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  • Solving climate change is about global collaboration not competition: positive message for the lunar new year

    On Friday 20 January 2023, just before Chinese Spring Festival ushering in the Year of the Rabbit, educational charity, Engage with China, will host its annual, international climate change Model United Nations conference for 15–18-year-old students. This conference sees a 25% growth in both the number of schools and students involved. Known as ‘Good Cop Bad Cop,’ the conference will facilitate debate across multiple time zones on four continents. As with all MUNs, students will represent an allocated country other than their own and will debate five resolutions including those made at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheik in November 2022. 

    Eight of the schools taking part are from the state sector and six of them run the  Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP), a unique intensive language programme in around 70 state schools in the UK that started in 2016. Taking part in Good Cop Bad Cop will increase their exposure to wider China understanding and develop their confidence, courage and collaborative skills. Some of the pupils are also expected to speak in mandarin and welcome the Chinese students. The MEP is funded by the Department for Education and delivered by the UCL Institute of Education in partnership with the British Council with teachers from China involved in much of the teaching.

    Collaboration not competition

    Engage with China Director, Mrs H-J Colston-Inge,  (Chinese name童海珍) said, “this is our second MUN and provides a unique and powerful platform for future leaders in different parts of the world and from different backgrounds to debate a reality that threatens humanity and biodiversity. Not only will this opportunity enrich students’ global understanding but it will also open their eyes to the complexities of international negotiation, the cause and effect of modernisation and economic growth on the environment and the critical importance of driving innovation to find technologies to combat climate change.” Students will represent twenty countries including Bangladesh, UAE, Pakistan, China, Ukraine and Nigeria. “Through their research and negotiations, they will soon understand that solving climate change is not about competition but collaboration.”

    As well as expecting a very high level of debate, the young people will benefit from insights of thought leaders, diplomats, government officials and environmental entrepreneurs. One VIP speaker is Dame Caroline Wilson, British Ambassador to China who is expected to showcase areas where China and the UK are working in partnership, for example, on green finance, climate risk and renewable energy. Other speakers include Robin Walker, MP for Worcester and Peggy Liu, known as ‘China’s Green Goddess,’ who will speak about scientific innovation in the race to produce and store renewable energy sources into the future. 

    The event is sponsored by ESG Ai Tech (Shanghai) Limited 宜斯吉智能科技（上海）有限公司, a dedicated tech and consulting company which focuses on ESG Analysis, Rating, Risk Management, Reporting and Total Solutions based on data, Ai,and cross-industry proprietary models. Mr Fuwei Zhang of ESG said that the reason his company wanted to support Good Cop Bad Cop conference was because, “both EwC and ESG Ai Tech pay great attention to the humanity challenge of climate change. We also share the same mission, namely making efforts to promote friendly exchanges and cooperation between the people of the world, especially in China and the UK.”

    Two of the participating schools are in Worcester in The Midlands, UK. Member of Parliament for the city, Robin Walker, said, “I am delighted to hear that two of my local schools are taking part in this Good Cop Bad Cop. As former minister of Education I was pleased to launch a sustainability and climate change strategy for the department of Education. ..there is no doubt that we need to see global action and understand the global dynamics and engage constructively on this huge 21st century challenge.”

    Students from one of the participating schools in China, will take a responsible and vital role of chairing one of the resolution debates. They will conduct this role in English, utilising their excellent language skills. Teacher Qi Lina from Changchun Foreign Language School who is coordinating these students said, 

    “As the main recipients of the consequences of climate change and the future citizens of society, teenagers will become the main force in dealing with climate change. Therefore, young people should be educated to raise their awareness and ability to cope with climate change, which is particularly important. We are very appreciative of [Engage with China’s] GOOD COP BAD COP. It provides us with a good platform for students to arouse their in-depth attention to climate change and promote youth communication and cooperation. Hopefully, this activity can lay a foundation for these young people to become future policy leaders, business leaders, venture investors and scientific experts through more extensive international cooperation in the future.” 

