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At the GCA Board of Trustees meeting on February 23, 2024, an important agenda item for the Any Other Business (AOB) session was to schedule the Summer meeting for May 9. The session will welcome the new Chair and Secretary, and bid farewell to the outgoing Chair and Secretary.
On May 9, all the Trustees participated in the hybrid meeting. From left to right: Xiangqun Chang, Mark Lee (who joined the meeting after being elected Trustee and Secretary), Grace Yuan Cheng (online), Thomas Clarke, Maria Jaschok (new Chair), and Charles Grant.
Top left and right: Professor Maria Jaschok, representing the Trustees, thanked the former Chair, Ingrid Cranfield, and presented her with an ‘Oscar’ as a token of their appreciation for her work with GCA and GCP. The former Secretary, Dr. Francis Wood, was unable to attend due to illness. Professor Xiangqun Chang received the ‘Oscar’ on her behalf and will present it to her in due course.
Bottom photos on the left and right: Professor Martin Albrow, the Founding and Honorary President of GCA, presented flowers to Professor Maria Jaschok, the new Chair of the Board of Trustees, and welcomed Mark Lee to support GCA. The photo in the middle signifies the GCA’s Board of Trustees continuing the past and forging ahead.
After the meeting, some participants of the GCA Board meeting decided to experience the newly developed GCA’s Route 6 of the Six ‘walk and talk’ routes, which included tea and lunch. The above photo shows them having lunch at the Real China Restaurant at the Galleria Outlet Shopping Centre in Hatfield.
Professor Martin Albrow, Professor Xiangqun Chang, and Mark Lee enjoyed their walk and talk at Brocket Hall very much after the lunch.
On the following day, Professor Xiangqun Chang visited Ingrid Cranfield’s home. She enjoyed Ingrid’s homemade cake, summer fruit, and relaxed conversation, especially the observations of her pet peahen and chicken. Although pigeons typically symbolize peace, the harmonious coexistence of these pets could also represent hope for humanity.
On the occasion of participating in a public lecture entitled ‘The Construction and Development of Digital Dunhuang’ on the 29th of May at SOAS, Professor Xiangqun Chang had a meeting with Dr Frances Wood. She greatly appreciated Dr Wood’s continued support for GCA and GCP with her academic and professional expertise in her personal capacity in the future. Professor Chang expressed gratitude for Dr Wood’s contributions to GCA and GCP in the past years and presented her with an ‘Oscar’ on behalf of the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Top left: Professor Xiangqun Chang with WU Jian, Professorial Research Fellow of the Dunhuang Institute, the speaker of ‘The Construction and Development of Digital Dunhuang.’ They discussed the possibilities of a collaborative publication project on the theme of transculturality based on a vast amount of digital materials.
Top right: Professor Wu Jian gave a public lecture. According to him, Dunhuang was an important cultural node on the ancient Silk Road in China, witnessing the exchange and integration of Eastern and Western cultures. After more than 30 years of exploration and research, Digital Dunhuang formed a complete technological process suitable for the digital collection, processing, and storage of immovable cultural relics, and methods for constructing Digital Dunhuang, showcasing massive digital achievements and application scenarios of Digital Dunhuang. This lecture focused on the artistic value inheritance of the Dunhuang Grottoes, aiming at the digital preservation of cultural heritage for its sustainable inheritance. It started from the significance of advanced digital technology empowering cultural heritage protection and inheritance and discussed the development, achievements, and innovations in the three important stages of digital protection of Dunhuang Grottoes.
Following the public lecture, there was the Digital Photography Exhibition ‘Dream Back to Dunhuang.’ The bottom photos show Dr. Frances Wood (left) and Mr. Qu Leilei (right), the UK-based artist, presenting certificates to the winners of the Digital Photography Exhibition.
