One major priority for the Open University of China (OUC) is to advance the campaign of nationwide reading while fostering virtue, cultivating talent and promoting culture. This is only the latest example of the OUC’s commitment to building a society in which lifelong learning is accessible to all.
In recent years, the OUC has carried out a series of activities that promote reading among working adults, the elderly, at schools, in communities and across cities. To achieve this, it has leveraged the advantages of the nationwide schooling system while integrating an online-offline learning model.
OUC promotes high-quality development through virtue and education
The OUC has always attached great importance to and actively promoted reading for all. Over the past decade, it has made developing and advancing reading for all an important measure for implementing the construction of a learning society. Through the nationwide reading work jointly carried out by its organisation system, the OUC has successively won honorary titles, such as "Advanced Unit of Reading for All" and permanent "Demonstration Centre for Reading for All” etc. The libraries within the OUC system have collaborated to offer a range of reading activities. The goal has been to create a positive environment and make reading accessible to all.
OUC branches collaborate to promote national reading campaign
Guangzhou Open University has organised a series of activities for the “Reading Festival” which focus on red-themed books. It has incorporated online and offline teaching modes in its activities, making full use of "mobile internet+" technology to boost accessibility and contribute to building a strong reading culture.
Rui'an City College, part of the OUC in Rui'an, has established the City Reading Club to offer a range of related activities. It has promoted reading through a new campaign model on WeChat, with its official account organising more than 20 shared reading sessions to boost online-offline engagement. The college has hosted the city's online reading month, themed “Parent-Child Reading Families,” for five consecutive years. It has also benefited from the OUC’s experience in enhancing the reading skills of the general public.
Inner Mongolia Open University has also boosted efforts to promote educational equity by helping with the cultural development of rural and pastoral areas. The university's “RTVU Village Library” project focuses on overcoming the challenges people have at the grassroots in “reading, borrowing and buying books.” As part of the project, the university sends books to the countryside, spreading education and promoting the cultural life of people in disadvantaged communities. As of 2021, more than 370 “RTVU Village Libraries” have been built across the region, covering a range of communities, schools, farming and pastoral areas. It is believed the initiative has increased people’s enthusiasm for reading, contributing to improvements in the local cultural environment.
Wuhan Open University has also taken measures to boost reading among the local population. This includes activities to educate readers about the Communist Party of China (CPC), promote the reading of red classics and advance cooperation among different libraries in how they promote reading and education.
Great achievements over the past ten years
The Library of the OUC has consistently adhered to the goal of promoting virtue through education. Since 2008, it has taken the initiative in providing services, promoting innovation and holding a wide range of reading activities. It has utilised the library as a key tool in the promotion of reading as well as social education and cultural dissemination, contributing to an environment of people who "learn to love reading, read good books” and are “good at reading".
By OUC