In recent decades, there has been a lot of public opinions about social progress, but the actual living environment of human beings is getting worse and worse. The direct consequences and indirect effects of climate change often appear in news reports and become a topic after dinner. However, there are also problems existing or brought about by education, food production and distribution, urbanization, population and technology, which are equally serious but not that valued by people. In the community with a shared future for mankind, these issues deserve the attention of every earth citizen!

At the invitation of The Timothy Light Center for Chinese Studies, Western Michigan University, Professor Cui Yunhuo, Director of the ICI, East China normal University, made a special trip to the United States to attend the seminar on Sino-American Symposium on Future Issues Affecting Quality of Life. The seminar invited 20 experts from China and the United States who have made great achievements in different fields to share the solutions to the future challenges of mankind and to form some consensus and strategies to meet the challenges.

△ Group photo of experts participating in the meeting

The seminar is divided into environment, resources, food, urbanization, education, technology and other thematic forums. In the part of education, Professor Cui Yunhuo gave a keynote speech on “How Curriculum Reform Can Improve Students' Quality of Life”. Prof. Cui described the twenty-year effort made by the Chinese government since the curriculum reform of basic education in the new century. Through the empirical research data, Prof. Cui pointed out that the curriculum satisfaction of students in the current compulsory education stage is generally high, but there are still some problems in schoolwork burden, teacher praise, classroom teaching and evaluation methods. Based on the improvement of students' quality of life, he further discussed the future direction and assumption of deepening the curriculum reform of basic education. The report aroused wide interest and discussion among the participating experts.

△ Professor Cui Yunhuo Delivered a Keynote Speech

Light Center for Chinese Studies

The Timothy Light Center for Chinese Studies serves as a focal pointto enhance scholarship in Chinese studies at WMU and to disseminate China-related knowledge and understanding to the public. The Center was founded by private donations in honor of Dr. Timothy Light, an internationally renowned Sinologist, to recognize his lifetime achievements and commitment to advancing Chinese studies.