A high-powered seminar was held in Macao on Saturday and Sunday to promote the spirit of educators and enhance in-depth exchanges and cooperation among educators across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the development of teaching ethics and professionalism.
The two-day Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Seminar on Teachers’ Professional Ethics gathered more than 300 scholars, experts, principals, and teachers from the 11-city cluster.
Yu Weiyue, head of a subministry department under the Education Ministry, delivered a key report with the theme of vigorously promoting the spirit of educators and advancing the high-quality development of teachers in the GBA.
READ MORE: High-level GBA education seminar aims to promote educator’s spirit
He hoped principals and teachers from Hong Kong and Macao can comprehend the contemporary significance of the spirit of educators, promote patriotism, nurture professional ethics, and enhance their teaching proficiency.
Yu also encouraged them to be pioneers in uplifting the spirit of educators, and facilitators of educational exchange and cooperation among the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. This would contribute to the country’s educational development, modernization drive, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, he said.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Chen Wei, a high-level official of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, pointed out that the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Region governments have spared no effort in strengthening the cultivation and exchange of teaching staffs, including their professional ethics, such as patriotism education.
He emphasized that the event has significant and far-reaching importance, as it is the first time that teachers have been invited to deliver lectures on the spirit of educators.
Chen said he believed the seminar will inspire participants from Macao, Hong Kong and the mainland to uphold the spirit of educators and continuously improve their skills to enhance the quality of education in the GBA.
Zhu Jianhua, deputy director of the Department of Education of Guangdong province, believes the event can help promote the spirit of educators among teachers, foster education collaboration in the GBA, and cultivate more teachers with a patriotic spirit.
He added that through in-depth discussions on various educational fronts, the gathering is expected to yield a set of constructive and exemplary outcomes to promote teaching practices in the region.
Wang Binwei, secretary of the CPC Party Committee of South China Normal University, said that after six years, the seminar has become a flagship education event in the region. He hopes all participants can share their wisdom and experience in strengthening educational collaboration within the GBA and help the region make greater contributions to the nation’s educational development.
Kong Chi-meng, director of the Education and Youth Development Bureau of Macao, believes that the seminar can significantly promote educational work in Macao. He hopes it will further strengthen exchanges among Macao educators and their mainland counterparts.
On Saturday, a training and exchange base for Macao teachers established by MSacao’s Education and Youth Development Bureau and South China Normal University, was officially unveiled.
During Saturday’s event, teacher representatives, including Professor Su Dekuang from Zhejiang University, Principal Li Longmei from Chongqing Special Education Center, Professor Yu Cheng from Wuhan Urban Vocational College, Principal Wu Rongjin from Luwan No 1 Primary School in Shanghai, and Chan Hong, president of the Chinese Educators’ Association of Macau, gave presentations.
There were also keynote speeches and four panel discussions, with educators and experts sharing their insights on better developing the spirit of educators.
Song Huan, professor and vice-dean of the Institute of Teacher Education of Beijing Normal University, has attended the seminar six times. In a keynote report on Sunday, he said teachers should be aware of the connotation of the spirit of educators, highlighting four features of the spirit of educators — professionalism, collectivism, value-orientation and contemporaneity.
Song noted that educators are explorers of future education and, in the context of the new era, teachers should integrate artificial intelligence into their teaching and explore more possibilities.
Chim Wa-kwan, chief executive of the Hong Kong Education Research and Development Centre, gave a speech focusing on the new mission and commitment of Hong Kong teachers. He emphasized the importance of upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, as well as loving the country and the Hong Kong SAR.
Chim pointed out that the practice and effectiveness of patriotic education in Hong Kong need to be strengthened, and promoting the spirit of educators should be the focus of developing teachers’ ethics.
Zhou Yisu, program director of Doctor of Education at the University of Macau’s Faculty of Education, talked about teachers’ mission in practice, which involves nurturing virtue through their own behaviors, and enlightening students’ ideas through innovation. He emphasized that teachers are not just conveyors of knowledge, but also guides in students’ development.
Four panel discussions on Sunday focused on how the spirit of educators can facilitate self-cultivation of teacher morality, the promotion of teacher morality in schools, the development of professional ethics for teachers, and collaboration in the GBA on the development of teacher morality.
A roundtable forum was also held on Sunday, during which six experts from Hong Kong, Macao and the mainland discussed ways of further promoting the spirit of educators and enhancing teacher morality.
