World Conference of Classics (Beijing 6-8 November 2024)

Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention & Exhibition Center

The first World Conference of Classics, themed “Classical Civilizations and the Modern World,” was held at the Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention & Exhibition Center from November 6 to 8. Four hundred and eighty-five scholars (and about as many journalists) from over thirty countries gathered to explore the traditions of human civilization through the lens of classical studies and to provide new inspiration. The conference was co-organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Greek Academy of Science, and many other institutions.

“Just Maths” was the title of Prof. Andrea Bréard‘s keynote in Sub-Forum 6 entitled “Ethical Dialogue between Confucianism and ancient Greek Philosophy” organized by Shandong University. She compared connections between justice in philosophy and mathematical models of justice both in ancient Greece and China. Although science was part of the “classics” it was one of the very few contributions at the conference which addressed questions of science. Jinan Times interviewed Prof. Bréard about her unusual angle of studying ancient thought.