    It is hoped that this debate will have the potential to advance global thinking and find collaborative solutions. “That would be an excellent start to the Year of the Rabbit,” adds H-J Colston-Inge, “ensuring that the rabbit zodiac characteristics of compassion and alertness take the lead to progress positive international negotiations.”

  • A passion, a global platform, porcelain & a princess

    As we come to the end of the Chinese Lunar Year, there is much to share about the last twelve months. 

    A passion

    We are proud of our achievements which are borne out of our passion to build China literacy in UK schools. As schools emerged from lockdown restrictions, we were invited back into classrooms and had the joy of delivering our China Challenge Days to over 1,000 pupils across key stages 2-4 on subjects as broad as the Silk Roads, China’s geographical diversity, cuisine, population, AI and innovation. Schools from West Sussex to Worcestershire invited us in to build cultural capital and confidence through our interactive activities and fresh knowledge base. More here:

    A global platform

    We roared into the Year of the Tiger with our inaugural international Good Cop Bad Cop Model UN conference. Basing the debate around the resolutions of COP26 in Glasgow, it involved 150+ students from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Ireland, UK and Australia. Students debated from the perspective of another country than their own, researching the realities of climate change, building greater global awareness and developing skills such as empathy, listening, confidence and collaboration. Students participating in this online conference also heard from inspirational speakers from the International Energy Association, the Chinese Embassy and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Some even had the exclusive opportunity to be interviewed on BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester with presenter, Kate Justice.

    Speaking in English, one of the erudite delegates from Changchun Foreign Language School in Northeast China, whose delegation represented the European Union at the conference, indicated the level of attention that Chinese people place on understanding the outside world. “Our school focuses on training outstanding Chinese diplomatic talent tying into our educational philosophy of national awareness and international vision.” At EwC we understand that knowledge is power and that Chinese young people, by virtue of learning English as a compulsory subject for nine years and discovering about western culture, are better equipped to understand the wider global context than their western peers perhaps are.  Watch summary highlights of our conference here: 

    Porcelain

    What better way to spark the imagination of pupils about China than through porcelain and tea and their impact on British culture? We have been delighted to work with the Museum of Royal Worcester (MoRW) over the last few months developing their knowledge about the Chinese influence in their exquisite collection, enhancing the archive and developing resources for community and school outreach. You can find out more about our thoughts on the valuable Wigornia cream boat here and the blue and white Angler under a Willow Tree teapot here with our Director, H-J Colston-Inge and Frankie Tsang, Chairman of the Worcestershire Chinese Association.

    We were also delighted to be able to leverage the knowledge and experience of our Trustee, Charles Collins; art historian, Anne Haworth and our Ambassador & antiques specialist, Ben Cooper. We spent a fascinating day together uncovering not-seen-before designs in the archive collection, discovering real treasures of design and motif and delighting in them with the wonderful team at the Museum. More news on this project when we finish this funding round at the end of January…

    Meantime, why not book to join the Chinese Whispers online talk with Museum Trustee, Paul Crane, on 18 January? 

    A Princess

    We were invited to showcase our work to Princess Alexandra when she visited the Royal Porcelain Works in Worcester back in the Autumn. The Princess learnt about the work of various community groups and charities involved in the area at the event held at the Henry Sandon Hall and ‘took tea’ in royal fashion from a tea set courtesy of the Museum of Royal Worcester. EwC even gave the Princess a Chinese name which means love, beauty and charity, allowing the sounds of her English name and the work she is involved to be reflected in the Chinese characters. The calligraphy was painted by our Director, Theresa Booth, who took up the art-form during lockdown. We discovered that whilst the Princess has been to Hong Kong, she has never travelled to mainland China. Needless to say, she was fascinated by the work we are doing to leverage the national collection at the MoRW and our reach into UK schools. 

    Thank you for your support and interest and do invite us into schools around the Chinese New Year festival starting soon! Click below for more of our 2022 highlights:

    ewc-annual-highlights-2022-3Download

  • China Challenge Day boosts the 4 C’s at St Birinus

    Year 7 students (aged 11-12) at St Birinus School in Didcot enjoyed our first China Challenge Day of 2023 developing their grasp of China’s modernity and gaining hands-on cultural enrichment.

