On the afternoon of 19 May 2020, the Open University of China (OUC) and UNESCO signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Jing Degang, OUC president and secretary of its Party Committee, and Marielza Oliveira, director and representative of the UNESCO Beijing Cluster Office, signed on behalf of the respective parties at a signing ceremony. The ceremony was also attended by deputy secretary general Mr Zhou Jiagui and director of the Department of Education Ms Jia Nan from the Secretariat of Chinese National Commission for UNESCO.
In order to speed up the training of skilled personnel for companies and other sectors of society, further promote vocational skills training, comprehensively enhance the occupational skills level of workers, and provide skilled personnel protection for the development of a high-quality economy, the International Business Institute of Jinhua Radio and TV University (Jinhua RTVU, also known as Zhejiang School of Business and Trade) officially kicked off a welfare training programme on live streaming on Taobao and Douyin on 9 May 2020.
With the aim of inspiring young people’s critical thinking ability and passions for learning and further development, as well as discovering and cultivating promising young talents, the Open University of China (OUC) held an official document writing competition for its young staff on 9 May 2020. The competition was given high emphasis by the university’s leadership and departments. The activity garnered a large number of responses and a total of 240 young staff from 35 departments enrolled in the competition.
To further respond to UNESCO IITE Initiative “Combat COVID-19: Keep learning. Together we are on the move!” , the Open University of China(OUC) has continued to provide UNESCO with learning resources in Chinese and English to help with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 26 April 2019, the Open University of China (OUC) held a cloud classroom technology training meeting via remote video. Cloud classrooms from the OUC’s 43 branches participated in the meeting, while 186 sub-venues participated in the live broadcast.
During the outbreak of COVID-19, the Calligraphy Association of the Wuhan Branch of the Open University of China (OUC) organised a creative calligraphy activity with the theme of “Solidarity in Fighting the Epidemic,” expressing their blessings and affection for Wuhan and cheering on all of those who have joined the battle.
On 15 March 2020, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping wrote a letter to Party members born in the 1990s from Peking University's medical team who were sent to Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China. He extended sincere greetings to them and all the other young people fighting on the frontline of epidemic prevention and control, encouraging Chinese youth everywhere to contribute to the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.
Editor's note: In the battle with the COVID-19 epidemic, more and more fighters are coming to its front lines, including students and former students of the Open University of China (OUC). Like other fighters, no matter how ordinary, they are contributing what they can. Let's take a close look at some of their stories.