CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION Thursday, September 20, 2018 CHINA 5 Science literacy is Inspiring words boosted in Beijing

Rosalind Mist, head of poli­ Final declaration of international cy and education at the Sci­ ence Policy Centre of the conference maps the way forward Royal Society in the United Kingdom, said the Beijing By ZHANG ZHIHAO declaration highlighted how and ZHANG YANGFEI all nations should work together to improve science China will work with other education for everyone, espe­ nations and international sci­ Science and tech­ cially girls and women. ence organizations to facili­ Guy Labine, chairman of tate the sharing of resources nology are bring­ the board of directors of the and practices for promoting Association of Science and scientific literacy around the ing fundamental Technology Centers, noted world, a declaration adopted that the triennial Interna­ on Wednesday in Beijing said. changes into all tional Science Summit also The Beijing Declaration for has a declaration on scientific Promoting Public Science Lit­ aspects of human literacy. “It will be interesting eracy Across the World was to see how the two declara­ Wang Yang (left), chairman of 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Shi Taifeng (right), adopted by attendees during production and life tions work together to Party secretary of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, unveil a congratulatory plaque in Yinchuan, Ningxia, on Wednesday. The words are an the closing ceremony of the at an unprecedent­ advance the popularization aspirational message from President Xi Jinping celebrating the region’s 60th anniversary and looking ahead. WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY World Conference on Science of science,” he said. Literacy, which began on ed rate, breadth “China has a strong inter­ Monday. est in increasing the quality More than 1,000 scientists and depth.” and role of science centers, REFRESHING NINGXIA and representatives from 38 and making science more countries and regions, as well The Beijing Declaration for accessible and accepted by as 23 international scientific Promoting Public Science the population. I have wit­ organizations and 58 nation­ Literacy Across the World nessed the significant growth Sand control project pays off in Ningxia al scientific institutes, attend­ of science centers and science ed the conference, according learning in China, it is really to the organizer, the China females and impoverished admirable and impressive at YINCHUAN — The distance ($44 million) to address hard work has been repaid a higher survival rate and low­ Association for Science and communities should be the the same time.” between the southern edge of desertification and land deg­ with a good income and a bet­ er labor cost. Technology. key target demographics in According to CAST, the the Tengger Desert and the radation. ter living environment. The straw­checkerboard “Science and technology such efforts, it said. number of dedicated science city of Zhongwei in northwest “First, we established straw In the village, more than mode has prevented the are bringing fundamental “Increasing scientific liter­ museums in China grew from China’s Ningxia Hui autono­ checkerboards to halt the 200 residents make straw desert from engulfing the city, changes into all aspects of acy can refresh ideas of the 280 in 2006 to 409 in 2014. mous region was once just a movement of shifting sand checkerboards. They work not and the city’s environment human production and life at people, expand their poten­ The number of museums few kilometers, but it has dunes. Then we sowed grass only in Zhongwei but also in has become much better. an unprecedented rate, tial, allow them to fulfill their with science and technology been expanding over the past seeds and planted shrubs. Inner Mongolia, the Xinjiang The project aims to bring breadth and depth,” the dec­ value and contribute to socie­ sections grew from 239 in several years. Eventually, we turned the Uygur autonomous region 23,000 hectares of the desert laration said. ty,” Han Qide, honorary presi­ 2006 to 724 in 2014. Tengger, the fourth­largest desert into an oasis,” said Tang and Shaanxi province. The under control when it ends in “Science literacy not only dent of CAST, said at the Gordon McBean, a geology desert in China, is mostly in Ximing, who is in charge of average annual income is 2019. So far, more than 20,000 involves mastery of scientific ceremony. professor at the University of the Inner Mongolia autono­ the project. around 70,000 yuan per per­ hectares have been har­ knowledge and methods but “China wishes to actively Western Ontario in Canada, mous region and stretches to The checkerboards are low son. nessed. also demands respect for the engage in international coop­ said the Beijing declaration is parts of Ningxia and Gansu straw barriers arranged in “It’s not only a desertifica­ The Changliushui project is pursuit of the scientific spirit eration and working mecha­ a call to action for other inter­ province. squares that help block wind tion control project. It has part of the World Bank’s and evidence­based