Xi'an Special: Xi'an Declaration excerpts
The Silk Road is a path to win-win cooperation promoting common development and prosperity and a road towards peace and friendship by enhancing mutual understanding, trust, and all-round exchanges.
Over the past 2,100 years, the Silk Road spanned Europe and Asia, making history in the confluence of civilizations, business interoperability, cultural development and human and social interactions. A belief in openness, cooperation, harmony and inclusiveness was forged to last.
Civilization is diversified by communication and enriched by mutual learning.
Against the backdrop of globalization, the trend of higher education for collaboration and integration has become inevitable.
Today, representatives of about 100 universities from countries and regions around the world gather at Xi'an, China, the starting point of the Silk Road, on an equal and cooperative basis, to establish the "University Alliance of the New Silk Road" to contribute to the common development of civilization and open collaboration in higher education.
The UANSR will advocate the spirit of the Silk Road-"peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit" - to establish cooperative education platforms and further regional development.
It will advocate the concept of a "Silk Road Academic Belt" to facilitate cooperation among member universities in the fields of interuniversity exchange, talent nurturing, research collaboration, cultural exchange, policy studies, and medical and health service collaboration, strengthening understanding and friendship among different countries. Sharing countless stories of the Silk Road, we explore opportunities in higher education and promote friendship between different nations.
Standing at the new starting point of the Silk Road, all members of the UANSR will uphold the belief in unity in diversity, openness and inclusiveness to formulate strategic development for a bright future.
(China Daily 05/29/2015 page17)
