Dear Speakers, Participants, Research Fellows, and Partners,
Welcome to V-BRYGE 2023!
As a student-led initiative, V-BRYGE has always been seeking to provide a creative platform for the next generation of leaders and thinkers to exchange ideas and build connections. We believe the key to understanding China and its interactions with the world relies upon the diversity of perspectives we incorporate into studying the issue.
We chose development as the theme for the 2023 V-BRYGE conference for two reasons. Firstly, the development and dynamism of the world as we are transitioning away from the Covid-19 pandemic stands in direct opposition to the stagnation and halt brought by the pandemic to begin with. The second reason is that China’s astonishing development over the past 40 years is one of the main factors in its influential rise and is the lens through which those interested in China often examine and analyze it. The different interpretations of this theme that we want to touch upon over the course of this year include development as the path to recovery of the post-pandemic world, green or sustainable development, development as the evolving dynamics of Chinese society, and changing dynamics of socio-cultural exchange across borders.
A long-standing question and mission for our team is to seek the most appropriate tools to understand China and its interactions with the world. We perceive “Looking Glass” as an appropriate title, encompassing the variety of instruments we want to employ in studying this crucial topic this year. We interpret the “looking glass” as methods of reflecting, magnifying, observing, and capturing social trends and phenomena. Our theme is also a nod to the 2015 fashion and art exhibition of the same name at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In this year’s V-BRYGE, we want to move beyond this artistic domain, delve deeper into China affairs, and extend our vision toward the entanglement of different subjects pertaining to this incredible nation and its symbolic cultural and historical representations.
We look forward to bringing you with us on this journey!
Best wishes,
Ella Xiao & Ann-Alice Ticha
Co-Presidents, V-BRYGE 2023