The museum forum is held to help promote mutual learning between civilizations. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Museum experts from around the world gathered in Qufu, hometown of Confucius in East China's Shandong province, for a forum on cultural relics on Sept 26.

A sub-forum of the ninth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations, this forum was themed "Museums: Bridges Connecting Humanity's Past, Present, and Future" and was attended by 70 participants, including domestic and international museum experts, well-known museum directors, and representatives from national museums.

The participants discussed the role that cultural relics and museums have in promoting exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations.

To showcase the academic research achievements of museums in Shandong province, the forum also organized an event to select outstanding achievements in museum studies within the province.

The museum forum is a sub-forum of the ninth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

After extensive discussions, the participants of the event agreed that diversified cultural heritage is the source of human civilization progress and cultural sustainable development.

Museums, as important players in the protection and inheritance of civilizations, help to promote the continuation, inheritance, and innovation of human civilization, they said.

The participants underlined the importance of respecting the diversity and differences of human civilizations and spoke about the positive role that cultural relics and cultural heritage can play in fostering mutual learning between civilizations.

The forum also advocated that museums, as the main repositories of cultural heritage, are an essential part of national cultural gene banks. Participants emphasized the need to play a more active role as "cultural ambassadors" in exchanges and mutual learnings between civilizations.

The forum also highlighted the importance of expanding the scope of museum activities to facilitate practical cooperation, strengthen dialogue, build trust and dispel doubts between different civilizations.