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The Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng delivered a welcoming speech at the opening ceremony of the "11th Forum on Higher Education Management in Portuguese-speaking Countries and Regions" to deepen Sino-Lusophone cooperation

Ho Iat Seng, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR delivering the welcoming speech at the opening ceremony of the "11th Forum on Higher Education Management in Portuguese-speaking Countries and Regions" to deepen Sino-Portuguese cooperation

The President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, praised the cooperation in higher education in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions;

The "11th Forum on Higher Education Management in Portuguese-speaking Countries and Regions (FORGES)" grandly kicked off on November 22, 2021 at the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal in Portugal and the Macao Polytechnic Institute. The conference was held online simultaneously in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, the Chinese Mainland and Macao. The Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Ho Iat Seng, stated in an online speech at the opening ceremony that the Macao SAR is poised to embrace new epochal missions the central government has entrusted, committing itself to leverage the platform between China and Portugal and deepening exchanges and cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, taking the initiative to align itself with the motherland’s 14th Five-Year Plan. The Macao SAR is resolved to integrate itself into the overall national development plans by cultivating more outstanding Chinese and Portuguese bilingual talents. The President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who also attended the opening ceremony online, praised the cooperation in higher education in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions in response to the global challenges, saying this fully demonstrates the ability to face new challenges by uniting and cooperating to start all over again in the post-epidemic period. Attendees also included Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Ao Ieong U; Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal, Manuel Heitor; Chairman of Higher Education Management Forum Committee for the Portuguese-speaking Countries and Regions, Margarida Mano; Im Sio Kei, President of the Macao Polytechnic Institute; as well as Pedro Dominguinhos, President of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal in Portugal. Over 500 people from sixty universities and institutions in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions participated in the seminar to discuss cooperation issues.

In his speech, The Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng stated that ever since the establishment of the Macao SAR, the government has implemented the principles of "one country, two systems", "Macao people running Macao" and enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. With strong support from the central government, Macao has leveraged the advantages of "one country, two systems" to actively capitalize on the strategic positioning envisaged by the motherland, sparing no efforts to achieve the goals of "one center, one platform, and one base." During the execution of the "Service Platform for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries", Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries have built up strong partnerships, conducted in-depth cooperation in various fields such as justice, economy and trade, education, culture, and tourism, achieving notable results in all fronts. Ho Iat Seng pointed out that in the "Outline of Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" and the "Overall Development Plan for the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone" promulgated by the central government, both documents have repeatedly highlighted Macao's role as a platform to deepen exchanges between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Given this backdrop, the Macao SAR has ushered in a new mission. At the historic juncture of the “two 100-years”, Macao strives to actively leverage its geographical advantages and align itself with the national “14th Five-Year Plan” through the “Second Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Macao Special Administrative Region (2021-2025)", making efforts to deepen the construction of the Sino-Lusophone platform, integrating itself into the nation's overall development. Ho Iat Seng reiterated that the Macao SAR government fully supports in-depth cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries in higher education and personnel training, to further develop Macao’s positioning as a “Training hub for Chinese-Portuguese bilingual talents” and “An entrepreneurship exchange center for Chinese-Portuguese youth innovation”. The Macao SAR government shall vigorously support the Macao Polytechnic Institute and other universities in Macao to build up partnerships in academic exchanges, teacher-student exchanges, joint degree programs, and joint academic research laboratories with universities in Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries to cultivate more outstanding Chinese and Portuguese bilingual talents.

The Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Souza said in his speech that the simultaneous online and offline seminar fits squarely with the conference theme "Cooperation in higher education in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions in the face of global challenges", which fully demonstrates the capability of tertiary institutes to embrace new challenges arising from the epidemic and the post-epidemic era. The president also acknowledged his gratitude to the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal in Portugal for the considerate arrangements and to the Macao Polytechnic Institute for its special contributions. De Souza pointed out that the epidemic has served to highlight some inherent problems in many domains of education, research, economy, as well as other social, and cultural fields. In the future, the situation may continue to change and these problems need to be solved gradually to build up a more prosperous, more united, more harmonious, and more just community for all. De Souza also stated that the higher education sector needs to give full play to its advantages in the face of these challenges. For example, during the epidemic, tertiary institutes have demonstrated their capabilities in academic research, teaching, helping students, and caring for society to reduce the impact brought by the pandemic through means of testing, equipment and urging the general public to promote vaccination, etc. De Souza believed that other new challenges could be anticipated in the new post-epidemic era, and thus he called on higher education institutions to reconsider how to innovate in teaching, academic research, and how to come up with solutions to transfer and translate scientific research to social responsibility and community service. The seminar was held very timely. As President of Portugal and a scholar, De Souza would be pleased to see universities from Portuguese-speaking countries and regions unite and cooperate to venture into new journeys in the post-epidemic period.

"The 11th Forum on Higher Education Management in Portuguese-speaking Countries and Regions in the face of Global Challenges" was co-hosted by the Macao Polytechnic Institute, the organizing committee of the Tertiary Education Forum of Portuguese-speaking Countries and Regions, and the Tubal Institute of Technology in Portugal. The conference lasted for five days and was conducted online and offline simultaneously, attracting experts and scholars from Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, the Chinese mainland, and Macao to present 130 papers. This symposium also featured a special thematic panel titled "Sino-Lusophone Academic Cooperation in the Greater Bay Area", which was hosted by the Macao Polytechnic Institute, to jointly discuss key issues within the frameworks of higher education in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, and to deepen recognition and knowledge of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by all Portuguese-speaking countries.

The Macao Polytechnic Institute has long been committed to the training of Chinese-Portuguese bilingual talents, actively aligning itself with the "Outline of Development Plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" to promote Portuguese language education and research in the Greater Bay Area and other regions, assisting in Macao's construction of the Sino-Lusophone platform by leveraging advantages of its academic programs. Since 2011, this was already the second time for the Macao Polytechnic Institute to host this Forum on Higher Education Management in Portuguese-speaking Countries and Regions.

The Macao Polytechnic Institute, the Forum on Higher Education Management in Portuguese-speaking Countries and Regions, and the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal in Portugal co-hosted the "11th Forum on Higher Education Management in Portuguese-speaking Countries and Regions".

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