    Phil Mahoney, Head of Mandarin at the school, commented “having started learning Mandarin last September, a full-day experience in school was a great opportunity to open my students’ eyes to China’s significance on the world stage.”

    The activities were collaboratively planned in advance between Engage with China and the school, which ensured everything was highly relevant and captured the energy of an all-boys’ context. 

    Mr Mahoney continued, 

    “From quantifying China’s vast population through measuring it with water, team-building tasks involving prioritising the developmental needs of a country, to a calligraphy class in which the students created their own lucky red envelopes, the Challenge Day captured the boys’ imaginations and improved their critical cultural awareness. The day was highly successful in developing our boys’ confidence, collaboration, courage, and creativity – the key skills our Mandarin department seeks to develop in all.” He continued, “This was a chance to complement the language learning of the Mandarin for Excellence School programme taught at St Birinus and to set into context modern China, its history and culture. 

    Engage with China Director, Theresa Booth, who delivered the Challenge Day, said,

    “it was so good to see the boys so focussed and really embracing the activities, cogitating over concepts and learnings. It was a delight to work with this group, to expand their knowledge and understanding of China beyond their in-school mandarin language on the Mandarin for Excellence Programme (MEP) and for them to recognise China’s on-going potential and impact.”

    The Mandarin Excellence Programme is a unique intensive language programme in around 70 state schools in the UK that started in 2016. There are now around 8,000 students enrolled on the programme and on track to fluency in the language. The MEP is funded by the Department for Education and delivered by the UCL Institute of Education in partnership with the British Council with teachers from China involved in much of the teaching.

    Engage with China delivers extra-curricular China Challenge Days involving 5 hours of face-to-face teaching time with age-appropriate materials for KS2-KS4 sparking the imagination through a dramatic introduction to China’s cultural and historical context.

  • Small world…student from China sees EwC on Chinese TV

    An interview by Engage with China Director, H-J Colston-Inge, on Chinese Central TV in October 2022 . She was spotted by a young Chinese student, Jia Lu, in Dongguan in Guangdong Province, southern China, on her school’s News Board. Coincidentally, now 15, Miss Lu had participated in a summer camp organised by Chopsticks Club and held at The Elms School, Herefordshire, in 2019.

    H-J spoke about her personal observation over three decades of China’s massive infrastructure development moving from poverty into extraordinary economic growth. The interview was broadcast in October 2022 and featured photographs of H-J as a foreign student on the Great Wall of China and eating the delicacy of Shanghai Crab as well as footage from both work at Engage with China and H-J’s role as Joint CEO of Chopsticks Club, a China-UK professionals’ network that she has run for 30 years. H-J spoke in mandarin and English and was referred to with her Chinese name, 童海珍.

    The student’s mother, a lawyer who spent a year in the UK on a scholarship scheme in 2009 said,

    “Guess where we saw you! This is the news board of her school.  She was very excited to see you, took a photograph of the news board and introduced you to her classmates and teachers. She asked me to contact you and let you know the good news.”

    You can see the interview here: 

    H-J was one of three people from the UK invited to talk about her experience of China and its development over recent decades. Other interviews for CCTV from the UK were conducted with Stephen Perry, former Chair of the 48 Group and Martin Jacques, author of ‘When China Rules the World.’ China specialists from other countries were also invited to give interviews.

  • ‘Chopsticks Challenge’ unleashes competitive spirit

    Visitors to the fruit-themed Summer Fun Day at the Museum of Royal Worcester on Wednesday 17 August were delighted to compete in the ‘Chopsticks Challenge’ organised by Engage with China, one of the participating exhibitors. Concentration, dexterity, and calmness under pressure were three of the main skills required of visitors as they attempted to achieve the highest score of picking up and transferring raisins from one bowl to another.  People of all ages, including grandparents and children as young as six years old, gave it their best go, with some being taught how to use chopsticks for the very first time.

