Yan Bing, Vice President of the Open University of China (OUC), and Guo Xiaoxia, the OUC School of Agroforestry and Medicine, attended the high-level Sino-French forum on social security held in Paris, France. After the forum, they paid a visit to the service agencies for senior citizens in France.

The forum was organized by the French National Institute of Social Security, with the theme of "Focusing on Nursing Services for the Senior Citizens in An Aging Society". Hu Xiaoyi, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People’s Republic of China, and Marisol Touraine, Minister of French Social Affairs and Health, attended the forum and delivered speeches.

Through this forum, the OUC delegation became better acquainted with France's mature social security system, the reform of pension and health insurance while dealing with an aging society, nursing and other social service measures for the retired citizens, specialized training and assessment for personnel engaged in the care for senior citizens and cultural and educational development for senior citizens. The delegation said that the successful experience and practices of France not only provide a practical reference for China to deal with the challenges related to an aging population, but also provide some beneficial inspiration for the OUC in the design of related majors and courses of service for senior citizens and the building of the OUC Open University for the Older Adults. During the meeting, both sides also carried out interactive exchanges and discussed the possibility of cooperation between China and France in the area of care and nursing training for senior citizens.

After the forum, the OUC delegation together with other Chinese representatives, visited various service agencies for senior citizens in France and gaining on-site experience for an all-round nursing model and high quality service for senior citizens..

By Chen Na, the OUC