Historians worldwide call for inclusive dialogue

The First World History Frontiers Forum convened in Beijing, gathering around 280 scholars worldwide to advocate for a more inclusive study of the past as a guide for contemporary global challenges.

Held on Friday and Saturday, the event brought academics from more than 40 countries and regions, including the United States, Russia, Germany, and Japan, according to its host, the Chinese Academy of History, founded in January 2019 as a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In his opening remarks, Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the values embedded in a nation's history provide the foundation for its chosen development path. With the world in "a new period of turbulent transformation, human society is in more need than ever of drawing wisdom from history", Gao said.

He added that historians from across the world should "scientifically analyze" the evolution of different civilizations to help "answer the questions of the world, the people, and our time".

The comments come amid rising geopolitical tensions and a broader debate about the dominance of Western historical narratives. Under the theme Civilizational Legacy and Historical Paths, the forum's goal was to promote academic exchange and cooperation within the global history discipline and to drive innovative development in historical research.

The opening ceremony also featured speeches from Rebecca Lemos Igreja, secretary-general of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, and Kostas Gouliamos, an Ordinary Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and last year's recipient of the Chinese Government Friendship Award.

Igreja emphasized the power of narrative and inclusivity in historical scholarship, and argued for a more pluralistic approach to writing world history, one that actively recovers marginalized and often-forgotten narratives.

As history is closely linked to the present and future, telling past stories accurately is greatly significant for different countries to cooperate in facing challenges, according to Igreja.

Praising the forum for creating an essential platform for scholars to overcome geographic and language barriers, Igreja believes the event will deepen mutual understanding and cooperation.

Gouliamos framed civilization as the essential catalyst for human progress, which has always advanced through dialogue and exchange. With humankind more interconnected than ever before, he said, different civilizations need to understand and learn from each other, and jointly push humanity toward a more balanced and inclusive future.

He advocated for interdisciplinary research, combining history, archaeology, anthropology, and sociology, and building a more inclusive global narrative with respect for our shared heritage and diversity.

Beyond the opening ceremony, the forum's agenda featured in-depth parallel sessions, where scholars delved into seven key subthemes — Pluralistic Models of Civilizational Origins and Development; The Evolution of Civilizations and the Formation of Historical Paths; Modern China and the World in the Context of Intercivilizational Encounters; Civilizational Diversity and Different Historical Paths; Intercivilizational Exchange and Mutual Learning: Historical Process and Contemporary Significance; Cultural Integration and Dialogue for a Global Community of Shared Future; and Historical Trajectories and Future of Human Civilization. These discussions allowed for a rich collaboration of ideas and perspectives from every corner of the globe.

The event was also organized by several of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' constituent research institutes, including the institutes of archaeology, ancient history, modern history, world history, borderland studies, and historical theory, as well as the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.