On October 11, the opening ceremony for the 2012 National Lifelong Learning Week themed “Speed Up Continuing Education and Accelerate Construction of a Learning Society” was held in Chengdu. Lu Xin, deputy minister of the Ministry of Education, attended the conference and delivered a speech. At the opening ceremony,
winners of the “First National Community Education Scrap Re-Use DIY Competition” were announced and given awards.
Lu Xin pointed out that the construction of a learning society in which every citizen is committed to learning and pursues lifelong learning is a strategic requirement of the Central Committee of the CPC, and is fundamental to building China into a nation rich in human resources. It is also an important task in the reform and development of China's education sector.
Ruan Zhiyong, secretary of the OUC party committee, delivered his speech “Recognizing Winners of the First National Community Education Scrap Re-Use DIY Competition”. He pointed out that the theme of this year's competition was “Recycling is cool, low-carbon is fashionable”. It aimed to explore the community education model of “combine learning with doing, combine doing with enjoying, combine enjoying with living” and promote the model within the community and family, thus contributing to a more harmonious society. The competition promoted the low carbon lifestyle through a “decorate family life, share wisdom on the Internet” activity series and helped advance the development of community education.
Luobu Jiangcun, secretary of the party committee of Southwest University for Nationalities, and other guests presented certificates and trophies to the first prize winners for "Cloth Paste Art of 56 Ethnic Groups", "Old City Temple", "Environmental Protection in a Prosperous Era", "Four-Wheeled Dustpan", and "Multifunctional Convertible Storage Box". Organizational prizes went to Chengdu Community University, Shanghai Service & Supervision for Learning Society Construction, Harbin RTVU, Ningbo Beilun Community Education College, Shenyang RTVU, Fujian RTVU and Gansu RTVU.
The “First National Community Education Scrap Re-Use DIY Competition” was jointly hosted by China Adult Education Association and the OUC. Since its start in April this year, the competition attracted national attention and received 755 scrap re-use entries. After initial review and expert evaluation, 5 first prizes, 9 second prizes, 30 third prizes, 2 creativity prizes and 12 organization prizes were selected.
The Ministry of Education Community Education Research and Training Center has been promoting a series of “Community Education i-Experiments” nationwide. The first "i-Experiment" of the series was the “i-scrap re-use lab”, which was initiated in April. The “First National Community Education Scrap Re-use DIY Competition” was the first lab activity open to all members of the community.
During the 2012 National Lifelong Learning Week, the “i-calligraphy lab” （www.ishufa.org）operated by Tianjin RTVU was officially launched and is now operational online. Moreover, the “i-sing” lab operated by Shenyang RTVU will be launched soon. Additional i-lab projects will be rolled out in the future including “i-finance” and “i-creative design”, creating a popular, grassroots community education brand.
By Wen Shuyu, the OUC