On May 11, 2024, Phoenix School of Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, together with Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences and Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, held the BNU Phoenix Forum (2024) at Zhuhai (BNU Zhuhai) with the permanent theme of "Global Symbiosis and Education for the Future" in an interdisciplinary mode, for the first time. The forum focuses on the “Transformation and Reshaping of International Education” and examines international education from multiple perspectives. There are three sub-themes: “Digital Technology, Educational Equity and Sustainable Development,” “Global Climate Change and Innovative Science Education for Green Development” and “Understanding China - Future Directions in Cultural Memory."

Li Yongle, representative of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government of Macao; Xu Mang, former Minister of Taiwan Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR; Fu Bo, Deputy Secretary General of the China Education Association for International Exchanges (CEAIE); Zheng Hongguang, Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Primary and Secondary School Principals' Association and Director of the Macao Chinese Education Association; Li Jinjun, Head of the Division of Exchange and Co-operation of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province; Wang Ronghua, Former Ambassador of China to Iceland, Advisor of the International Confederation of Confucianism (ICF), Guest Professor of Jinan University and Director of Diplomatic PEN; Huang Nansong, Executive Vice-President of Guangzhou Polytechnic Institute; Zhang Ting, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Bureau of Zhuhai; Kong Fanqing, Vice-President of City University of Macao; Yi Chuanping, Vice-President of Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; Zhong Mingjin, Secretary General of Guangdong Association for Education and International Exchange; Han Wei, Executive Deputy Director of UNESCO Centre for Innovation in Higher Education; Pan Yanchun, Dean of the School of International Exchange of Shenzhen University; Gao Jian, Dean of the School of International Exchange and Director of the International Exchange and Cooperation Department of Shantou University; and Zhang Hongming, Dean of the International College of Macao University of Science and Technology, were among the hundreds of experts and guests who attended the opening ceremony.

Main Venue of BNU Phoenix Forum (2024)

Professor Chen Xi, Director of International Education Affairs of BNU Zhuhai and Dean of Phoenix School, opened the forum and extended a warm welcome to all attendees. She then proceeded to introduce the rationale behind the forum's three sub-themes. She looked forward to engaging in constructive dialogue with all attendees to explore ideas and make progress together. She hoped to gain insights into the development of international education in the context of global symbiosis, share best practices in international education, and contribute to the advancement of a community of human destiny. She firmly believes that collaboration across a range of fields will be essential to drive innovation and growth.

Professor Chen Xi presided over the opening ceremony

In her speech, Deputy Secretary-General Fu Bo emphasized the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's “5·29” speech and the significant expansion of international access to education. She also affirmed that the Phoenix Forum is a practical platform for collaboration, which fully demonstrates the determination to contribute China's strength to global education development and contribute China's solutions to global education governance.

Speech by Fu Bo, Deputy Secretary-General, China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE)

Zheng Hongguang expressed gratitude to Beijing Normal University (BNU) for its long-standing contributions to Macao's education sector. He commended the forum for accurately benchmarking the forward-looking advocacy of the United Nations to reshape global education and its positive response to General Secretary Xi Jinping's call for jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind, which was closely aligned with education, the future and the environment of global symbiosis.

Speech by Mr. Zheng Hongguang, Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Primary and Secondary School Principals' Association and Director of the Macao Chinese Education Association

Mr. Li Jinjun stated that he would continue to support BNU Zhuhai, leveraging the educational resources of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, proactively integrating into the region's development, and enhancing collaboration and exchanges with universities and colleges in Hong Kong and Macao. Later, he emphasized the importance of aligning with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and local development positioning and needs. He proposed to implement the initiatives of General Secretary Xi Jinping during his visit to the United States and France, as well as the Outline of the Plan for the Development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the relevant objectives of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee's 1310 deployment. He also wished the forum a complete success and expressed his hope that the forum would resonate with Guangdong's high-quality development.

Speech by Li Jinjun, Director of Exchange and Co-operation Department, Guangdong Provincial Department of Education

As a representative of the peer colleges, Yi Chuanping praised the forum as an important inspiration for the innovative imagination of the future of education. She believed that the forum would further integrate domestic and international educational resources and build an open, independent and diversified learning and exchange platform in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Speech by Yi Chuanping, Vice President of Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

On behalf of the organizers, Kong Yi, delivered a speech expressing warm congratulations on the successful convening of the forum. He stated that the forum is in line with the strategic plan of Beijing Normal University and reflects the changes in the world, the times, and history. The forum has played an important role in broadening vision, pooling wisdom and seeking common development in BNU Zhuhai’s implementation of building the southern highland for cultivating excellent teachers, especially teachers of disciplines in urgent needs, the talent training base for serving the returning of Hong Kong and Macao people’s hearts and the “Belt and Road Initiative,” the education research center for advanced and sophisticated disciplines and the cultivation base for emerging disciplines and inter-disciplines.

