Initiated by Professor Zhu Yongxin in 2000, the New Education Initiative (NEI) has profoundly transformed education in China through action over the past two decades. To date, it has reached 229 county-level divisions, engaged more than 11,000 schools, and benefited over 10 million teachers and students, demonstrating the sustained impact of educational innovation.

In this lecture co-organized by the Faculty of Education at The University of Hong Kong and Yidan Prize Foundation, Professor Zhu will share practical insights drawn from his two decades of work advancing educational equity and inclusion. He will offer an in-depth exposition of how the NEI seeks to realize the educational ideal of “enabling teachers and students to live a happy and holistic educational life” by reshaping pathways for teachers’ professional development and optimizing students’ learning approaches both within and beyond the school settings. The lecture will highlight two core strategies of the initiative: first, enhancing teachers’ professional competence and commitment to teaching; and second, cultivating a society-wide culture of reading. Together, these approaches aim to promote comprehensive improvements in educational quality and students’ competencies.

The event will feature a dedicated dialogue session moderated by Professor Cheng Kai-ming, Emeritus Member, Advisory Committee, Yidan Prize. The two education experts will address the current challenges and opportunities in the field, and will jointly envision the diverse possibilities for the future development of education in China.

The lecture will be conducted in Putonghua, with Chinese-English interpretation available.