On 26 April 2024, the general opening ceremony for the 2024 National Lifelong Learning Activity Week was held in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province.
The event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (China National Committee on Aging), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, National Commission of the People's Republic of China for UNESCO, and the China Adult Education Association. It was undertaken by the People’s Government of Liaoning Province and State Power Investment Corporation Limited (SPIC), jointly organised by the Open University of China (OUC), the Education Department of Liaoning Province, and Northeast Electric Power Company Limited under the SPIC. Deputy Minister of Education Wu Yan attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.
Wu Yan emphasised that the Party Central Committee has placed great importance on the development of a learning society as a national strategic initiative. The MOE has been comprehensively implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, focusing on creating a learning-oriented society in which all residents pursue lifelong study, and can study whenever and wherever they want to. Over the years, the MOE has persistently promoted the establishment of learning cities, communities, and organisations, hosting the National Lifelong Learning Activity Week annually. These efforts have led to the continuous improvement of policies and regulations, organisational structures, educational systems, and the enrichment of learning and educational resources. Consequently, China is steadily moving towards a learning-oriented society and nation.
In consolidating the consensus that a learning society is a standard feature of a strong educational nation, Wu Yan stressed that building a society and country that embrace lifelong learning is not only vital for promoting comprehensive human development and constructing a strong education system but also an essential element of achieving Chinese-style modernization. It is crucial to optimize the construction of a more flexible, convenient, and high-quality lifelong learning service system, enhance the continuing education system for industrial workers, establish a sound lifelong vocational skills training system, stimulate new productive forces within enterprises, and elevate the capacity of high-quality education services. Solidifying the digital foundation of a learning society, actively developing integrated and intelligent digital platforms, aggregating high-quality digital learning resources, and providing learners with one-stop, comprehensive, and full-process learning services are essential steps. Furthermore, improving the mechanism for promoting lifelong learning, which involves Party committee leadership, government coordination, social collaboration, and full public participation, will herald a new journey in the construction of a learning society.
The conference announced the "Shenyang Initiative on National Lifelong Learning" to foster a wide consensus on the national lifelong learning campaign and to clarify the direction for building a learning society. It also unveiled the list of 194 national "Common People Learning Stars" in the new era and the promotion list of 191 "Lifelong Learning Brand Projects".
The meeting launched the "fulfilling dreams of pursuing education through digital empowerment for industrial workers" action plan sponsored by the Ministry of Education and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. Additionally, it initiated the connectivity plan for the digital service platform for staff education and training of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and the OUC's Lifelong Learning Platform. Furthermore, it held the opening ceremony for the first central government-owned enterprise (SPIC) joining the Smart Education of China, the national vocational education platform, which enhances digital empowerment and provides more opportunities for industrial workers to learn, as well as more convenient and accessible learning resources and higher quality education services.
More than 200 representatives from relevant departments, enterprises, local educational administrative departments, open universities, community education colleges (seniors universities), and adult education associations attended the opening ceremony for the "Common People Learning Stars" and "Lifelong Learning Brand Projects".
Reprinted by OUC News Network from Xinhua Net