The 13thWorld Congress of Internationale Vereinigung für Germanistik (IVG) was officially initiated in Tongji University on 24thAug.. It was the first time for China to host this high-level international academic congress. More than 1200 experts and scholars from 69 countries and regions in the field of Germanic languages and literature attended the congress to exchange and explore the cutting-edge Germanic academic issues on the theme of Germanic Learning between Tradition and Innovation. This congress lasted for seven days and ended on 30thAug. 2015.
IVG is the largest and most influential international academic organization in the world in the field of Germanic studies that aims to promote research and international cooperation of Germanic studies worldwide. IVG World Congress is held every five years. Its members have grown from 192 people from 23 countries in 1956 at its inception to nearly 2000 people from over 70 countries and regions in 2015. Germanic studies cover linguistics and literature of the ancient Germanic language, German, North Germanic language (Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish), Dutch, Frisian, Afrikaans and Yiddish, history and contemporary studies of these languages, and Germanic language teaching and practice.
Professor ZHU Jianhua, Vice dean of the School of Foreign Languages, Tongji University and a famous Germanic scholar both at home and abroad, was elected as the chairman of IVG in Warsaw, Poland in 2010. It was the first time that a Chinese scholar stepped up to the chair of this important international academic organization, which marked successful integration between China and the world in Germanic studies and international recognition of China’s remarkable achievements in the research and teaching of German language, literature and culture. It also revealed that China had had a say in this important academic field and played an increasingly important role in the Sino-German and Sino-European exchange and cooperation.
At the opening ceremony of the congress, Prof. PEI Gang, president of Tongji University gave his welcoming remarks. Mr. Helmut Schwarz, chairman of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Ms.Margret Wintermantel, chairman of Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, Mr.Bruno Gross, a delegate of Goethe Institute and Ms.LIU Yuelian, chairman of Germanic Association of China delivered speeches. Mr. Shi Mingde, Chinese ambassador to Germany, sent his special congratulations to the event. Mr. Jörn Beißert, deputy consul general of Germany in Shanghai, Ms.Silvia Neureiter, consul general of Austria in Shanghai, Ms. Anna Mattei, deputy consul general of Switzerland in Shanghai and Mr. Luc Decker, consul general of Luxembourg in Shanghai also addressesed the opening ceremony, so did Professor Peter-André Alt, president of Free University of Berlin and Professor ZHAO Jin, head of the German Department,,School of Foreign Languages of Tongji University.
There were two keynote congress speeches, six keynote theme speeches, 51 parallel sessions and over 1,000 presentations at the parallel sessions during the congress. . Participants communicated and exchanged ideas on such themes as Linguistics between Tradition and Innovation, Traditional and Modern nature of Germanic Literature, Goethe and Confucius – Multi-lingual Perspectives of Germany and China, Multi-model and Cross-Media: Opportunities and Challenges of New Media, Brand New Perspective of Foreign Germanic Linguistics and Today and Tomorrow: Tongji University, a Bridge over Cultures.
Translated by May Language Studio based upon
http://news.tongji.edu.cn/classid-9-newsid-48248-t-show.html
