2025 Yidan Education Forum held in Qianhai

A scene at the 2025 Yidan Education Forumat Shenzhen Mingwan School. Photos courtesy of the event organizers

The 2025 Yidan Education Forum was held at Shenzhen Mingwan School in Qianhai from Aug. 23 to 24. 

Themed “Nurturing future learners: Designing learning spaces and building learning communities for tomorrow,”the forum brought together professionals in education, design, architecture, curation, publishing, and community building. Through one main forum and four sub-forums, they shared insights on creating better environments for future learning through space design and community building. 

Wang Jun, China head of the Sino-Finnish Joint Learning Innovation Institute at Beijing Normal University,delivers a speech at the forum.

In her opening speech, Wang Jun, China head of the Sino-Finnish Joint Learning Innovation Institute at Beijing Normal University, shared that the core of future education lies not only in books, but also in ecosystems oflearning spaces that spark children’s curiosity and foster open, inclusive communities. Citing Finland’s fair, trust-based, and student-centeredpractices, she expressed hope that professionals from different fields would work together to create environments that nurture children’s growth, passion, and creativity. 

Ted Faunce, executive head of Shenzhen Mingwan School, gives a speech.

Ted Faunce, executive head of Shenzhen Mingwan School, a new non-profit bilingual school that will welcome its first cohort of students this September, remarked that the value of a school is not determined by how spacious it is but how its spaces are used. To cultivate future learners, a school should integrate its physical spaces, curricula, and communities, involve teachers, designers, parents and local residents as community builders. The campus canthen be transformed into a sustainable science museum and project-based learning hub. 

Rao Ruirui, secretary-general of the Chen Yidan Foundation, delivers a speech.

Rao Ruirui, secretary-general of the Chen Yidan Foundation, shared in her speech that physical spaces carrying emotions and experiences will be as important as efficient, digital knowledge dissemination in future education. She stressed that education is a slow process requiring long-term dedication. In an era of rapid technological change, it is the “slow” spaces — schools, parks, and nature — that foster deep human connections and lasting values, forming the true bedrock of education. 

The debut issue of “YiPai Mook,”a collection of essays on education that highlight real and daily education practices, is launched at the ceremony.

The forum also saw the launch of “YiPai Mook,” a collection of essays on education that highlight real and daily education practices instead of data-heavy analyses. A joint effort by the Chen Yidan Foundation, the Yidan Education Research Institute, and Lifeweek Magazine — one of China’s most well-known weekly magazines — the Mook’s debut issue spotlights how spaces shape future learning, echoing the forum’s theme.

The event also included a CMYK Future Education Syntax-based workshop on Aug. 24, where nearly 30 educators from schools and education institutions in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong partook in designing future education projects.

This year’s forum was organized by the Chen Yidan Foundation, the Sino-Finnish Joint Learning Innovation Institute at Beijing Normal University, and the Institute of Education History and Culture at Beijing Normal University. It was co-organized by the Yidan Education Research Institute and Shenzhen Mingwan School.