On the morning of February 27, 2024, the opening ceremony of the 2nd Training Program for Lao Educational Administrators in China, part of the Project for Enhancing the Quality and Competence of Rural Teachers in Laos (a Chinese-aided project), was held at the Shicheng Lecture Hall of the UNESCO Teacher Education Center (hereinafter referred to as UNESCO TEC). Mr. Keth PHANLACK, Director of the Teacher Training Department of the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports, Professor Zhang Minxuan, Director of UNESCO TEC, Miao Hongcai, President of Shanghai Education Publishing House, and Professor Hu Guoyong, Deputy Director of UNESCO TEC, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.
First, Director Keth PHANLACK thanked the Chinese government for its long-term support for this project, affirmed the professional guidance provided by UNESCO TEC during the project implementation, and hoped that all Lao participants in China would gain valuable knowledge from the training. Subsequently, President Miao Hongcai reviewed the implementation process of the project, summarized the numerous achievements made, and expressed good expectations for future cooperation between China and Laos in the cultural field. Finally, starting from the long-standing friendly exchanges between China and Laos, Professor Zhang Minxuan, Director of UNESCO TEC, combined the center’s development history, functions and missions, and hoped that the smooth implementation of this project would play a positive role in the training of Lao educational administrators and the professional development of Lao teachers.
After the opening ceremony, Professor Zhang Minxuan gave a lecture themed Global Trends in Teacher Education Development, focusing on the topic of School Teachers: New Expectations of the World. He introduced several major trends in the future professional development of teachers to more than 50 participants of this training program, including officials from various departments of the Lao Ministry of Education, officials from provincial education departments, presidents of normal universities, and heads of educational research institutions. A Q&A session was held after the lecture.
In the coming week, UNESCO TEC will organize the training participants to carry out one school visit, three thematic lectures and six group discussions around the Chinese Experience in education. From theory to practice, it will fully demonstrate various measures and methods of China’s educational modernization and basic education reform, so as to provide assistance and support for the future development of education in Laos.
