The 2020 Nanjing Peace Forum opened in Nanjing on October 24, 2020. Tian Xuejun, Vice Minister of Education and Director of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO, delivered a video message to the forum. Gabriela Ramos, the Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, participated via video conference.

In his speech, Tian first noted that the Chinese nation has been a peaceful and peace-loving nation and that the pursuit of peace and harmony is deeply ingrained in the national psyche. He said that the world today was experiencing unprecedented changes, and the COVID-19 pandemic not only posed a great challenge to public health, but threatened to disrupt world peace and development. He then underlined the importance of embracing the notion of “building a community of shared future for humanity”, first proposed by President Xi Jinping, in these times of turbulence, uncertainties, and risks, adding that world peace and prosperity, the health and happiness of humankind, and victory over the pandemic would not be possible without concerted efforts and cooperation in solidarity by all nations of the world.

Tian applauded the contribution of UNESCO as the world’s largest intellectual cooperation agency in terms of spreading a message of peace, fostering a culture of peace and promoting exchanges and mutual understanding among civilizations, with the tenet of “building peace in the minds of men and women”. He noted with satisfaction UNESCO’s joint efforts to organize the Youth Forum on Creativity and Heritage along the Silk Road, an important platform for young people around the world to view the world from the perspectives of equality, openness, inclusiveness and mutual learning, injecting new impetus into the maintenance of world peace. He pledged that China would continue to cooperate with UNESCO in its efforts to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, with a view to promoting lasting peace in human society and building a community of shared future for mankind.

The Forum was jointly organized by UNESCO, the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO, the Information Office of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and the Nanjing Municipal People's Government.