An advanced seminar for teachers from the Administrative Management major of the Open University of China (OUC) was held in Xichang, Sichuan Province, from 18-22 October 2018. The class was mainly for teachers within the OUC system, and attracted 45 of them.

The theme of the seminar was rural revitalisation and modernisation of social governance at grassroots levels, targeting the realities and difficulties of these through both theory and practice. Emphasis was placed on conceptual innovation, functional orientation, patterns of behaviour, system construction, and patterns of grassroots governance. The training also touched on hot topics such as rural revitalisation, its implementation, and the use of professionals in promoting it; new community governance in urban fringe areas; and the missions, policies and construction of governance in rural communities in the “new era.” It consisted of intensive lectures by experts from Southwest Minzu University, the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, and the Chengdu Village College (Dujiangyan Party School), as well as Q & A sessions, case analyses, and field visits.

The trainees judged the seminar to be well-organised, compact, and professional, broadening their horizons, giving them new ideas, and enriching and updating their knowledge.

By Zhao Dan, OUC