and Civilisational Diversity”, was held on 6–8 November 2026.
The forum was organised by Peking University, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission and the Chae Institute for Advanced Studies (South Korea), with the support of the State Council and the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
The opening ceremony featured speeches by Peking University President Gao Song; Romano Prodi, former President of the European Commission and former Prime Minister of Italy; former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin; Ding Zhongli, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress; Ren Yekun, Vice Minister of Education of China; former Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi; former UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova; and other prominent public and political figures.
More than 500 scholars, experts, political figures and diplomats from 30 countries took part in the Beijing Forum. Uzbekistan was represented by Mirzatillo Tillabayev, First Deputy Director of the National Centre of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights.
The Beijing Forum promotes the development of the humanities and social sciences, international academic exchange and intercultural dialogue, contributing to social development, harmony among civilisations and human prosperity.
Participants noted that throughout human history, every technological breakthrough has profoundly influenced the shape and trajectory of civilisation, prompting different traditions to renew themselves through dialogue.
Today, global technological transformation is accelerating on an unprecedented scale and with unprecedented depth. It is not only changing models of economic development and public governance, but also opening up new historical horizons for exchange, mutual enrichment and coexistence among the world's civilisations.
This raises a crucial question for humanity's well-being: how can technological development be guided while respecting differences and embracing diversity, and how can technological innovation be used to unlock the potential of dialogue among civilisations?
The forum emphasised that technological progress is fundamentally changing the production and dissemination of knowledge, the transmission of values and forms of cultural expression. It is creating a new platform for the exchange of knowledge and intellectual interaction between civilisations, while also giving rise to challenges such as knowledge gaps and digital inequality.
A pressing question of our time is how to preserve the humanistic spirit and civilisational diversity amid rapid technological growth, and find effective ways to ensure that technology fosters deeper dialogue and mutual inspiration. The Beijing Forum continues to focus on emerging trends, bring together academic thinking and address practical questions, promoting forward-looking research and the development of consensus within the international academic community.
The forum's plenary session and 13 parallel sessions addressed topics including the philosophy of technological transformation: scientific practice, values and dialogue among civilisations; digital humanities and classical Eastern studies; technological transformation and international development; and technology, hegemony and the mutual enrichment of civilisations.