    Winner, George White, aged 12, (right)

    The winner in the young category, was George White, who goes to school in Worcester. His Mum, Lorraine said, “We all had a lovely time doing the activities. The ladies at the fruit sketching and Cheese tables were especially engaging with the children, which made all the difference.” Lucy Wicks, who teaches Chinese at Didcot Girls School in Oxfordshire, showed off her mastery by almost emptying the contents of her raisin bowl in the allotted 30 seconds. Her advantage was clear when she explained that, “I spent time in China observing how Chinese people eat and they can really shovel the food in efficiently. I learnt to copy that.”

    “Learning about China through an object as simple as chopsticks is an easy access point to learning about  China’s culture, history and its impact on the rest of the world. H-J Colston-Inge, who delivered the session, and Director of Engage with China,” said. “We teach young people in schools about how much we as a nation, have wanted from China over centuries – including tea, porcelain, chinoiserie – and how its innovation has inspired our culture, traditions, tastes and fashion. Being able to immerse the visitors, by virtue of being physically in the midst of the porcelain collection at the Museum, and to talk about our huge cultural links with China, is both compelling and fascinating. It’s a brilliant way to open eyes to a whole new world, build curiosity and creativity and to see how China has been a driver of that over many centuries.” 

    Other fruit-themed activities were on offer from Engage with China. Visitors learnt about motifs in Chinese art and their hidden symbolism as well as how to pronounce and write the Chinese characters, for the word ‘fruit.’ 

    Visitors tried out calligraphy for themselves surrounded by the porcelain collection

    “This calligraphy has been so wonderful and calming,” said Rachel Needham, an attentive grandmother giving her granddaughter a great day out. “It’s been so good for the adults, too.” 

    Visitors were also able to be develop their artistic skills making their own fruity books, learning from former Royal Worcester expert artist how to paint onto porcelain and playing with words and story with the Rhianna Levi, Poet Laureate. 

    Director, H-J Colston-Inge, teaches a young person how to use chopsticks

    Engage with China is delighted to be a new partner of the Museum of Royal Worcester to develop links and outreach both in the community and beyond.

  • Students at global Model UN blown away by standard of debate

    144 students took part in a global 6th form model UN online conference on Friday 28 January 2022 to debate climate change and raise their voice about the resolutions made by governments in Glasgow at COP26. Covering various time zones, almost half the students were from China, with others joining from the UK, Australia and Ireland. The conference was organised by Engage with China, an educational charity that aims to build China literacy in UK schools.

    “The standard of debate was really high,” said Theo Innes, aged 15 from The Grange school, Cheshire who acted as President of the conference.

    I was particularly blown away by delegate China 4 (himself Chinese) who so eloquently and persuasively spoke about how the fossil fuel resolution to phase out coal would impoverish six million uneducated people in mainland China. It really highlighted the complexities and challenges for governments to reduce carbon emissions.”

    Theo Innes, President of the Conference, and Remi Livesey, Vice President, delivered their responsibilities with energy and skill

    A representative from each school was initially asked to talk about climate change and how it affects their home country. A student from King’s School Worcester, spoke about the frequent flooding in the city and how that affects livelihoods and communities locally. A student from Marlborough College spoke of the need in the UK to increase statutes, sanctions and subsidies and to follow through on policies as a matter of urgency.

    Guest speakers included Neil Hirst, formerly from the International Energy Agency and representatives from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Chinese Embassy in the UK. Students then spent two hours debating resolutions in three different breakout rooms from the perspective of their allocated country. Common to Model United Nations conferences, this encourages young people to debate from another perspective and builds global awareness. Topics for discussion and negotiation included phasing out fossil fuels, finance for vulnerable communities and carbon tax.

    “Students at this MUN embraced the urgency of climate change and spoke with real passion and persuasion,” said H-J Colston-Inge, Director of Engage with China. “What was really encouraging to observe, was the empathy, respect, and connection between the delegates. As our charity aims to build China literacy in schools, one of the outcomes was that western students were able to witness the high calibre of their peers from China. We were encouraged that one native English speaker is learning mandarin for GCSE and wished the Chinese students a happy new year in a pre-recorded speech. A greater global awareness is critical to enable cooperation between nations and to ensure that steps can be taken quickly to save the planet.”

