From May 25 to 31, Beijing City University (BCU) and City University of Macau co-organized the “Beijing-Macau Urban Governance Practice and Social Survey Program” and the "Beijing-Macau Urban Culture Communication Joint Workshop", Both of which were included in the 2025 Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau University Exchange Program List by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission.
The "Beijing-Macau Urban Governance Practice and Social Survey Program", themed on "Urban Governance and Social Work, was jointly hosted by BCU's Graduate School and School of Public Administration alongside City University of Macau's Faculty of Health and Wellness. During the theoretical stage, foreign fellow member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Michael Batty, delivered a lecture on "Digital Twin Construction for Urban Systems", introducing a technological perspective. Instructor Josh from City University of Macau conducted a course on psychological trauma intervention for children using clinical case studies. Faculty members from our university’s Social Work major shared experiences in community governance in Beijing through two workshops, highlighting both traditional neighborhood-based and modern mega-community management practices, which sparked meaningful exchanges between participants from the two cities. During the fieldwork stage, students and faculty visited the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau to study its “government-led and community-coordinated governance” model and explored the practice on “personalized elderly care” at Madalena Elderly Home. They also deepened their understanding of national identity and Macau's cultural heritage through visits to patriotic education bases and the Ruins of St. Paul.
At the inaugural "Co-construction, Co-governance, and Sharing Benefits—Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Universities Urban Governance Practice Forum", experts from academia and industry across the three regions delivered keynote speeches on topics including healthy urban development, community integration practices in Hengqin and Macau, empowerment of grassroots social organizations, and modernization of mega-community governance. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on current issues in urban governance. During the closing ceremony, student representatives from both cities shared their reflections on the week-long exchange. Associate Vice President Chen Junba from City University of Macau and Director Zhang Huiying from our Graduate School presented graduation certificates to the participants.
The “Beijing-Macau Urban Culture Communication Joint Workshop” organized by our School of International Culture and Communication (SICC) and the Student Affairs Office of City University of Macau, was themed on “Dual Cities Through Lights and Shadows” exploring Beijing-Macau culture communication from the perspective of Gen Z youth. Previously in March, SICC had launched a call for works capturing Beijing urban imageries, selecting six outstanding entries out of 54 submissions for exhibition in Macau.
With strong support from the Beijing Institute Of Communication Technology, Macau Craft Design Association, Macau Animation, Comic and Toy Artistic and Cultural Exchanges Promote Association, Macau International Youth Art Creators Association, Macau Cheok Chai Un Fok Tak Chi Tou Tei Mio Chek Lei Wui Association, and Macau Pony Children's Photography Ltd,Co., and guided by professional instructors from both cities, students formed into four production teams, and explored Macau's streets and alleys, capturing and documenting local culture including traditional customs, pop culture, and urban life. Together, they completed four documentary films and over 80 short videos featuring people and stories from Macau.
On May 30, the "Dual Cities Through Lights and Shadows—Generation Z Youth Beijing-Macau Cultural Video Exhibition" was successfully held. Professor Zhang Wei from SICC from our university delivered a keynote speech on "Paradigm Reconstruction and Academic Responsibility in Urban Culture’s International Communication in the Digital Era”. During the exhibition, ten outstanding works, including Layers of Beijing and, A Century’s Past Revealed by a Temple’s Legacy, were showcased and received warm acclaim from the audience, sparking vibrant discussions on the cultural connections between Beijing and Macau. The exhibition was also streamed online via WeChat official account of SICC.
Through academic exchanges, field research, and collaborative creation, this joint exchange program between our university and City University of Macau has established a comprehensive framework for enhancing students’ theoretical understanding and practical skills. It not only strengthened participants’ cross-cultural communication abilities and urban governance competencies but also promoted deeper collaboration between the two cities in the fields of cultural creativity and urban management. The program has successfully built a platform for “collaborative innovation and resource sharing” among higher education institutions, contributing to the cultivation of interdisciplinary talent and the deepening of Beijing-Macau cooperation.
