Macau Foundation (FM) President Wu Zhiliang said on Thursday that the foundation has always “highly valued” research about Macau by the academia, adding that Macau’s “unique historical and cultural values” can only be “highlighted” by studying Macau and exploring Macau’s development pattern.
Wu made the remarks in his opening speech at the 6th International Conference on Macaology at the Macau Science Centre in Nape.
Wu also stressed that by studying Macau, the city could attract more attention from home and abroad, based on its “unique historical progress” and the successful practice of “One Country, Two Systems”, which would help strengthen Macau’s “soft power” and its cultural influence overseas.
Wu noted that the term “Macaology” was first created in the 1980s by Macau’s academia, which was inspired by “local studies” from other places and based on Macau’s “unique” long time role as a hub for Chinese and Western cultural exchanges.
According to an FM statement, the two-day conference is jointly organised by the foundation, Social Sciences in China Press, University of Macau (UM), Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM), Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), and Jinan University.
The conference is coinciding with the 5th Outstanding Achievement Awards for Macau Research in Humanities and Social Sciences.
Wu noted in his opening speech that the awards were granted in 2004 for the first time, jointly organised by the foundation and a group of social science scholars from Guangdong.
Wu also noted that the International Conference on “Macaology” held for the first time in 2010, was organised by the foundation and University of Macau.
Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau Deputy Director Xue Xiaofeng, Deputy Foreign Affairs Ministry Commissioner Wang Dong, and representatives of local higher education institutions attended the event. The conference ends on Friday.