    China Delegate Number 4, studying in Dublin, spoke with eloquence and clarity

    Richard Higgins, Conference Director from the Grange School, said that “it was an amazing event,” and that his “students were buzzing at the end of it.” Changchun Foreign Language School, which fielded a Chairperson, Chen Silin, has already committed to participating in this Engage with China MUN in 2023.

    Another student from Shenzhen Foreign Language School expressed her delight at the learnings of the conference.

    It provided us with a wonderful platform. It showed us that the more engaged we are individually and the more engaged we are as nations, the better the future will be.

    Based on the overwhelming success of the Conference, this will become an annual event. Please contact Engage with China to register early interest to participate in the 2023 conference.

  • Y8 China Challenge Days result in invitation to return

    “Shenzhen is 13 times the size of Birmingham,” recounted one bright pupil at the end of Day Two of our China Challenge Days delivered into Walkwood Church of England Middle School this week. This is perfectly true – but many people probably haven’t even heard of Shenzhen. In the space of 40 years, Shenzhen, a previously sleepy, undeveloped coastal area in southern China with a population the equivalent of Redditch in Worcestershire, has fast become a burgeoning metropolis boasting the accolade of being China’s Silicon Valley and one of the busiest container ports in the world. It is just one of the many examples of China’s development unprecedented in history that is manifest in 100s of new cities across China that have taken shape as part of China’s economic development over the last few decades. Alongside this economic growth, fuelled by western consumption and the desire for cheap goods made in China, the ‘Middle Kingdom – the translation from the Chinese name for itself – is a renewed national self-confidence that harks as far back as the ancient Silk Roads when China was very much a superpower and other nations desired its silk, porcelain and tea. 

    Pupils learn about Chinese characters through language de-coder game

    Some 2.5 years ago a conversation with Principal, Reverend Clive Leach, and H-J Colston-Inge, Director of Engage with China, an educational charity that builds China literacy in schools, culminated in an agreement about the importance of building global awareness in school through the lens of China. An invitation to deliver a Challenge Day to Y8 ensued but unfortunately the pandemic delayed the visit until Monday this week. 

    “There’s a real buzz in school today,” said Dani Timmins, Assistant Principal. “…It is three years since we have been able to invite in any outside speakers into school and we are really excited to engage our pupils with our new curriculum which will look at China.” For H-J and her colleague, Theresa Booth, at Engage with China, it was an equal delight to be able to bring China alive in the classroom and it was music to our ears to hear Ms Timmins agree with us that, “China is a global force and it is really important that children recognise this… if we can inspire their curiosity, then they will learn more as well.” 

    Two half day sessions were delivered to 170 pupils. Activities and content were wide-ranging and included mandarin language, role play about the environment in China and its commitment to renewables, the rise and fall and rise of China as a superpower and population size through an activity involving 60kgs of rice! “To be able to do an activity like this which the school could not resource, was fantastic!” said Mrs Timmins.  

    H-J Colston-Inge said, “since we went to China in the 1980s, my colleague Theresa and I, have spent a lifetime building China literacy and opportunity between China and the UK from the boardroom to the classroom. As China continues to develop, its impact and influence on the world only continues to grow. It seems to us that we do young people a dis-service if we do not build competitive edge by opening eyes to the second largest economy in the world and it is always a delight when pupils say they want to go to China – as one did today – having been involved in one of our China Days.”

    On summarising the learnings, one pupil, Lucas, highlighted that “190 languages are spoken in China” and another correctly noted that one in four people is Chinese. H-J continued that, “it is so encouraging to hear pupil recall about the learnings and to know that they have been engaged. Working with a big group can be tricky but the pupils were a delight and a credit to the school. The warm welcome, which began on arrival at the school gates from the Head himself, coupled with the positive atmosphere which permeated the whole school, were testament to the fruits of faith ethos there and it was a privilege to work with these pupils.” Feedback from pupils and staff has been positive. One teacher, who helped to facilitate remarked on the “great resources and very knowledgeable tutors who were excellent in engaging pupils.” The best news came at the end of Day Two when Mrs Timmins said,

    I want to invite Engage with China back in next year to teach our Year 7s and make this a regular feature of our school curriculum!

