An exhibition themed "Multilingualism in the European Union", jointly sponsored by the European Commission's linguistic services (Directorates General for Interpretation and Translation) and Shanghai International Studies University, kicked off online and offline on Friday.

The special exhibition, held at the Museum of World Languages at the university campus, consists of four parts, namely, "Past and Present", "United in Diversity", "Embracing the Future", and "Building Stronger Ties". A never-ending virtual exhibition hall was also built.

The exhibition showcased several important exhibits donated by the European Commission from its headquarters in Brussels and the DGT Museum of Translation in Luxembourg. They included a Dictaphone, an interpreter console, and terminology cards and glossaries from the past.

At the inauguration ceremony, Jiang Feng, Party secretary of SISU, presented certificate of donation to Jan Brughmans, chief interpreter of EU Delegation to China for the European side's donation.

"Language is a bridge for communication and understanding. In an era when mutual recognition has become an increasingly crucial factor in international relations, such a bridge is particularly needed between China and Europe," he said.

The cutting-edge explorations by the partners involved in the exhibition today in the field of translation teaching and language intelligence technology are exactly a testimony to the promotion of communication in different languages, said Li Yansong, president of SISU.

Nicolas Chapuis, EU ambassador to China, said, "Years of cooperation between China and Europe in high-end translation talent has delivered top-level conference interpreters, and the exchanges between trainers and students from both sides have contributed to mutual understanding between the EU and China, which is the foundation of international relations."

The exhibition, which is scheduled to last through February next year, also marks the second anniversary of the museum since its opening, according to the school. As China's first world languages museum, it is dedicated to the diversity of languages.

Yang Hong contributed to this story.