Literacy & Reading Conference at Xiamen

 

July 2022

 

 

A three-day conference was held on 23rd July to 25th July at Xiamen, organized by Dandangzhe Foundation, one of the biggest education NGOs in China. Dandangzhe Foundation is a reading promotion organization which has served 2.5 million rural children by supporting classroom book corners and organizing rural teacher training.

 

There were 300 rural school educators from Dandangzhe’s partner districts and 30 staff from 15 organizations attending the conference. Our colleagues Shelly and Charlie were invited to share the Hefei Flagship Program’s impact evaluation journey and experience in a very interactive breakout workshop for NGOs.

 

The event presented a good opportunity to learn other organization’s practices and approaches. The organizer, Dandangzhe Foundation, introduced their new version of the literacy curriculum and presented picture book awards to rural school teachers and students. Dandangzhe initiated and held a picture book creation competition to encourage teachers and students in rural schools to create their own books this year.

 

In the NGO seminar, speakers highlighted their experience with regional project management challenges. All participants contributed their personal journey and shared their reflections in a high-level interactive discussion. This was really valuable. 

 

We were also grateful to have this in-person conference to reconnect with old friends and to meet new ones. With virtual gatherings providing an opportunity to continue the connection with our community during Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions, we still prefer to have the chance to meet up in person!