Speech by Kong Yi, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai

The first phase of keynote speeches was then moderated by Professor Xu Ming of the Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University.

Mr. Wang Ronghua, expressed his profound admiration for Beijing Normal University's contributions to Chinese characters and Chinese literature, and was impressed by the achievements of BNU Zhuhai in international cooperation. Mr. Wang Ronghua, starting from the impact of contemporary digital technology on the writing habits of Chinese characters, also raised concerns about the training of Chinese language teachers, the development of translation skills in Chinese to foreign languages and the cultivation of critical thinking ability.

Keynote Speech by Mr. Wang Ronghua, Former Chinese Ambassador to Iceland, Advisor to the International Confederation of Confucianism, Visiting Professor at Jinan University and Director of Diplomatic PEN

Mr. Qi Ye, Chair Professor and Executive Director of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), discussed the impacts, challenges and responses of climate change, social change and sudden technological changes on global sustainable development with the keynote speech entitled Climate Change and Green Development in a Turbulent World .

Keynote Speech by Prof. Qi Ye

Mr. Liu Zhipeng, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), President of the Hong Kong Federation of Education (HKFE), Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Lingnan University and Professor of History, delivered a keynote speech on Hong Kong as a Model District to Promote the Development of an International Education Hub in the Greater Bay Area , discussing the new situation faced by Hong Kong in the integration and development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the links between the Mainland, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia as well as resource sharing in the creation of the International Education Hub.

Keynote Speech by Prof. Liu Zhipeng

The second phase of the keynote speech was moderated by Li Jiayong, Vice President of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Normal University.

With the title of Liberal Studies, Core Curriculum, and Close Reading of Texts: A Language Teacher's Perspective , Liu Lening , Professor of the Department of East Asia Languages and Cultures and the Co-director of TCSOL Program, Columbia University, explained the change of the American university from a public space of society to an experimental site of individual life, and explored the transformation of the nature of higher education, which has affected the professional and social attributes of liberal studies, core curricula, and close reading of texts.

Keynote Speech by Prof. Liu Lening

Professor Li Shengbing, Chairman of Guangdong Province Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education Research Association and Dean of the School of Education Sciences, South China Normal University, discussed the changes in international education, future education and university education with the title of GAI and Future Education Changes . The role of GAI and building application scenarios in developing a framework for personality, inclusion, resilience and effective learning were also addressed.

Keynote Speech by Prof. Li Shengbing

Finally, Mr. Huang Haoyong, academician of Singapore Academy of Engineering and professor of Water Science Research Centre of Beijing Normal University, shared about the concept and implementation mode of asking for resources and mineral deposits from sewage to achieve green and circular development from the perspective of sustainable sewage management, with the title Sewage - A Rich Resource Bank.

Keynote Speech by Prof Huang Haoyong

The wonderful keynote speeches of the six guests of honor provided a rich exchange of wise ideas and enlightenment for the guests present. Their hard work and selfless sharing reflected the spirit of the forum of harmony, sharing and mutual assistance, building an international education community of dialogue and exchange, self-realization and achievement. BNU Phoenix Forum will continue to uphold the spirit of diversity, openness and inclusiveness, gathering experts and scholars, political and business elites, and state cooperation directors to study, exchange and communicate, and to explore the future issues of education in a diversified and cross-dimensional way.

In the afternoon of the 11th and the morning of the 12th, the sub-forum on Digital Technology, Educational Equity and Sustainable Development was convened by He Jiangkun, Vice Dean of Phoenix School of Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, and moderated by Zhao Xueqing, Professor of the School of Chinese language and Literature, Shaanxi Normal University, and Chen Enwei, Dean of Faculty of Chinese Language and Culture, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. The sub-forum Science, Education and Innovation for Global Climate Change and Green Development was convened by Xu Ming, Director of the Green Innovation Laboratory, and moderated by Wang Shengrui, Director of the Research Centre for Water Science and Li Xia, Deputy Director of the R&D Centre for Watershed Environmental and Ecological Engineering. The sub-forum Understanding China - Future Directions in Cultural Memory was moderated by David Bartosz, Distinguished Fellow of the Research Institute for Globalization and Cultural Development Strategies, Beijing Normal University. In addition, Zhong Mingjin, Secretary General of Guangdong Education Association for International Exchanges, moderated the session Roundtable Conference on International Education.

Translator: Wang Lihong

Proofreading: Martin Wittenberg