As a historian, my interests lie not only in the histories of exchanges - of goods and commodities, but also of religion and language and of ideas and learning. Asia is the cradle of some of the world’s oldest civilizations. The significance of the cultural and natural heritage of individual countries in Asia, as well as of the continent as a whole, is evident not only from the number but perhaps more strikingly, the significance of the sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.These include some of the world’s best known and most loved monuments - from the Great Wall to the Taj Mahal. The list includes cities that were once centres of mighty empires like Angkor in modern Cambodia or which lay at crossroads along the Silk Roads, like Merv in modern Turkmenistan, which for centuries was one of the world’s most populated cities, home to more than a million inhabitants. It includes include the beautiful Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, the majestic Qusayr Amra in Jordan, Göbekli Tepi in Turkey, the town of Hôi An in Vietnam. And much, much more.While the individual sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in Asia represent glimpses into the history of empires, states and periods that have passed, taken as a whole, they tell a story of joined-up worlds, of the inter-relationship of cultures and peoples, of a world that has been inter-connected far back into antiquity.The cultural sites reveal the ingenuity of architects and engineers, as well as the resources and commitment of those who provided funding and patronage. They provide evidence of the sharing of ideas across natural frontiers and man-made borders and also of rivalries between peoples for status and prestige. They help us understand what mattered to our antecedents in the past, how they sought to define themselves, and how those identities were viewed and understood by others. Just as the natural sites on the World Heritage List show us the diversity of the geography and geology of our world, so too do the cultural sites show us the range of human experiences dating back millennia - and remind us of shared experiences and shared pasts.Just as in the modern world of today, we can choose whether to focus on our similarities or one our differences as we decide how to confront questions that were familiar to those posed by previous generations. The attention on exchange, continuity and interconnectedness between the peoples of Asia is a welcome one, as this conference organised by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences clearly recognises. And the experiences of the peoples, civilizations and cultures of Asia are an important area to re-assess and re-examine especially during this current period of global change, in order to allow for better mutual understanding of each other’s pasts, but also to provide perspectives on the present and future too.Ironically, the idea of “Asia” is a complex one in itself. In common understanding, Asia is separated from Africa and from Europe not by history, geography or geology, but by where map-makers have chosen to create artificial dividing lines - such as the Sinai peninsula, the Bosporus straits, or the Ural mountains. And it is also ironic that ideas about what “Asia” means, and even its name, come not from the peoples of Asia, but from Greek and Latin scholars whose demarcation of a vast landmass spanning thousands of miles east from the Mediterranean Sea as a single unit concealed an extraordinary diversity of peoples, cultures and customs: even today, there are more languages native to Dagestan (a small republic on the west side of the Caspian Sea that is part of the Russian Federation) than to the whole of Europe.Talking of “Asian civilizations” as distinct and different raises questions, about if, how and why the past, present and future of Asia are inter-twined - and what exactly those who live in Baku or Yiwu, Samarkand or Kuala Lumpur, Jeddah or Chennai have in common with each other; and equally whether any such links are stronger and more powerful than with those living in other parts of the world.While focusing on Asia alone can be productive, we must be careful too not to alienate, separate and distort reality to suit our own ends: there are already too many walls, barriers and obstacles in today’s world. So it can be more helpful to remind ourselves to talk in terms of shared exchange and common experiences, regardless of our backgrounds and locations, and to look beyond labels at what really drives our interactions with each other.As studying the Silk Roads shows, there were - and still are - many reasons that motivate how we live, move and respond to each other. Trade of course has always played a fundamental role in determining what has inspired and continues to inspire exchange, whether as part of a process of the distribution of resources like food, water and energy, or for desirable goods and products - which of course change over time: yesterday’s highly-prized silks and expensive fabrics are today’s smartphones and digital data.Geography plays an important role in how we interact and with whom, with our most intensive relationships with those whom we come into contact with most often. But the exchange is not just about trade and about the search for profits, but also about learning from each other - choosing which ideas, fashions and styles we want to adopt, and also modifying, developing improving these as we see fit.And then there are the ways we seek to engage with others who are different, whether in our own countries or in those of our near neighbours and not-so-near neighbours. UNESCO’s World Heritage List reminds us of the importance of learning about each others’ histories. And above all, learning how to understand and respect difference. It is only through doing so that we can learn about tolerance, openness and perhaps most importantly of all, mutual respect.At the heart of this is education. “Education,” said the Chinese, “breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” These well-chosen words, first recorded two and a half thousand years ago, neatly capture the aims of this International Forum of Asian Civilizations. Conferences like this give scholars, policy-makers and listeners alike the chance to learn about humanity at its finest by giving us a chance to think about the natural wonders of the world and those built by our ancestors. We can become inspired to think about innovation, about creativity and about the ambitions of those who came before us and to remember how important it is to protect and preserve their legacy for future generations. And by doing so, we can become better informed, and even enlightened as to how we can co-operate and work better together in the present day too.Many of the challenges we face today are ones that demand and require multi-lateral responses. Addressing climate change and its likely consequences is one; being able to respond to resource shortage, to the spread of infectious disease and to dealing with natural disasters is another. The more we can learn about each other, the more likely we are to be able to understand and respect one another. The more effort we can spend examining our own pasts and those of others, the better the chances of being able to work with, rather than against, each other’s interests.Our world today is one which presents many fragilities and threats - ones that would be immediately recognisable to past generations. But this is exactly why conferences like this can be so important as they focus on what President Xi has previously called “solidarity, mutual trust, equality, inclusiveness, mutual learning and win-win cooperation.” People of different races, beliefs and cultural backgrounds have proved more than capable of living together peacefully - as the histories of the Silk Roads can show.I am honoured to be here in Beijing with you today to share my own perspectives on the past, present and future; but above all, I am grateful to be alongside so many distinguished scholars from whom I will learn much throughout the Forum. As I have written elsewhere, the world’s centre of gravity is moving back eastwards to where it lay for millennia. This is an important time to reflect on the achievements of the civilisations of the past, and to understand the many and complex factors that have driven change - and continue to do so.As a global community, we can all agree about the importance of creating “the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values,” and doing so through “intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.” It can also play significant role in protecting and preserving the cultures, languages and histories of states, but also within them too - for it can be easy to insist on homogeneity and overlook or ignore the voices and pasts of minorities which are important too in their own right, and also for the role they have played connecting others to each other.