The 2021 meeting of the International Education Branch of the CSE and the 2nd BFSU forum on comparative education and international education were held on Oct 23 in Beijing.
The opening ceremony was presided over by You Sen, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Society of Education (CSE). The keynote speeches were presided over by Qin Huimin, dean of the Graduate School of Education at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).
Representatives from China’s National Commission for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the CSE, BFSU, UNESCO, the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Chinese embassy in Liberia, and Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP) attended the forums.
Wang Dinghua, president of the International Education Branch of the CSE and secretary of the CPC BFSU committee, delivered a keynote speech titled “strengthening China’s capacity in global education governance”.
He noted that the CPC Central Committee attaches great importance to building a community with a shared future for mankind, implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, telling China’s stories well, enhancing international communication and participating in international education governance.
Wang called on attendees of the forums to strengthen foreign language discipline construction and guide higher education to better reform and develop.
He said he believes that strengthening China’s capacity in global education governance entails intensive training of talents, great efforts in studies, and construction of an international platform as well as strong ability in telling China’s stories about education and close exchanges and cooperation with international institutions.
Wang called for higher education institutions to actively participate in global education governance and cultivate inter-disciplinary talents with patriotism, global vision and professional skills; strengthen research in the fields of international education, comparative education, and international and regional studies; carry out joint research with target countries, relevant universities and senior experts; exchange views and share experience with fraternal countries and developing countries to contribute the ingenuity and strength of China; consult, connect and communicate with international institutions, and make full use of their resources.
“I hope that the International Education Branch of the CSE will pool the wisdom and strength of all and become an important platform for global education governance participation,” Wang said.
Tang Qian, former assistant director-general for Education at UNESCO, said global education governance and international talent training are closely connected. “To actively participate in global education governance, we should take the trend, direction and objectives of global education development as well as the rules, standards, cooperation and exchanges of global education into consideration, so as to cultivate and attract more international talents to make more contributions,” Tang said.
“To develop international education, we should serve the cause of national rejuvenation, adhere to the principle of moral education and train all-round talents to shoulder responsibilities of the times. While engaging in international education, we should benchmark world-class performance, embody Chinese characteristics, learn with an open mind and serve a great cause,” said Li Tianshun, vice-president of the CSE and a national education inspector of the Office of National Education Inspection at the MOE.
