Jiangsu International Forum for School Principals

From November 16 to 17, the 18th Jiangsu International Forum for School Principals was held in Xuzhou。 The event was jointly organized by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education and the Xuzhou Municipal People’s Government, and co-hosted by Jiangsu Education Services for International Exchange and the Xuzhou Municipal Education Bureau. Jiang Yong，director general of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education delivered a video address, while deputy director-general Yang Shubing attended the conference and delivered a speech. The event was also attended and addressed by Xuzhou’s Vice Mayor Zhong Weihua, Ding Xianzhong from the Jiangsu Foreign Affairs Office, Wang Yi from the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges at the Ministry of Education, as well as international guests including Eddie Ng (President of the Hong Kong Student Arts and Culture Exchange Association), Daniel Hanrahan (Director of the South Region Public Education Bureau, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, USA), and Mah Hang Soon (President of the Malaysian Educational Exchange Association).  

The conference brought together nearly 300 participants, including representatives from educational authorities, organizations, and primary and secondary school principals from ten countries—namely the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland, Spain, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia—as well as from Hong Kong and Macao. Also in attendance were officials from education bureaus and international departments of 13 prefecture-level cities across Jiangsu. This edition of the conference saw the highest number of international guests and the largest scale since its inception.

Jiang Yong emphasized that the forum aims to build a multilateral cooperation platform for principals from China and abroad to exchange ideas, share wisdom, and pursue common development. It seeks to promote regular and branded cooperation between Jiangsu and international schools through staff exchanges, school partnerships, and cultural interaction. This year’s conference, themed “Educational Reform and School Responsibility”, explored the roles and responsibilities of schools in promoting high-quality development in basic education under the new trends of reform—highlighting its practical and strategic significance. Jiang encouraged all attending principals to engage deeply in thematic discussions, forge shared understanding, and exchange quality resources to contribute insights and energy toward innovating basic education and building a community with a shared future for humanity. 

Yang Shubing stated that Jiangsu will further implement its strategy of educational openness, adhering to principles of co-governance and shared development to enhance mutual appeal. Upholding the principles of mutual consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits, Jiangsu aims to build platforms for idea dissemination, experience sharing, project incubation, and result presentation, establishing both bilateral and multilateral mechanisms of cooperation. He emphasized the importance of mutual learning and respect for diversity to create an educational ecosystem where different systems can flourish and complement each other in harmony.  He also stressed the need for two-way cooperation to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

Wang Yi noted that Jiangsu is a pioneer and major platform in China for international education cooperation. He called for practical progress in educational collaboration and the strengthening of people-to-people ties through high-quality development of the conference. He urged continued enhancement of the conference’s global influence by telling Jiangsu’s educational stories, sharing its experiences, and showcasing its educational excellence and sense of responsibility on the world stage. 

Wu Kejian, Daniel Hanrahan, and Ma Hanshun all expressed a desire to strengthen international cooperation in basic education, deepen mutual understanding, tackle educational challenges, and pursue joint development opportunities.  

The conference successfully facilitated the pairing of 40 Chinese and foreign schools as sister institutions, with signing ceremonies held on-site for several of them.  Before the conference, over 100 school principals and education experts from 10 countries and regions, including the U.S., Australia, the U.K., Canada, Finland, Spain, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Macau, visited their partner schools in Jiangsu for in-depth exchanges.

Since its inception in 2005, the Jiangsu International Forum for School Principals has helped establish nearly 2,000 sister-school relationships between Jiangsu and international institutions. The Suzhou Municipal Education Bureau paired with Canada’s Peel District School Board, and the Wuxi Municipal Education Bureau paired with the Danish Ballerup City Consortium’s educational department, among six such regional-level partnerships between domestic and international education authorities. This forum has directly or indirectly facilitated over 50,000 teachers and students from both sides to engage in reciprocal visits, teaching and research cooperation, curriculum development, and a series of distinctive joint initiatives.