The international seminar entitled The World Evolution of Population Aging in an Interdisciplinary Perspective was held online and offline from Sep. 24 to 25 in Suzhou Campus, Renmin University of China (RUC).
It was organized by the Institute of French and Francophone (IRF) of RUC, in collaboration with the Institute of Cultural Studies (IRIEC) of the Université Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France, and the Institute of Gerontology of RUC.
The seminar was divided into four topics: “Population Aging in China and France: Concepts, Current Situation and Future Trends”, “Population Aging and Public Policies: Constraints and Cultural Interactions”, “Impact of Population Aging on Retirement and Monetary Policies”, and “Health, Image and Values of the Elderly in a Period of Rapid Aging”.
Du Peng, Vice President of RUC, remarked at the opening ceremony that China is the country with the largest number of elderly people in the world, and France is the first country in the world to enter the aging society. Both China and France have accumulated rich experiences in dealing with the aging process, which are worth studying and learning from each other. He added that it’s of vital importance for France and China that experts and scholars from two countries examine and discuss the common problem of aging from political, economic, social, cultural, literary and other multidisciplinary perspectives.
Vergnaud Jean- François, the French representative of Sino-French Institute of RUC, remarked that the Sino-French Institute has the largest permanent French teaching and research team in humanities and social sciences in China. He hopes that the French scholars could provide their own intra-disciplinary perspectives and interdisciplinary inspiration on comprehensive global governance issues, regarding this conference as a starting point to deepen research cooperation with other faculties and institutions of RUC.
Dai Zhixin, deputy dean of IRF, remarked that this year is the 58th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China, and China and France should work together to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation, achieve mutual benefit, and jointly promote world peace and development. He added that this forum is of great significance, for it is the first international academic exchange event after the official establishment of IRF.
Wu Cong, Council Chair of Suzhou Campus, said in the closing speech that the Sino-French Insititue is an important window for France to understand China, and the newly established IRF should take up the mission of Sino-French cooperation and exchange.