OUC representatives at the conference

From September 25th to 28th, 2011, a delegation of the Open University of China (OUC), led by Vice President Yan Bing, attended the Fourteenth Cambridge International Conference on Open, Distance and e-Learning held in the Madingley Hall of St. Edmund's College at Cambridge University. Ninety experts and scholars in the distance education field from 25 countries gathered together at the conference under the theme of "Internationalisation and Social Justice: the role of Open, Distance and e-Learning".

Professor Narend Baijnath, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of South Africa, gave a report entitled "Zeal, Agility and Benefaction in Cross Border Delivery: an African Perspective". Dr. Alan Davis, President of the Empire State College at the State University of New York gave a speech on "What's a nice US college of open learning like ours doing for international social justice?" Dr. Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic, Chief of the Section for Reform, Innovation and Quality Assurance of Higher Education at UNESCO probed the question, "Higher Education: Open to the World?", while Dr. Helen Yanacopulos, Director for Environment, Development and International Studies Programmes at the Open University UK spoke on the topic of "E-learning and virtual environments: promoting international social justice or furthering the digital divide?" These four keynote speakers each explored the important role of ODE in promoting human development and social harmony from the perspective of internationalization and social justice.

During the conference, Vice President Yan Bing and other delegates from the OUC exchanged ideas with representatives from other countries on problems facing distance education today and future development strategies. China's development and achievements in distance education attracted much attention from other experts around the globe. OUC delegate Zhang Zhijun submitted a paper on "Rural Adult Education in the Open University of China" and his colleague, Li Yawan, gave a speech on "Facilitating Social Justice and Educational Equity via Open, Distance and E-learning" during the conference.

Li Yawan, the OUC