scientific nisms, to help reduce the gap national organizations to Residents of Zhongwei, and provide some shade. become a poverty alleviation desertification control and thinking,” it said. in scientific literacy around improve scientific literacy who have suffered from deser­ Lin Xiuxia, 45, a resident of project as well,” said Tang, ecological protection project The declaration calls for the world and to inject posi­ around the world together. tification and land degrada­ Heilin village, has been mak­ adding that the Changliushui in Ningxia, one of the most working together to close the tive energy for scientific McBean said it is very tion for decades, said that in ing straw checkerboards for project has paid local resi­ ecologically fragile areas in gap in scientific literacy development and a better important for different coun­ the 1950s, when the desert more than three years. dents more than 70 million northwestern China. The between different countries, world,” Han said. tries to share their experien­ was around 5 kilometers “Making straw checker­ yuan over the past six years. region has been struggling and build a coordinated Craig Cormick, president of ces and practices when away, even a gentle breeze boards is a laborious and diffi­ As the project continues, with drought, wind and sand, working mechanism to Australian Science Commu­ increasing scientific literacy. would blow dust and sand cult task. Women usually straw checkerboards placed water and soil loss and soil improve global scientific lit­ nicators, called the Beijing Scientists and science com­ into their homes. wrap scarves around their years ago are now covered by salinity. eracy and fulfill the United declaration “very focused, municators, such as teachers The situation has improved faces and heads tightly to thriving sandy soil plants. Statistics showed that the Nation’s 2030 Agenda for clear and aspirational”, with and the media, also need to significantly. Desertification avoid sunshine and sand, “I was born and grew up in desertified land in the region Sustainable Development. reachable targets and goals. work together and better is under control and the dis­ while men wear straw hats,” the city. Desertification con­ reached nearly 3 million hec­ The declaration also called “I’m very impressed with communicate scientific tance between the desert and Lin said. trol is vital to sustain the city’s tares in 2012, accounting for for countries to prioritize the the scale that China can knowledge to the general Zhongwei has been pushed From March to October, Lin development. We have 57.2 percent of the total area of improvement of scientific lit­ devote to solutions,” he said. public, especially to young back to more than 20 kilome­ and other residents work received assistance from the region. eracy across different races, “China makes a dedicated goal people, McBean said. ters — and a World Bank around 12 hours per day in the international society; there­ The World Bank approved a genders and borders, so that in improving science literacy, desertification control project desert. “Sometimes, we need fore, we should work harder,” loan of $80 million to help more people can truly reap and it has the key political Contact the writers at has played an important role. to eat five meals a day, because Tang added. control desertification and the benefits of scientific support and government pro­ zhangzhihao@ The Changliushui project it requires so much physical The 52­year­old invented a land degradation in Ningxia. development. Youths, grams to achieve that goal.” chinadaily.com.cn started in 2013, with a World effort.” seeding machine that can Since 2013, projects covering Bank loan of 300 million yuan But Lin and her colleagues’ plant seeds in the desert with an area of over 55,000 hec­ tares have been started in Zhongwei, Lingwu, Qingtong­ xia and Wuzhong cities, as Experts call for emphasis on well as Yanchi county. “Ecologically fragile areas in northwest China are always STEM education in China economically less­developed areas. Introducing interna­ tional aid programs can By ZHANG YANGFEI involved in STEM subjects obtain supplementary financ­ zhangyangfei@ received no serious science ing for indigenous ecological chinadaily.com.cn education, and many were at improvement projects,” said a middle or high school edu­ Li Zhigang, director of the Experts at the World Con­ The core aim of cation level, Hu said. Ningxia management center ference on Science Literacy Hu also urged Chinese edu­ for international forestry called for building a compre­ school activities cators to formulate different cooperation projects. hensive STEM education sys­ plans outlining teaching “The significance of the tem to inspire Chinese should be making methods and goals that cater World Bank’s project goes primary and middle school to different grades. Key scien­ beyond ecological benefits. It students and foster a critical students able to tific theories and capabilities has also increased local resi­ thinking mindset. should be taught through dai­ dents’ incomes and accelerat­ Hu Weiping, professor and think, not making ly lectures, and educators ed social development,” Li