On 29 March 2023, the 2023 (2nd) Lifelong Learning Conference, sponsored by Chinese Journal of Distance Education Journal, was opened in Zhengzhou, Henan.
More than 500 people attended the conference, including leaders from the Teacher Work Department of the Ministry of Education, education administrative departments from various regions, as well as representatives from regular universities, open universities, vocational colleges, and industry enterprises.
A glance at the onsite of the conference
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized " advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization " and " invigorating China through science and education and developing a strong workforce for the modernization drive," highlighting the fundamental and strategic support role of education in building a socialist modernized country in the new era. For the first time, "promoting digitalisation in education" was written into the Party Congress report, emphasizing the need to " building a society and country of learning where lifelong learning is pursued by all." This provides a direction for further building an education system that serves lifelong learning for all, and provides a fundamental guideline.
Participants unanimously agreed that in the year of fully implementing the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the 2023 (2nd) Lifelong Learning Conference focused on the strategic goals and tasks proposed by the congress, especially on digitally empowering high-quality development of education, supporting the construction of an education system that serves lifelong learning for all, promoting collaborative innovation in vocational education, higher education, and continuing education, and helping coordinate major strategic propositions such as education, technology, and talent. The in-depth discussions held at the conference are of great value and significance.
The theme of this conference was "Digital, Integration, Empowerment". It was held both online and offline in the form of a metaverse live conference, allowing participants to experience the new scenario of metaverse empowerment for lifelong learning and explore new applications of digital integration in promoting lifelong learning. The conference was hosted by Chinese Journal of Distance Education Journal, guided by the Chinese Society of Educational Development Strategy, and organised by Henan Open University, with co-organisation from other institutions such as the Open University of China (Seniors University of China)
In his speech at the conference, Ju Chuanjin, vice president of the Open University of China (OUC), stated that the university has made a unique contribution to promoting the education level and national quality of the entire population. In order to achieve the goal of lifelong learning for all, modern information technology must be relied upon to endow citizens with digital capabilities and establish a new educational ecology for lifelong learning. The OUC has set the goal of "building a digital university that connects the world". Ju also emphasized the establishment of the Seniors University of China under the OUC, which is a specific measure to comprehensively implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and actively respond to the ageing population, as well as an important milestone in the reform and development of elderly education in China.
Ju Chuanjin, OUC vice president
At the conference, vice president of the OUC, Fan Xianrui, gave a keynote report. She stated that the university is committed to implementing the national education digitalisation strategy, focusing on learning resources, teaching processes, examination and evaluation, and management services to explore preliminary paths for the construction of a digital university.
Fan Xianrui, OUC vice president
By Liu Zenghui, OUC