At the 5th Chinese Government Award for Publishing, held recently in Beijing, The Origin and Evolution of Life, a publication of the Multimedia Press of the Open University of China (OUC), a subsidiary of the OUC Publishing & Media Group, was nominated in the category of Audio-visual, Electronic and Network Publications.
These awards, the highest for publishing in China, are given out three times a year, and aim to recognise the best publications, publishers, and individuals in China’s domestic press and publishing industry. The 480 awards cover seven categories, including 20 awards and 40 nominations for audio-visual products, electronic publications, and network-based publications.
The Origin and Evolution of Life -an audio-visual publication
Video clip: History and Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Rong Jiayu
The Origin and Evolution of Life is an audio-visual publication originating in the project "Science and China: Lectures by Academics and Other Experts", jointly established by the OUC and the Bureau of Academic Affairs of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The OUC Learning Resources Department is responsible for the overall coordination of the project, with the OUC Multimedia Press and two of the most authoritative research institutions in the field of paleontology in China - the CAS Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and the CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology – collaborating on production. The publication focuses on ten major mysteries surrounding the origin of life on Earth, and brings together the work of 21 researchers on fossil discoveries in China over the nearly 100 years of palaeontology there, revealing the magnificent history of evolution as well as the latest achievements of Chinese paleontology, publicised here in a comprehensive and systematic manner for the first time.
Video clip: Modern People Inspired by the Evolution of Life by Zhou Zhonghe
The Origin and Evolution of Life has won a great deal of praise as an audio-visual publication, work of popular science, and paleontological study. Along with the award already mentioned, it won an Audio-visual, Electronics, and Game Publications award at the 7th China Publications Awards, as well as a bronze medal at the 2nd China Science Fiction Film Week / Exhibition, where The Wandering Earth won the gold medal, for its high-quality production. In paleontology, this publication is the first in China to present studies into the origin and evolution of life in the form of a popular-science film, filling a large gap in films popularising paleontology in China, and in 2017 was recognised as the top such achievement in the fields of geology and paleontology in China.
The OUC Multimedia Press provides services and publishing related to educational audio-visual resources, with strict standards in terms of topics and quality. So far, more than 80 its publications have won national and ministerial-level awards. The Press will continue to adhere to its approach of "Bringing Together Famous Teachers and Publishing Original and High-quality Works", focusing on public welfare in the course of planning, implementing and finalising its publications, and continuing to work toward self-improvement.
By Ji Zhe and Liu Niu, OUC