The China International Distance Education Conference 2018 kicked off in Beijing on 1 November 2018.

The conference was a grand event, the 17th of its kind, sponsored by Distance Education in China magazine, under the direction of the Chinese Society of Education, the China Association of Higher Education, the China Adult Education Association, the China Association of Educational Technology(CAET), the National Modern Distance Education Collaborative Group for Colleges and Universities, and the Open University of China (OUC). Yang Zhijian, the Party secretary and president of the OUC and chairman of CAET, addressed the opening ceremony.

An Overview of Educational Modernisation

Good morning, distinguished leaders, experts, and representatives.

First of all, I would like to extend my congratulations to the grand opening of the 2018 China International Distance Education Conference. On behalf of the Open University of China (OUC) and China Association of Educational Technology(CAET), I would also like to give a warm welcome and heartfelt thank you to all of the participants.

The theme of the conference this year is “Educational Modernisation: A Historical Mission and Realistic Challenge.” Educational modernisation has always created an upsurge of emotion for many people. China’s pursuit of educational modernisation has never stopped since the beginning of reform and opening-up in 1978, especially since the 1990s.

In 1993, China Educational Reform and Development Outline clearly identified the modernisation of education as a strategic development goal. The Action Plan for Invigorating Education in the 21st Century then kicked off in 1999. In 2010, the Outline of China’s National Plan for Medium and Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) put in more explicit terms that the realisation of educational modernisation should be the most urgent of three top strategic goals to be achieved by 2020, namely, to achieve basic educational modernisation, form a learning society and help China become a powerful country in human resources construction.

Educational modernisation is both an abstract and concrete concept with rich and complex connotations, and different experts and scholars have their own specific understandings and interpretations of it. In my opinion, educational modernisation does not necessarily lie in the realisation of statistics, rather, it lies more in its developmental nature and “synchronisation” with the current development direction and economic and social needs. It is a development goal on the one hand and a value goal on the other.

In 2015, UNESCO released the Education 2030 Framework for Action, which proposed the education goal to be achieved by 2030: to ensure inclusive, fair education, so that everyone can have access to lifelong learning. China is also formulating the 2035 plan for educational modernisation, which will be implemented in the near future.

From the perspective of a value goal, educational modernisation indeed seems "remote" and must be viewed from a distance. However, considering education development trends over the past 40 years, especially over the last 10 years, educational modernisation has never been more realistic.

Although educational modernisation is a long process, it can be shortened by modern information technology, by improving its speed and then realising its value pursuit. On 22 May 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly pointed out in his congratulatory letter to the International Forum on ICT and Education, that in today's world, rapid progress had been made in science and technology and that the Internet, cloud computing, big data, and other modern information technologies have profoundly changed the human way of thinking, living, and learning. We should respond to the development of information technology, promote educational reform and innovation, and construct a learning society where everyone can learn anywhere, anytime.

I strongly agree with director Lei's judgment when he gave his speech just now: educational informatisation is a basic connotation and significant feature of educational modernisation. The construction and achievements of educational informatisation 1.0 in China and the educational informatisation 2.0 action plan that is being implemented today, have provided strong technical impetus for the development of educational modernisation in China. I firmly believe that under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the core and the direct guidance of the Ministry of Education, and with the joint efforts of the Chinese people, including all of the participants of the conference today, China’s educational modernisation can be realised as soon as possible.

Based on the theme, the speeches delivered by the guests, and the discussions held at the conference, I am sure that the conference will be successful and its goals will be achieved thanks to every participant’s contribution in terms of wisdom, experience sharing, and consensus.

Thank you!

By Yang Zhijian,OUC