On May 12, the 2018 Xiong’an New Area Education Development Work Exchange Conference hosted by the Xiong’an New Area Management Committee and undertaken by China Resources Group was held at the Zhuorun Jianguo Hot Spring Hotel in Xiong County. Twenty domestic first-class education experts gathered to discuss the planning of education development and drew the blueprint for a strategic plan to lay the foundation for quality education in Xiong’an. The meeting established the Xiong’an New Area Education Advisory Committee, and nearly 30 education experts were hired as the initial members. Dr. Dong Li, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of FICEA was one of the members of the initial expert team. The conference also announced the launch of twinning projects for schools such as The Primary School Affiliated to the Renmin University of China.
Before the conference, Chen Gang, member of the Standing Committee of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee, Vice Governor, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of Xiong’an New Area, and Fu Shouqing, member of the Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Xiong’an New Area, accompanied the expert delegation on a tour and introduced the latest progress in the planning and construction of Xiong’an New Area, an overview of the Civic Service Centre and the current status of education in the three counties of Xiong’an. Education is the first and foremost priority in the millennium plan. It aims to allocate educational resources accordingly in the New Area as well as offer high-quality education from preschool to university. In addition to high-quality education, research will also be prioritized at Xiong’an University. The introduction of quality basic education resources, innovative school models and the cultivation and construction of several international schools and model schools for international exchange and cooperation are also priorities.
During the conference, Baoling Liu, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Xiong’an New Area and Executive Deputy Director of the Management Committee issued letters of appointment and delivered speeches to the members of the Xiong’an New Area Education Advisory Committee. In his speech, Baoling Liu pointed out that the education foundation of the New Area is weak, and there is still a big gap between the requirements of high-quality development. He encouraged the leaders of the new area, experts, and scholars from various fields to work together to create a new future for education in Xiong’an New Area.
In the keynote speech session, Wang Dinghua, Secretary of the Party Committee in Beijing Foreign Studies University and Director of Teacher Work Department of the Ministry of Education proposed 12 development concepts. Fang Zhongxiong, Dean and researcher of the Beijing Institute of Educational Sciences, pointed out that education is the basis for the planning and construction of the Xiong’an New Area, provides source support for innovative development, and is a core element to enhance the New Area’s carrying capacity, gathering power and attractiveness. The quality of Xiong’an education should be formulated by the principles of “world vision, international standards, Chinese characteristics, and high-level positioning”. Dr. Dong Li, Vice-chairman, and Secretary-General of the Finland-China Education Association compared Finnish education with Chinese education from six perspectives: learning environment, curriculum, teacher training, support system, learning method, management, and evaluation. He also analyzed the reasons why Finnish education leads the world and provided a lot of experience that can help the development of Xiong’an education. Then, other participating experts also discussed and exchanged ideas about the direction, goals, tasks, paths, strategies, policy support, talent standards, and other aspects of Xiong’an New Area education development.
