Prof. Alessandro Montel, President of Siracusa Academy of Fine Arts and Design (SAFAD) and CEO of PLENA Education,and Mr. Andrea Tosi, Director of the International Department of PLENA Education, visited Fuzhou from June 29 to 30, 2023, accompanied by YGL.

PLENA Education is a prestigious art education group in Italy, which owns a number of art and design colleges and music colleges, such as Rome University of Fine Arts (RUFA), Scuola Politecnica di Design (SPD), Siracusa Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Saint Louis Music School, etc. The campuses are located in major Italian cities such as Milan, Rome, Siracusa, Bologna, and Brescia. Among them, Siracusa Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Sicily, with the assistance of YGL, has successfully operated the Sino-foreign Cooperative Education Program together with Fuzhou University of International Studies and Trade since 2022, with the approval of China's Ministry of Education. This year is the second year of the program's operation.

Firstly, the delegation visited Fuzhou University of International Studies and Trade (FUIST) and was kindly received by Prof. Xu Ming and Prof. Ji Zuqiang, President and Vice President of the university, as well as school leaders from other departments. President Xu expressed his warm welcome to Prof. Montel and the delegation. He said this is the first time that President Montel has led a delegation to visit FUIST after the pandemic, and this is a good beginning to wider exchanges of teachers and students between the two universities. He hoped that more students from FUIST would have the opportunity to pursue undergraduate and master's degree programs in Siracusa Academy of Fine Arts and Design. He encouraged SAFAD to organize short-term exchanges between students and teachers, to expose Italian students and teachers to the excellent culture of FUIST, Fuzhou, and Fujian, and to further deepen the art and cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two universities.

Professor Montel expressed his gratitude for the warm reception of FUIST. He said that the educational cooperation program between the two schools has set up an exchange platform for the art and design industry between Syracusa and Fuzhou. He welcomed the students who will depart for Italy for summer study and said that he will send teachers and students to FUIST for field study, thereby facilitating two-way exchanges between teachers and students of the two schools. He also invited President Xu to lead a delegation to visit the Siracusa Academy of Fine Arts and Design and embark on a journey of Italian art and culture.

Prof. Montel and his delegation also visited the campus and communicated with the teachers and students of the Joint Program in Fashion Design, and expressed their appreciation for the achievements that have been made.

On June 30th, YGL also arranged a visit to Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Fuzhou Municipality, where Prof. Montel, as the cultural and educational representative and a distinguished citizen of Syracusa, was entrusted by the Mayor of Syracusa to have a friendly and pleasant talk with Ms. Zhang Wei, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Fuzhou Municipality, to discuss the further promotion of the friendly exchanges and cooperation between Fuzhou and Syracusa.

After the meeting, the Italian friends also visited Sanfang Qixiang, literally Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, which is the city's must-go scenic spot, and toured the Minjiang River at night, fully experiencing the traditional culture and modern charm of Fuzhou. Fuzhou left a deep impression on the guests, and we believe that there will be more and more people-to-people exchanges and educational cooperation in the future.