director of the key lab of should form an effective teach­ added. Modern Teaching Technolo­ products.” ing method based on projects Villagers Zhou Hong (left) and Lin Zhifu make straw checkerboards to block the advance of the Teng­ gy at Shaanxi Normal Uni­ and evidence that can train ger Desert in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, in June. LU YING / XINHUA XINHUA Hu Weiping, professor and versity, said an increasing students to think critically. director of the key lab of Modern number of companies and Schools should also set up Teaching Technology at schools have been engaged in an evaluation system to Shaanxi Normal University STEM activities — meaning assess how students have science, technology, engi­ progressed in scientific litera­ Professor braves storm to reach class on time neering and mathematics — do more research on curricu­ cy, he said. but they tend to focus more lum reform to stimulate tech­ Ren Youqun, a professor in By CANG WEI in Nanjing CREDIBLE On their way to the Chang­ jing, managing to arrive at the on products rather than the nological innovation.” the educational information [email protected] sha airport, they found that university in time. young talent. He also urged schools to and technology department CHINA many highways with speed “It’s not because I have high “Our country’s STEM edu­ inject more STEM content at East China Normal Univer­ Wang Ke, a professor from limits of 120 kilometers per moral standards,” said Wang. cation needs to be systemati­ into daily courses instead of sity, also stressed the impor­ Southeast University in Nan­ hour had been closed, so they “I just thought that the stu­ cally designed through a extracurricular activities, tance of STEM education as jing, Jiangsu province, won summer typhoons, for 13 years had to take provincial­level dents’ schedule shouldn’t be series of efforts, including because some of the most society heads toward a digital applause online for keeping and was familiar with them,” highways at 60 to 80 km/h. changed because of me.” policymaking, curriculum common extracurricular future. his promise to students by Wang said. “But I didn’t expect “It was quite an experience,” “My parents were also reform and teaching innova­ activities, such as making He said China’s primary and traveling 737 kilometers by Typhoon Mangkhut would be Wang said. “The traffic lights teachers. My father jumped tion,” he said. robots or participating in sci­ middle schools should inte­ taxi in heavy rain brought by this strong. I thought I could swayed in the fierce wind. We into floodwaters to save the Hu said that even though ence competitions, don’t grate more projects and inter­ Super Typhoon Mangkhut to leave Guangzhou in the morn­ saw many trees blown down lives of three students, and my the National Natural Science require individual deep disciplinary knowledge into make it to class on time. ing before the storm landed in or broken. We could feel that mother used to take good care Foundation of China has thinking or designing. textbooks, and students Wang was in Guangzhou, the afternoon.” sometimes the car was drift­ of a physically challenged stu­ been funding education pro­ “The core aim of school should improve their problem­ Guangdong province visiting Wang thought about taking ing. It was like taking a boat in dent for years. I learned from jects since 2017, projects relat­ activities should be making solving and teamwork skills. friends when the typhoon hit a taxi to the nearby airport in the ocean.” them that teachers should val­ ed to technology or science students able to think, not Ren proposed that the on Sunday. He planned to go Changsha, Hunan province, Sometimes they had to drive ue and care about their stu­ education are not on the list. making products,” he said. learning process should be back to Nanjing by plane on but few taxi drivers wanted to at 20 km/h. After 13 hours, dents.” “Without funding there China’s STEM education thoroughly evaluated, and Sunday morning, but found go out of the city in the wind they arrived at the Changsha According to Southeast Uni­ won’t be input from scientists also faces a major challenge schools should start setting that airports, high­speed rail­ and rain. airport at 0:20 am. versity, Wang hasn’t been or anyone else,” Hu said. with a shortage of both pro­ up innovation laboratories ways and buses had all been “I was lucky to find a driver Wang paid 4,600 yuan responsible for a schedule “That’s why I have called on fessional science teachers and facilitate an education shut down because of the for a ride­hailing service who ($670) to the two drivers and change in 28 years. the foundation to start work­ and proper science training environment that is applica­ extreme weather. was brave. He found a friend thanked them. He caught a ing on this issue, so that more for existing teachers. About ble to both online and offline “I had worked and lived in and the two took turns driving flight and completed his Guo Jun contributed to this experts will be encouraged to 80.5 percent of teachers teaching scenarios. Fujian, a province often hit by the taxi.” 23­hour journey back to Nan­ story.