    加油 as they say in China! Bring it on!

  • Model UN provides global climate change debating platform for future leaders

    The world was focussed last month on COP26 in Glasgow and the resolutions agreed by national leaders to tackle the complex challenges of climate change and to agree on scaling down the use of fossil fuels. Those decisions and ensuing action by individual countries will define the sustainability of the planet in the years and decades to come. UK educational charity, Engage with China, is providing a unique international experience during these pandemic times in the shape of a Model UN, entitled ‘Good Cop Bad Cop?’ Aimed at 16-18 year olds, this event will enable future leaders to engage with the climate change debate, build global outlook and develop the skills to influence change. 

    Up to 160 students from countries around the world including China, UK, Australia, Dominica and Malawi, will meet online just before Chinese New Year on 28 January 2022, to discuss and debate the major issues discussed at COP.Students will be allocated a country to represent other than their own and will negotiate from that perspective as well as develop debating, presentation and cross-cultural skills.  

    Director of Engage with China, H-J Colston-Inge, said, “Climate change affects us all. Our vision is to inspire a generation of China-literate young people who will have greater cultural competencies and insights to lead, negotiate and collaborate with China. When we think about climate change, though, this is a global challenge of huge magnitude. This event will create a meaningful opportunity for people:people dialogue for students from all around the world and to discuss what should be done to limit the damage.”

    The Grange School, Cheshire, takes up the honour of being the Host School for the event and, as with all MUN events, it will be student-led. Acting President, Theo Innes, who is an experienced debater, said, “I am extremely excited to be head of this conference, and am thoroughly looking forward to all of the incredible debating I know shall take place. I am especially interested in this conference as I have always been interested in the climate and how we can preserve it in a way that is beneficial to all.”

    In the schools’ MUN scene, a geographical divide exists with southern and northern schools tending to debate together. “We are delighted to be hosting this conference alongside Engage with China,” says Richard Higgins, Host School Spokesperson. “I run the Model United Nation’s society at The Grange School and enjoy taking students to MUN conferences around the North West of England. This event will be different as Engage with China brings together a rare opportunity for school teams across the country to meet as well as adding a valuable international dimension.”

    Schools from the UK taking part include King’s School Worcester, Lancing College, Ashville, Kingswood, Bath and Marlborough College. Chinese schools participating include a school from Changchun in northeast China, as well as two from as far south as the tropical island of Hainan and Hong Kong.

    Applications to participate in the event have been very popular. Registrations close on 10 December.

  • Educational pioneers in creating a “strategic resource for Global Britain”

    “Governments can have policies,” says British Ambassador to China, Dame Caroline Wilson, “but it is ultimately people who deliver and implement those policies.” Speaking at a recent online forum for young adults who have spent time in China on the Generation UK programme, the Ambassador continued that it is vital, therefore, to have a range of people with different skills who are “informed about China and are therefore more equipped to enable the people-to-people dialogue, interaction and trust that are key to developing a positive bi-lateral relationship. Such people,” Dame Caroline continued, “are a strategic resource for Global Britain.”

    Engage with China (EwC) is an educational charity building China literacy in primary and secondary schools. Enriching the curriculum through fresh knowledge about China, pupils make connections across a wide range of curriculum subjects and engage with the country that is likely to have a larger impact on their future than any other.

    Pupils are encouraged to look at different values and systems, to interrogate and challenge perceptions and think about their identity in a changing world.  Whether one likes China or not, our belief is that we need to engage with what China is like, how come it is like it is and what that means for the world. Through our ‘China Challenge Days’ we open young eyes to what is happening there; we feel that China has to be an important part of a wider education about what the world is like and how it has changed since globalisation, how we are inter-connected in so many ways through trade, history, logistics, tech, AI, social media, not least through the very planet we inhabit.

    H-J Colston-Inge, Director, Engage with China

    The bi-lateral relationship may be wounded at the moment “but demonising China does not lead to solutions,” Dame Caroline added. “The world is full of opportunities, no more so than in China.” This sort of news headline is seldom on the front pages of the media and yet it is those positive stories that could well inspire creativity in the young generation today that in turn could boost the economy and develop trade and entrepreneurship in the future.

