1,319,216 Chinese viewers
Danish-Chinese initiative speaks directly to the hearts of the Chinese: The topic is the well-being of children and young people, the medium an online forum and the key words are safety and trust.
14 Danish and Chinese teachers, parents and students were fully occupied debating well-being and the desire to learn, when the 2nd edition of the "China Denmark Education Forum" was transmitted online in China on 23 September, 2021.
As of today, an English version of the forum is available on youtube u / Learn for Life
Click here for media coverage and here for program with participants
The event was transmitted on several high-profile Chinese platforms, and feedback shows us that the dialogue between the Chinese and Danish participants made the forum authentic, practical and easy to relate to. Despite differences in culture and education system, all adults want the best for their students and children. However, opportunities, conditions and perceptions of well-being are quite different, as is the way to a good children-youth life. In Denmark, we have for several years experimented and tested methods to ensure good well-being. In China, however, educational institutions have been concerned with ensuring good education for all and greater equality between schools in rural and urban areas.
OL Champion Viktor Axelsen and Li Zhenxi opens the forum
"Desire shall be the force to drive the work, whether it is about badminton or learning Chinese." This is one of Viktor Axelsen's main messages in the conversation with Mr. Li Zhenxi, author and former school principal. During an informal and friendly conversation, they talked about Viktor's schooling, views on education, his way to the top in international badminton, and his new role as a father.
Social media is a source of stress and pressure
In both countries, external pressures and social media are sources of stress, anxiety and loneliness - a situation that the pandemic has only exacerbated. Principal Mads Poulsen, Eisbjerghus International Efterskole, believes that the pressure mainly comes from the young people's expectations of their own performance, while his Chinese 'colleague' Li Zewu assumes that in China it is primarily due to massive focus on grades and the amount of homework.
The pressure is seemingly considerably tougher in China, and this is reflected in the discussions. Especially in conversation between the young high school students, where Chili from Denmark chooses education based on her own desire. She has big dreams about the future, while Vincent from Shanghai chooses out of duty. Only when he has taken the IT education that his parents consider to be the most suitable for him, can he start doing what he himself wants.
Three basic needs must be met
Well-being expert and Associate Professor Hans Henrik Knoop, University of Aarhus, focuses in his presentation on the following three basic needs that must be met across cultures, in order for students to function => work/study well? and thrive: The experience of own competencies: I can, if I make the effort, the experience of cohesion: I mean something, and the experience of sufficient autonomy: I act voluntarily.
The two parents, Henrik Axelsen and Wu Lei, agree that it is important to support children in their choices. Wu Lei believes that Chinese parents spend far too little time with their children and that Chinese can learn a lot from Danish experiences. According to him, this should be seen in the light of the fact that China has experienced an enormous transformation in a few decades and just 20-40 years ago, many Chinese children did not have access to schools.
1,319,216 Chinese viewers
More than 1.3 million Chinese watched the online transmission, and in the wake of the forum a number of articles have followed. Ma Guochuan, Secretary General of the China Education 30 Forum and Editor-in-Chief of the news magazine Caijing, is very pleased with this year's issue of the China Denmark Education Forum. He quotes Zhou Youguang's (famous Chinese linguist 1906-2017) words "We should look at China from the world, not the world from China" and assesses that the purpose of the online forum has been achieved: to inspire and exchange knowledge and experiences. The Secretary General concludes that the strength of the forum is the dialogue between the Danish and Chinese participants. Participants who are all in the front line and in everyday life face the challenges of children and young people. The feedback also shows that especially the dialogue between the two high school students and two fathers was popular because the conversations spoke right into the hearts of the viewers.
Human first
Mogens Godballe, former headmaster of folk high school and chairman of Learn for Life, concluded the forum. He stressed the importance of children and young people’s well-being, motivation and commitment at a time when the world is becoming more and more complex and where many jobs are being taken over by robots. “Learning must be meaningful and relate to our own lives, and we must create whole people. ‘The Human touch’ is crucial when it comes to assessing and feeling, making decisions and taking critical look at things - qualities that robots and artificial intelligence do not manage. "
Facts:
Streaming in China: September 23, 2021 at 13-19.10 (Beijing time)
Viewing in Denmark: A version with interpretation into English can be found on youtube u / Learn for Life. The link also gives you the teachers' presentations, as well as the forum from 2020.
Online viewers China: A total of 1,319,216 divided on the following platforms: Sohu 505464, Tencent 297347, Chiron 93939, Crypto 203045, 219421 hvorfor to tal ved Crypto?. The forum in 2020 had a total of 1.03 million viewers.
The seminar is established by the Chinese think tank China Education 30 Forum and the Danish association Learn for Life. In recent years, the latter has completed courses in kindergarten pedagogy for Chinese kindergarten leaders / teachers, as well as courses in Life Education for Chinese parents in collaboration with Nordfyns Højskole.
China Education 30 Forum is an educational think tank established in Beijing in 2014 with the aim of promoting education reforms. In November 2019, the forum was named one of the three most influential in China.
Participants from Denmark and China
Viktor Axelsen, Dubai, Copenhagen - Li Zhenxi, author and former principal of Chengdu Wuhou Experimental Middle School
Rasmus Emil Vedel Vindvad Kristensen, teacher, Juelsminde School - Guo Wenhong, teacher Nanjing FAngcaoyuan School
Mads Poulsen, principal of Eisbjerghus International Efterskole - Li Zewu, Principal Chengdu Waldorf School
Henrik Axelsen, parent, Odense - Wu Lei, parent
Chili Nørgaard Christiansen, High School student, Thy - Vincent Zhang, student Shanghai
Hans Henrik Knoop, well-being expert, DPU, University of Aarhus - Cheng Hongbing, Education expert
Jakob Stenmann Hansen, kindergarten leader, Lærkereden Odense - Zhang Dongqing, Principal, Beijing Ririxin School
Mogens Godballe, consultant and former high school principal