Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) celebrated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of its Polish language program on Oct 18 with an international academic conference themed around the inheritance, development and innovation of Polish language and literature. 

The opening ceremony of the celebration brought together more than 100 guests, including distinguished academic leaders from China and Poland, as well as officials from the Polish embassy in China and China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Agata Kornhauser-Duda, Poland’s first lady, sends a congratulatory video message to BFSU to mark the 70th anniversary of its Polish language program. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn] 

A congratulatory video message was sent by Agata Kornhauser-Duda, Poland’s first lady, who spoke highly of the contributions made by BFSU’s Polish language program to fostering talent and promoting cultural exchanges. She also emphasized the program’s role in strengthening international understanding and deepening bilateral friendship, and said Poland hopes to continue educational and cultural collaboration with China.

Congratulatory messages were also sent by Dariusz Wieczorek, Poland’s minister of science, and Sun Linjiang, the Chinese ambassador to Poland. 

Zhao Gang, a member of the standing committee of the CPC BFSU committee and vice-president of the university, speaks at the celebration event. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn] 

Zhao Gang, a member of the standing committee of the CPC BFSU committee and vice-president of the university, thanked the attending guests and underscored BFSU’s dedication to openness, inclusiveness, mutual respect, inheritance, growth and innovation, encompassing its Polish language program. 

Zhao paid tribute to the scholarly legacy of the program’s pioneers, noting ongoing efforts to remain true to the original aspirations and to push the boundaries of Polish language education and innovation in China. 

Polish ambassador to China Jakub Kumoch speaks highly of the achievements of BFSU’s Polish language program in his address. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn] 

Polish ambassador to China Jakub Kumoch praised the extraordinary achievements made by the program and commended BFSU's exceptional contributions to advancing cultural exchanges and educational cooperation between the two countries, as well as enhancing friendship and understanding between the two peoples. 

BFSU has not only trained a large number of professionals proficient in Polish but also built a solid bridge for further collaboration through academic and cultural activities, the ambassador said. 

Leaders of Polish universities deliver speeches at the celebration event. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn] 

Also delivering speeches at the event were Piotr Jedynak, rector of the Jagiellonian University; Arkadiusz Bereza, vice-rector for general affairs at the University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska; Tomasz Pietrzykowski, vice-rector for international and domestic cooperation at the University of Silesia; and Andrzej Skrendo, vice-rector for research at the University of Szczecin. 

They underscored the long-standing tradition of cooperation between Polish universities and BFSU in education and culture and reiterated their commitment to deepening interactions and collaboration, advancing academic research and cultural dialogue and facilitating communication for faculty and students from both countries. 

Lin Hongliang (R), a renowned Polish literature translator and senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, donates 70 books to BFSU. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn] 

The conference also announced the establishment of the Yi Lijun Translation Award to recognize the outstanding contributions of Yi, a leading figure in Polish literature translation and Polish language education in China, to Sino-Polish cultural exchanges. 

As part of the celebrations, Lin Hongliang, a renowned Polish literature translator and senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, donated 70 books to BFSU, saying he hopes that more young people will be inspired to engage with Polish language and literature, thereby enriching Sino-Polish educational and cultural exchanges. 

The keynote speech session featured scholars from the University of Szczecin and Jagiellonian University, who shared perspectives on the international significance of Polish literature and the comparative analysis of Polish and Chinese phrasing. The sub-forums discussed topics such as teaching Polish as a foreign language, Polish language education and talent cultivation, literary research and country studies and Sino-Polish people-to-people exchanges.

BFSU holds a 70-year retrospective exhibition to celebrate its Polish language program. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]