    Zhou Qunfei, Founder, Lens Technology, whose factories produce over one billion glass screens for electronic hand-held devices every year

    One visionary headteacher from the outstanding Trinity St Peter’s school in Liverpool, Deborah Pringle, was excited about what EwC could offer her pupils and enabled them to take part in an early pilot project. She applauded “the way [EwC] showcases some of China’s entrepreneurs and those human stories of rags to riches.” She continued, “Our school community lives in an area of financial as well as aspirational poverty. When you talked about Zhou Qunfei, subsistence farmer-turned-billionaire, supplying glass to multinational smartphone companies like Apple and Samsung … those are the kinds of messages young people need to hear…That they can leverage their experiences; that their life narrative can change and that opportunity is all around us.”

    Theresa Booth, Director of Engage with China, says, “We have created a pioneering pathway in schools to develop a generational resource for Global Britain, teaching pupils about China – and we are proud of that achievement. There are certain cultural reference points that youngsters need to know – and if they do not know much about China then this significantly impacts on their cultural literacy and understanding of the world today.” She continued, “We are excited to be back in the classroom from September working with young people again face to face. Importantly, it is good that more and more schools are expressing an interest to work with us…” 

  • Everyone is thinking China, China, China…

    WHO, Covid, space exploration, AI, company listings, big data, environment, world resources, human rights – all of these subjects fill media headlines – so it is no surprise that, “everyone is thinking China, China, China.” As the world’s second largest economy, largely fuelled by globalisation and a decades-long national vision to lift itself out of poverty, China is now firmly intertwined with other nations through logistics and supply chains and boasts the largest population in the world. Add a new-found self-confidence and its actions are bound to have huge global impact and no wonder everyone has China on their minds.

    Dame Caroline Wilson, British Ambassador to China, spoke today to the Generation UK: China Network about the importance of building a ‘China-literate’ generation. Elaborating on what this phrase means, she said, “China literacy is not just about history but rather understanding the dynamics of sectors and the interdependencies that we share…it is also about nuance, nous and networks.” She added that demonising China is not helping for finding solutions to global problems.

    Engage with China, (EwC) an educational charity building China literacy in schools, has been aiming to build all these since 2018. Founded by two British women who have long experience of engagement with China, EwC’s vision aligns with Dame Caroline’s, enabling young people to build trust and be involved in informed dialogue having discovered what China is like for themselves. Theresa Booth, a former corporate lawyer, took the entrepreneurial route and set up a sandwich deli in Beijing in the mid 1990s. H-J Colston-Inge, studied mandarin at Durham University and worked for Chubb as the only ‘foreigner’ in their network of offices in mainland China. Together they also run the Chopsticks Club, an innovative China-UK professionals’ network, founded in 1993.

    “If Global Britain needs a China-literate generation to promote its interests, then starting young is really important,” says Director, H-J. “China has so much to interest young people – from its mythological dragons to food, AI, inventions, values and language – that we can see how easy it is to capture the imagination from a very young age. Our learning resources are designed for primary and secondary school pupils.”

    Fostering a global outlook and an understanding of China through age-appropriate, curriculum enrichment ‘Challenge Days,’ EwC enables young people to recognise that China plays a large part in their lives linked to us through history, the things we buy and where they come from, and also to consider the way they interact with the world, for example through TikTok, the massive social media phenomenon utilised by young people that is Chinese-owned. Schools value how EwC brings an international experience into the classroom, that pupils are encouraged to form their own opinions and to see that cross-cultural collaboration is the best way that humanity can hope to solve sustainability goals necessitated by climate change. 

    A key learning for pupils is also to understand ‘the how’ of China’s growth and economic transformation and to consider its growing influence and impact. Through activities and learning, pupils discover that China’s unprecedented rise is largely due to its system of government and its vision for itself. Director, H-J continued, “We want young people not only to be ‘thinking China, China, China’ but what does China mean for their future?”

    Generation UK is a British Council campaign that has enabled 67,000 young people aged 18+ to study, travel or intern in China since 2016.