On the morning of May 31, 2024, the "Henan University Yellow River Cultural Heritage Laboratory Academic Committee inauguration Ceremony and World Civilization Special Forum “ Chinese Civilization Formation and Development Model" was held in the new administrative building of the Minglun Campus of Henan University. The inauguration ceremony and special forum were hosted by the Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development Research Center of Henan University, the Provincial and Ministerial Co-construction Collaborative Innovation Center of Yellow River Civilization, and the Yellow River Cultural Heritage Laboratory of Henan University, and hosted by the Yangshao Culture Research Institute of Henan University, the Erlitou Xia Culture Research Institute, and the Shang Civilization Research Institute of Henan University, and supported by the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of Henan University.

Professor Ioannis Liritzis, a distinguished professor at Alma Mater Europaea University and Henan University, was appointed a member of this Academic Committee.

Prof Liritzis, in his short presentation, expressed his gratitude to the school for providing a research platform and appointing him a member of this prestigious Academic committee. He said his main research interests focus on Eurasian, especially Sino-Hellenic cultural exchanges. The Yellow River culture is a very important ancient cultural region that has significantly influenced Chinese culture. The Yellow River Center has been a great trigger to his research. He hopes the committee can cooperate on a mutual understanding of cultural differences and similarities amongst ancient Chinese cultures and compare them to world cultures with an open mind and peace that helps joint academic efforts for the present and future. He said that he would also contribute to this international cooperation spirit and would develop such synergies between Alma Mater Europaea Univeristy, EASA, and Henan University.

About Yellow River Center

The Yellow River is the Mother River of the Chinese nation. The Xia, Shang, and Zhou Civilizations that originated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River were an important source of Chinese Civilization. The Yellow River Civilization is a regional civilization in the Yellow River Basin and a national civilization representing the Chinese nation in history. It is the most representative and influential subject civilization in Chinese Civilization and the longest and most sustainable axis civilization ever uploaded to the history of world civilization. Henan University is located on the coast of the Yellow River and has a profound academic tradition for studying the Yellow River and the Yellow River Civilization. Since the new century, the school has established the Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development by integrating traditional dominant disciplines such as geography, economics, history, archeology, and Chinese literature. In 2004, the institute was approved by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China to become a key scientific research base for humanities and social sciences in general colleges and universities across the country. It is the only national comprehensive research and consulting institution in the country that studies the sustainable development of the Yellow River Civilization and coastal areas, including the Institute of Yellow River Ecology and Sustainable Development, Institute of Institutional Change and Economic Development, Institute of Yellow River Civilization, Institute of Central Plains Culture and Folklore, Institute of Ancient Chinese Characters, Institute for Hui Studies, Laboratory of Integrated Humanities and Social Sciences in Space and Time a comprehensive Yellow River Database—large-scale database platform.

The Academic Committee

Miao Changhong 
Director, Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development Research Center World Civilisation; Director of Provincial-Ministerial Collaborative Innovation Center for Yellow River Civilization,

Han Jiange 
Director of Academic Committee, Laboratory of Yellow River Cultural Heritage, Henan University, Professor, School of History, Renmin University of China, and Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor, Ministry of Education of China

Jing Zhichun
Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada

Liu Haiwany
President and Researcher of Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

Tang Jigen
Director and Researcher, Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archeology Southern University of Science and Technology

Wang Xinyuan
Deputy Director, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Researcher, Institute of Space and Astronautical Information Innovation (ISAI), Beijing

Ioannis Liritzis 
Distinguished Professor, Research Center for Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development / Yellow River Cultural Heritage Laboratory, Henan University Laboratory & Alma MAter Europaea University, Slovenia

Hou Weidong
Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Research Center for Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development, Henan University.

Qin Zhen
Associate Professor, School of History and Culture, Henan University, Researcher, Research Center for Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development, Henan University, Kaifeng

Alexander Yellow
Assistant Researcher, River Civilization and Sustainable Development Research Center/ Yellow River Cultural Heritage Laboratory.