The founding conference of the “China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Cooperation Alliance” was successfully held

On April 24, the founding conference of the “China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Cooperation Alliance” was held at Nantong University. Grigor Vladimirov, Chairman of Education4Everybody, Eleonora Tankova, Vice President of Varna Free University, Yang Ming, Secretary General of the Alliance, and Law Sarah, Secretary General of the Bulgarian Asian Sports, Culture and Tourism Association, were invited to attend the conference.

The founding conference of the “China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Cooperation Alliance” was hosted by Nantong University and the Free University of Varna in Bulgaria, and organized by the International Cooperation and Exchange Department, the School of Textiles and Clothing, and the Institute of Intangible Cultural Heritage. More than 40 people from brother colleges and universities such as Guilin Tourism College, Shanghai Jianqiao University, China University of Geosciences, Soochow University, Soochow Institute of Technology, Hebei Academy of Fine Arts, Wuchang Vocational College, Wuhan East Lake University, Wuhan University of Arts and Sciences, Jiangsu Engineering Vocational and Technical College, Nantong Science and Technology Vocational College, Nantong Vocational University, Nantong Institute of Technology, and the Secretariat of the China-Bulgaria Alliance attended the meeting.

Wang Weidong, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Nantong University, expressed warm congratulations on the holding of this conference. On behalf of Nantong University, he expressed warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the Bulgarian guests who came from afar, as well as the leaders and guests of the sister colleges and universities who attended the conference. He briefly introduced the basic situation of Nantong University and the achievements of international exchanges and cooperation. He said that Bulgaria is one of the first Central and Eastern European countries to sign a cooperation document on the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” with China. The friendship between the two countries has a long history, and the cooperation in culture, education, science and technology and other fields has been deeply integrated, which has become a model of China-Europe humanities cooperation. He hopes that the universities of both sides will take the establishment of the “China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Cooperation Alliance” as an opportunity to broaden the scope of cooperation, deepen the connotation of cooperation, fully demonstrate the spirit of the times that education connects civilizations and cooperation creates the future, and jointly contribute to promoting cooperation and exchanges in higher education between China and Bulgaria.

Eleonora Tankova, Vice President of the Free University of Varna, thanked the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, the Embassy and Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in China, the founding partners of the China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Alliance, and all the partners who laid the foundation for the establishment of the “China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Cooperation Alliance”, thanked everyone for their work in establishing a strategic partnership between the two countries, and introduced the basic situation of Varna University and the city where it is located. She hopes that the “China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Cooperation Alliance” will become a new platform for both sides to achieve common success in science, education, culture and sustainable development, and open a new chapter in China-Bulgaria educational cooperation.

The conference unanimously approved the charter of the China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Cooperation Alliance, the list of members of the alliance’s presidium, the list of members of the secretariat, and the list of directors. Wang Weidong, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Nantong University, was elected as the rotating chairman of the Chinese side, Petar Hristov, president of the Free University of Varna, Bulgaria, was elected as the rotating chairman of the Bulgarian side, Grigor Vladimirov was elected as the rotating executive chairman, and Liu Qixia was elected as the executive vice chairman. Tankova, vice president of the Free University of Varna, Wu Yuanxin, vice chairman of the China Folk Artists Association, Guo Haiming, chairman and president of Wuchang Vocational College, Zhang Jianmin, executive vice president of Hebei Academy of Fine Arts, Zhan Junsan, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and vice president of Wuhan East Lake College, Chen Wei, vice president of Guilin Tourism College, and Zhang Yuequn, vice president of Nantong Vocational College of Science and Technology, were elected as vice chairmen. Yang Ming, secretary general of the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Art Design Research Institute and distinguished professor of Nantong University and Free University of Varna, was elected as secretary general. Law Sarah, Wang Mingguang, Chen Hanjun, Ni Shenjian, Shen Yue, Tun Lingdi, Ma Li, and Wang Yirong were elected as deputy secretaries-general. Li Jiwen, vice president of Wuchang Vocational College, and 38 other people were elected as directors. Wang Weidong and Chairman Grigor Vladimirov jointly presented certificates to the members of the presidium and the secretariat, and unveiled the “China-Europe Belt and Road Art Institute”.

Vice President Eleonora Tankova issued appointment letters to the first batch of “China-Bulgaria Joint Doctoral Supervisors” of the Free University of Varna, Bulgaria 
.Jiang Zhaohui,
 Shen Yue,
  Liu Hui
 ,
 Gao Yuanheng,Ge Hongbo,Huang Delin,
 Shen Aifeng, Yang Ming ,
  Qian 
Liang was hired as one of the first Chinese doctoral supervisors at Varna Free University.
 

