Fan Di'an met with Alexandre de Navailles, Dean of KEDGE Business School, and his delegation on March 16, 2023, including Vice President Santiago Garcia and Prof. Marc Daumas, the Higher Education, Research and Innovation Counselor at the French Embassy in China.

Fan welcomed Navailles and Daumas to the university and briefly reviewed the cooperation history of the Sino-French Institute of Arts and Design Management (IMAD). He emphasized that IMAD, as the first Sino-foreign cooperative institution in art education officially approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education, was highly valued and strongly supported by the two governments during its creation, and it was an important achievement of the 50th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations. Fan also pointed out that IMAD is rooted in the long-standing historical and cultural traditions of China and France and fully embodies the cross-disciplinary integration of Eastern and Western art education philosophies. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the collaboration between the Chinese and French teams overcame difficulties and has progressed positively in curriculum design, talent cultivation, campus construction, and other areas, which is gratifying. He expressed that the Central Academy of Fine Arts(CAFA) highly values the development of IMAD, is confident in future cooperation, and intends to make IMAD a platform for cultural and artistic exchanges between China and France, and a model for Sino-French art education cooperation.

Navailles, who harbors a dream for art, expressed his wish to visit CAFA, and his visit to China this time was for deepening the cooperation between IMAD and the university. The partnership between KEDGE Business School and CAFA has received widespread attention and support from the French government, embassy, and other sectors of society. Although CAFA is not KEDGE Business School's only partner in China, it is their closest collaborator. Looking forward to future development, KEDGE Business School will further mobilize its rich resources in arts, economics, and industry, and hopes to enable more French students to come to China and study the rich and splendid history and culture of Chinese art at CAFA.

Both deans stated that IMAD is like a lively and energetic teenager, requiring continuous care, scientific guidance, and strong support from both sides, to enable it to grow strong and become a broad bridge for cultural and artistic exchanges between China and France in the new era.

Daumas, the Higher Education, Research and Innovation Counselor at the French Embassy in China, stated that 2024 is the 60th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations, and we will witness the achievements of the exchanges between the two countries in the fields of culture, tourism, and education. The French embassy sincerely hopes to further strengthen cooperation with CAFA and KEDGE Business School through exhibitions, forums, personnel exchanges, and other means, and to create opportunities for collaboration.

Fan stated that CAFA and KEDGE Business School will seize the important opportunity of the 60th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations and use the theme of cultural and artistic innovation of the times to form landing projects, jointly promoting broader cooperation in cultural and artistic exchanges and education between China and France.

After the meeting, accompanied by Fan, Navailles and Daumas visited the school of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, CAFA Art Museum and the School of Art Administration and Education.Lin Mao, the vice president of CAFA, Wang Chuan,the director of International Office and the management team of IMAD attended the meeting.