Set against the background of China’s emphasis on its soft power and global communication, the Research Centre for Professional Communication in English (RCPCE) at our Department successfully hosted this year’s “Talking Across the World” (TAW) Symposium, co-sponsored by the PolyU Faculty of Humanities and the Sin Wai Kin Chinese Humanities Development Fund and features the theme of Global Communication of Chinese Culture in the Digital Age.
The two-day event commenced with six plenary talks on 16 May. In the morning, Professor Zhong Weihe from Macau Millennium College, Macau SAR discussed “Innovative Approaches for the Global Communication of Chinese Culture”. His presentation was followed by Professor Wang Lifei’s (Beijing Language and Culture University, Chinese Mainland) “Studies on the Evaluation and Impact of Digital Language Communicability of Chinese Enterprises” and Professor Pang Hui’s (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Chinese Mainland) “The Art of Sand Mixing: Huawei’s Translation, Localization and Globalization Practices”. In the afternoon, 45 parallel sessions took place, featuring local and international presenters covering topics related to the symposium theme.
The first day was concluded by three other plenary talks, with Professor Zheng Yongyan (Fudan University, Chinese Mainland) introducing “Intercultural education in the age of generative AI: Going beyond the language and cultural boundaries”, Dr Amily Guénier from Lancaster University, United Kingdom, elaborating on the subject of “Communicating Chinese Culture in a Multicultural Environment in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Insights from Confucius Institutes in the UK and Ireland”, and Mr Gabriele Zanoni from Branding Records sharing his views on “Bridging Cultures: Crafting Global Narratives for Chinese Brands”.
The second day of the Symposium (17 May) started with another round of parallel sessions with 30 presentations. Afterwards, Professor William Feng from our Department delivered a talk on “Transculturality in China’s Multimodal Global Communication” at the final Plenary Session. This was followed by Professor Todd Sandel’s (University of Macau, Macau SAR), who discussed “KOL from China: Exploring the intercultural and international communication of China’s social media influencers globally”, wrapping up this year’s TAW Symposium.
