Summary Meeting on Shanghai Forum 2012

 The summary meeting for this year’s Shanghai Forum was held on the 28th of June at the Multi-functional Hall of Fudan University’s Yi Fu Science and Technology Building. In attendance were Professor Lin Shangli, Vice President of Fudan University, Prof. Chen Yinzhang, Secretary-General of the Forum and Advisor to the President on International Affairs at the University, and Prof. Zhang Yi, Executive Vice-Secretary-General of the Forum and Director of the Forum Secretariat Office, who all gave relevant reports. Sub-forum chairs as well as other members of the Organizing Committee and Academic Committee also attended the meeting and made reports from their respective sides.

Professor Chen Yinzhang chaired the meeting and discussion. Firstly, Prof. Zhang Yi made a summary of the Shanghai Forum’s overall organization and administration, covering guest invitation, academic products and media publicity as follows:

Guest Invitation: Shanghai Forum (2012) attracted 530 guests all over the world, among which, 217 were overseas. Participants of the meeting made 304 presentations and handed in 223 academic papers in total. All figures reached a record high in the Forum’s history. this year, and sent policy proposals (Fudan scholars’ edition) to Shanghai Municipal Government for policy consultation. Meanwhile, student reporters from Fudan University interviewed more than 50 guests concerning the world’s future development, in terms of which  Interviews with Scholars  would be published after the conclusion of the Forum along with  policy proposals (international scholars’ edition).

Media Publicity: About 40 media made reports of Shanghai Forum (2012), including important Chinese media such as 21st Century Business Herald, Global Times, People’s Daily Online, Xinhua News Agency, China News Service, Jiefang Daily, Wenhui Daily, Oriental Morning Post and Shanghai TV Station, and well-known overseas media like  Lianhe Zaobao  and  Phoenix TV with eight times of headline news, 4 times of TV news and 794 times of re-transmission by the Internet. Media publicity  exerted huge influence, as the theme of this year’s forum became a hot topic of social discussion.

The second speaker, Professor Lin Shangli, reviewed the academic performance of the Forum, in which he pointed out the continuing need for the Forum to pursue high-level academic quality and promote diverse thinking, foreseeing that this would develop post-sessional academic products based on previous research and Forum discussion. Professor Lin suggested that some sub-forums could be encouraged to keep private sessions so as to ensure free and in-depth deliberation, and that organizers should make full preparation prior to the conference to guarantee a deep understanding of their research areas.

During the following session, sub-forum chairs illustrated features and highlights of their respective sub-forums, shared experience from their preparation process and expressed hopes for the Forum’s future development. Towards the end of the meeting, participants reached a consensus that the Forum should focus on Asia and have a long-term blueprint. Further, it should be required to develop post-sessional academic products and maintain cooperation with Asian consulates and think tanks. This would make necessary the formation of a stable operation mechanism running throughout the year for the purpose of enhancing the Forum’s influence and attracting a wider range of attention, so that the Forum could aim to establish a platform for communication among political, academic and business circles, and between young elites from Asia.

 Vice President Lin Shangli concluded the meeting with an expression of his sincerely felt gratitude to all those who had made contribution to the success of this year’s Forum.