May 2023

The month of May will be rather busy at Nordfyn Folk High School, as on May 9, the 4th China Denmark Education Forum (CDEF) will be held here, and at the same time a number of education experts and a school class from Beijing will be visiting the folk high school.

For the first time, Danish and Chinese teachers, parents and students meet physically to discuss learning and education. ChatGPT and artificial intelligence in learning is the title of the fourth edition of the China Denmark Education Forum (CDEF) which focuses on well-being and how the two countries work with well-being in school. In both countries, ChatGDP and artificial intelligence are on their way to revolutionizing the education system. What does this mean for the well-being of both teachers and students? Does it leave more time for teachers to focus on conversations and better well-being? Which prerequisites must be present for students to best cope with the new aids? Well-being experts, teachers, students and parents from both Denmark and China are trying to find answers to these and many other questions. It takes place in a dialogue at Nordfyn Folk High School on May 9th, at 10 – 16. With the help of a moderator and an English-Chinese interpreter, the Chinese and Danish participants exchange views and experiences in pairs.

 

Experts from both China and Denmark

Among the Chinese speakers are author and former headmaster Li Zhenxi, who has previously visited the folk high school, and Michael Jiang, vice-chairman of the 21 Century Education Research Institute. Jiang is an advocate of Nordic school tradition and is currently translating the book "The Nordic Secret" by Thomas Björkman and Lene Rachel Andersen. In addition, Xiao Shijian, founder of Tianzige NGO, which works for greater equality in the school system, and Wang Xiaofeng, headmaster of the innovative school Rirising Academy in Beijing, will also participate. The Danish participants also include a number of experts in each of their fields.

 

Broadcasted on Chinese online platforms

This is the fourth time to hold a CDEF forum. The previous three foras were completed online. The focal point of each CDEF forum is the well-being of young people, however the angles are different from time to time. The most recent forum in November 2022 focused on the right to be imperfect – a topic which in China was very popular with more than 2 million viewers. CDEF is a collaboration between the Chinese education think tank "China Education 30 Forum" and Danish culture exchange association Learn For Life. The collaboration started during the corona in 2020 and has since developed with an increasing number of Chinese viewers. This time the plan is to record the physical forum and later broadcast it on Chinese platforms.

 

Chinese school children are included as participants

33 school children aged 11-14 and their teachers, will arrive at Nordfyn High School on May 7, where they will stay until May 26, with a brief detour to Copenhagen. The children are students at the school Rirising Academy, in Beijing, which is an innovative and experimental school that goes its own way. During the visit to Funen, they will have a large number of visits to schools, workshops, meetings with Danish children, drama and theater and, of course, visits to H.C. Andersen's House.

 

Click to see the Forum poster.

 

Participants in CDEF:

From China

Li Zhenxi, Chairman of CDEF (CN), former headmaster and author of more than 70 books on education.

Michael Jiang, Vice Chairman of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, President of Matchbox Foundation.

Xiao Shijian, Sociologist, MA International Business, founder of the NGO "Tian Zi Ge student fund" with focus on equality in education.

Guo Wenhong, teacher from Nanjing

Wang, Xiaofeng, Head of School, Rirising Academy, Beijing

Wu Xinning and Jiang Weiqin, students at Rirising Academy, Beijing

 

From Denmark

Mogens Godballe, chairman of CDEF (DK), former principal at Nordfyn Folk High School

Hans Henrik Knoop, Associate professor, Aarhus University (AAU)

Mads Poulsen, principal, Eisbjerghus Internationale Efterskole

Lis Zacho, teacher and graduate in IT didactic design.

Peter Skov, parent of two teenagers

Two students