by Anni Lam  

A joint organisation of the “Principal Symposium 2008” by educational authorities from Guangdong and Macau will begin today, at the International Library of the University of Macau (UM).
The aim of the Symposium is to facilitate exchange between the two areas as well as increase mutual academic co-operation
Since the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) and the Ministry of Education in Guangdong had signed a “Guangdong-Macau Educational Exchange and Letter of Co-operational Intention” in 2005, the “Principal Symposium” as well as the “Guangdong-Macau Sister Schools Collaboration” had become two pivotal items within the academic co-operational scheme.
The Symposium this year not only invites the principles from the above co-operating regions, but also extends the invitations to other provinces such as Jiangsu , Jilin, Beijing and Shanghai as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The organisers wished the participating schools could broaden their realms of exchanging experiences through the participation in the Symposium in order to establish an efficient communicative platform and interactive network.
This year, the theme of the Symposium is “Modern Education Administration and Harmonic Campus Establishment,” in which two sub-themes surrounding the “Difficulties and Solutions in Constructing a Harmonic Campus” and “Strategies for Propelling Teachers and Students' Mental and Physical Development” will be discussed.
There will be 17 principals in total sharing their opinions regarding the above sub-topics at the Symposium.
Meanwhile, according to Leong Vai Kei, chief of the Secondary School Technological and Occupational Division of the DSEJ, the co-operational plan had been successfully bridged the sister school collaborations with 10 groups and 20 schools in total, for the past two years.
This year the educational authorities and their counterparts have also built sister school collaborations with another 10 groups and 20 schools in total, said the chief of the division.
She said that the sister schools organise mutual visits to increase understanding, but the authorities this time hoped that the schools could build more communicative channels such as letter posting and via the internet.
The aim of the sister school collaboration was to increase multi-faceted educational exchanges and co-operation, increase academic efficiency, boost the communication and links between teachers and students as well as broaden students' horizons.
According to Leong, the sister schools are usually selected from those located in the countryside wherein attempting to increase local students' understanding of their counterparts' arduous studying circumstances.
The opening ceremony and discussion section of the Principals Symposium will provide Chinese-Portuguese and Chinese-English instantaneous interpretations.
For more details or inquiries, contact Ms Cheong or Ms Ho on +853 8397 2299 or +853 8397 2309.