The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) held its “1st China and Portuguese Speaking Countries Conference on Holistic Health” last Friday, bringing together scholars from a number of countries and regions to discuss emerging developments and cross-border cooperation in the health and wellness sector, according to a statement provided by USJ yesterday.
The conference, held at the private Catholic university’s Don Bosco Auditorium, was co-organised by the USJ-Kong Hon Academy for Cellular Nutrition and Health, the USJ Faculty of Health Sciences, and the USJ Macao Observatory for Social Development, the statement said.
The event aimed to establish an international academic exchange platform at a time when the global health industry is rapidly expanding and the local government continues to promote the integrated health sector as part of its “China-Portuguese-speaking Countries (PSCs) Platform” strategy, the statement noted.
Experts and scholars from Shanghai and Timor-Leste (East-Timor) were invited to discuss China-PSCs cooperation in health and wellness, giving insights into emerging technologies, collaborative opportunities, and challenges within areas such as public health policy, healthcare professional training, elderly care, and cellular nutrition, according to the statement.
During their opening remarks, Dr Kong Hon and Prof. Jacky Ho Chong Kin, co-deans of the USJ-Kong Hon Academy for Cellular Nutrition and Health, said in the statement that the invitation of Timor-Leste experts reflected the “deep historical ties and shared culture” of Macau and Timor-Leste.
Both Macau and Timor-Leste were temporarily ruled by Portugal – until 1999 and 1975 respectively.
The statement concluded that the conference aimed to strengthen Macau’s role as a bridge between China and the world’s PSCs, while contributing to the city’s ongoing goals of economic diversification and sustainable development.
There are nine countries where Portuguese has the status of an official language – Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste, with about 300 million inhabitants.
This handout photo provided by the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) yesterday shows hosts, participants and guests posing during the “1st China and Portuguese Speaking Countries (PSCs) Conference on Holistic Health” at the private Catholic university’s Don Bosco Auditorium on its Ilha Verde campus last Friday.