Wang Weidong, Chinese chairman of the alliance and deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Nantong University, Grigor Vladimirov, executive chairman of the alliance, Eleonora Tankova, vice president of Varna Free University, Wu Yuanxin, vice chairman of China Folk Artists Association and dean of Nantong University Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Institute, Yang Shasha, member of the Party Committee and vice president of Guilin Tourism College, Zhan Junsan, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and vice president of Wuhan East Lake University, Li Jiwen, vice president of Wuchang Vocational College, Wang Mingguang, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and vice president of Wuhan University of Arts and Sciences, Zhu Yalin, member of the Party Committee and vice president of Nantong Vocational University, and Du Yue, member of the Party Committee and vice president of Nantong Normal College, jointly cut the ribbon and opened the “Bulgaria-China Education and Culture Cooperation Alliance”.

At the branch meeting of this alliance conference, Nantong University, Guilin Tourism College, Wuhan East Lake University, Wuchang Vocational College, Wuhan University of Arts and Sciences, Nantong Vocational College of Science and Technology, and Shanghai Jianqiao University held cooperation meetings with the Free University of Varna in Bulgaria to discuss the cooperation in jointly building the “China-Europe Belt and Road”, cooperating in undergraduate, master’s and doctoral admissions, high-level talent training, and scholar exchanges.

Grigor Vladimirov, Executive Chairman of the Alliance, Eleonora Tankova, Vice President of Varna Free University, Yang Ming, Secretary General of the Alliance, and Law Sarah, Deputy Secretary General of the Alliance, unveiled the Varna Free University China Admissions Center.

Vice President Eleonora Tankova and Yang Shasha, member of the Party Committee and Vice President of Guilin Tourism College, unveiled the Guangxi Representative Office of Varna Free University China Admissions Center and authorized Deputy Secretary-General of the Alliance Tun Lingdi as the Director of the Guangxi Representative Office.

Vice President Eleonora Tankova, together with Zhan Junsan, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of Wuhan East Lake University, Li Jiwen, Vice President of Wuchang Vocational College, and Wang Mingguang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice President of Wuhan University of Arts and Sciences, unveiled the Hubei Representative Office of the China Admissions Center of the Free University of Varna and authorized Wang Yirong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Alliance, as the Director of the Hubei Representative Office.

After the conference, Bulgarian guests and guests from sister institutions visited the Nantong Blue Print Museum.

On the morning of April 25, Alliance Executive Chairman Grigor Vladimirov, Vice President of Varna Free University Eleonora Tankova, and Alliance Deputy Secretary-General Law Sarah were invited to visit Nantong Vocational College of Science and Technology. Zhao Yufeng, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nantong Vocational College of Science and Technology, Shi Jiaju, Director of the Admissions and Employment Office, and Peng Lu, Dean of the School of International Education, attended the cooperation meeting.

 On the morning of April 26, Bulgarian Consul General in Shanghai Vladislav Spasov and Deputy Consul General Yavor Tomov met with Grigor Vladimirov, Executive Chairman of the Alliance, Eleonora Tankova, Vice President of Varna Free University, Yang Ming, Secretary General of the Alliance, Law Sarah, Deputy Secretary General of the Alliance, and Tun Lingdi, Deputy Secretary General of the Alliance, at the Consulate General. Consul General Vladislav Spasov congratulated the establishment of the China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Alliance and expressed that the Consulate General will support the Alliance’s subsequent activities and visa services.

On the afternoon of April 26, Alliance Executive Chairman Grigor Vladimirov, Vice President Eleonora Tankova, Alliance Secretary General Yang Ming, Alliance Deputy Secretary General Law Sarah, and Alliance Deputy Secretary General Ma Li were invited to visit Shanghai Jianqiao University. Shanghai Jianqiao University President Zhu Ruiting and Varna Free University Vice President Eleonora Tankova signed a cooperation agreement between the two schools, and unveiled the Shanghai Representative Office of the Varna Free University China Admissions Center, authorizing Alliance Deputy Secretary General Ma Li as the Director of the Shanghai Representative Office. Liang Yuequan, Director of the Office of International Exchanges of Shanghai Jianqiao University, Ge Hongbo, Dean of the School of Art and Design of Shanghai Jianqiao University, and Liu Xianyu, Dean of the School of Jewelry, attended the exchange and cooperation meeting.

The founding conference and a series of cooperation meetings of the “China-Bulgaria Education and Culture Cooperation Alliance” lasted for three days. All agendas were successfully completed. The universities of China and Bulgaria signed a number of cooperation agreements and achieved fruitful results in exchanges and cooperation. In the future, the alliance will continue to attract schools, institutions and individuals who are interested in educational and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Bulgaria to join, in order to achieve win-win cooperation and greater development.