Beijing prepares to host global culture forum

People participate in an event on a square near Beijing's Bell Tower and Drum Tower on Saturday to celebrate the inclusion of the Beijing Central Axis on UNESCO's World Heritage List. (WANG JING/CHINA DAILY)

The 2024 Beijing Culture Forum will be held in a variety of venues across the city from next Thursday to Saturday, attracting more than 800 domestic and international guests from various fields, including politics and academia.

Topics up for discussion will include exchanges between Eastern and Western civilizations, digital cultural tourism, as well as artificial intelligence.

With the forum having the permanent theme of "inheritance, creativity, mutual learning", this year's staging has the specific theme of "enhance culture exchanges for common progress".

Over 240 international guests from more than 70 countries and regions will attend the forum, including former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, and Pansy Ho Chiu-King, Standing Committee member of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice-chairwoman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

A key focus of the main forum will be the recent successful addition of the Beijing Central Axis to the World Heritage List of the United Nations' cultural body UNESCO, with a special report on the "Beijing experience" in the application process, and efforts to further protect the city's historical and cultural heritage.

For the first time, the forum will host a cultural industry investors' conference, which will feature keynote speeches, project showcases, roadshows and exhibitions. It aims to promote the integration of culture with technology and finance, foster cultural innovation and creativity, and drive high-quality development in the cultural industry.

A main forum, six sub-forums, and over 30 professional seminars and relevant cultural activities will be staged during the three-day event.

The forum is co-organized by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, and the Beijing municipal government.