Global Neighbours

🎨 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁?

🚂 On board Tracks to the Future, 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, Chairman of the Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur e.V., makes the case that it can. Art brings together people who would otherwise never meet. You may want to understand a work, buy it or support it. You may even hate it. Either way, you start talking to your neighbour.

🤝 That, for Smerling, is the core of Tracks to the Future. He recalled the advice former Armenian President Armen Sarkissian gave in Belgrade the day before, when asked what Europe needs: learn, listen and talk to each other.

🖼️ His experiences on the journey have already led him to a concrete idea: an exhibition inviting artists from around the world to present works from the past five years under the title 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆?

And what does liberty mean to artists today, in your view?

#TracksToTheFuture #GlobalNeighbours #ArtAndDialogue #Liberty

🌍 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀.

🚆This is 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: a train journey across countries, with a stop at every station to meet those who represent them, and time on board to discuss what we have learned along the way.

In a world facing tectonic shifts as well as rapid change, the project deliberately slows down. Bringing people together on one train, sharing ideas and developing new ones takes time, and progress comes from appreciating that time rather than assuming we already have the answers. At every stop, our hosts welcomed us with remarkable hospitality and generosity, and opened the door to their rich heritage, their culture and the diversity that defines them. Along with a shared wish for closer cooperation, the journey left us with one lasting insight: 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝘀.

#TracksToTheFuture #GlobalNeighbours #FutureOfEurope

🕊️ 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲?

🚂 In this episode of 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘁, Hong Kong property magnate 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻, Honorary Chair of Hang Lung Group and Chair Emeritus of Asia Society, gives a clear answer: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. This is why he is concerned about America retreating into isolationism. In that case, he expects the world’s deck of cards to be reshuffled, and how it will turn out is yet to be seen.

🌐 With the global order in flux, Chan regards Asia as comparatively stable. That gives trade across Eurasia, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, a solid basis to grow. Central Asia, at the heart of this landmass, is already making the most of this connectivity.

🤝 From the train window, he sees how fast the region is changing. On his earlier visits, hardly any building was taller than seven floors. Today the skyline is full of high-rises. Much of this change is positive. Nonetheless, he hopes the region holds on to what he treasures most about it: its food and art, its music and dance, and its people. In his view, the whole world can learn from this heritage and enjoy it 🌏.

#WindowSeat #TracksToTheFuture #CentralAsia #Connectivity

🇨🇳 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗫𝗶’𝗮𝗻. 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻.🚆🌍

After travelling through Europe, Türkiye and Central Asia, 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 has arrived in 𝗫𝗶’𝗮𝗻, China!

🏛️ There is something fitting about ending our journey in the city where the ancient Silk Road once began. Xi’an was the starting point of routes that connected distant parts of the world long before modern transport or communications existed. Today, it welcomed our international delegation for the final chapter of Tracks to the Future.

🤝 Following an official luncheon hosted by the leadership of Shaanxi Province, the closing ceremony brought together senior representatives from China, Europe and Central Asia under the theme “Connecting Europe and Asia, Shaping a Shared Future.”
The programme featured addresses by 𝗫𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee, and our Secretary-General Dr. 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽 𝗥𝗼̈𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗿.

🌍 A high-level panel brought together 𝗩𝘂𝗸 𝗝𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰́, former President of the UN General Assembly, 𝗩𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘃, former Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, 𝗢𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗷 𝗗𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹, Member of the European Parliament, 𝗪𝗲𝗻 𝗫𝗶𝗮𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗴, Chairman of Silk Road Luxury Trains, and 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝘂𝗮 of Xi’an Jiaotong University.

Closing remarks were delivered by 𝗬𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and our Founder and Chairwoman 𝗝𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲.

🏺 The delegation also visited Xi’an’s famous 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝘆, where thousands of life-sized figures have stood for more than 2,000 years.

What began in Duisburg as an ambitious idea has now taken us all the way to China. Along the way, we crossed borders, met people with very different perspectives and made time for conversations that rarely happen in the rush of everyday diplomacy.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁.

#TracksToTheFuture #GlobalNeighbours #Xian #SilkRoad #China #EuropeAsia

🏦 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲?

🚆 On board Tracks to the Future, Giacomo Marino, Head of M&A and Corporate Development at UniCredit, shared a challenge facing the banking sector: AI, data analysis and new technologies demand major investment.

His message: even sizeable banks could struggle to keep up with the costs of transformation.

#TracksToTheFuture #Banking #AI #FutureOfFinance