10th Global China Dialogue: Governance for Global Education

Call for Papers

Following nine successful Global China Dialogue (GCD) Forums, the 10th GCD (GCD10) – ‘Governance for Global Education’ – will be held at the British Academy on Friday, 5 December 2025. GCD10 will focus on how to promote sustainable development in education worldwide through policy coordination, international cooperation, equity assurance, quality improvement, and institutional innovation.

As a vital foundation for achieving social justice, fostering global prosperity, and addressing future transformations, education increasingly relies on cross-border collaboration, multi-stakeholder engagement, and technological empowerment. In particular, with the profound impact of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data reshaping educational models and learning ecosystems, global education governance faces both unprecedented opportunities and challenges.

This Dialogue will provide a platform for diverse conversations, bringing together policymakers, scholars, educators, business leaders, and representatives from international organizations to explore new ideas, mechanisms, and pathways for global education governance.

Organizers:

Global China Academy, UK
Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, University of Exeter, UK
ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science, Lancaster University, UK
TBC, China

Organizing committee:

Chairs

Professor Tony McEnery FAcSS FRSA, Distinguished Professor of English Language and Linguistics at Lancaster University; Council Member of Academy of Social Sciences; Chair of Global China Academy Council and Founding Fellow
Professor Xiangqun Chang FRSA, President of Global China Academy and Founding Fellow; Honorary Professor of University College London (2015-20); Distinguished Professor of Nankai University of China
Professor Li Li is Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement in the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS), University of Exeter, UK
TBC, China

General Secretaries

Professor LI Boyi, Associate Fellow and Secretary of the GCA Chinese Council, Global China Academy; School of Business Administration, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, China
Mr Kai Liang, Director of Business Development of MEL Science; Event Officer, Global China Academy, UK

GCD10 consists of four thematic panels:

Panel 1 Global Education Policy and International Cooperation

This panel will explore policy frameworks, the role of international organizations, and cross-border collaboration through university alliances and digital platforms. Discussions will address balancing the push for global competencies with the need to preserve cultural relevance and indigenous knowledge. For instance, the dominance of English in global education raises concerns when juxtaposed with the value of multilingualism and the nurturing of local languages. Multilingual education fosters inclusive societies and is pivotal in preserving non-dominant, minority, and indigenous languages. This panel will also compare how different national education systems conceptualize international cooperation, language policy, and academic autonomy, highlighting the institutional and cultural variations in global engagement.

Panel 2 Educational Equity, Inclusion, and Quality Assurance

This panel focuses on protecting rights, promoting research integrity, and improving quality through assessments, certification, and teacher training. It will address persistent gaps in education due to poverty, gender, geography, and conflict, and explore how education can continue in crisis contexts. Scholarship has provided evidence that global education systems, using curricula rooted in Western norms, can erode local languages, traditions, and knowledge systems. Moreover, teaching global education without awareness of educational backgrounds—such as those shaped by enduring neo-Confucian conventions—creates barriers for international students adapting to unfamiliar pedagogical systems. Gender disparities also feature prominently, with unequal access to basic and tertiary education remaining a significant issue.

Panel 3 Governance Innovation and Technological Empowerment

This panel explores collaborative governance, model innovation, and the use of AI, big data, and digital platforms in education. It will also address the global digital divide and how AI can either bridge or deepen disparities in education. Advances in technology have the potential to bring immense economic benefits, but an estimated 2.6 billion people remain offline, exacerbating inequality and poverty. The panel will encourage comparative reflections on how equity and quality are defined and operationalised across diverse educational systems and cultural settings. The discussion will include comparative analyses of how different governance cultures and institutional structures shape the adoption, regulation, and integration of emerging technologies in education.

Panel 4 Education Financing and Sustainable Development

This panel highlights financing mechanisms, international aid, and the integration of education with technology and industry to support innovation and inclusive growth. Critical questions arise regarding the financing of global education—specifically, who controls the agenda: governments, donors, or private actors? Inadequate financing for education threatens sustainable development, with a funding gap of US$97 billion annually looming for low- and lower-middle-income countries to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) by 2030. This panel will also examine cross-national differences in educational investment strategies, fiscal governance models, and public-private partnerships, offering a comparative perspective on sustainable financing cultures.

Through diverse perspectives and cross-sector dialogue, the 10th Global China Dialogue aims to contribute both Chinese insights and international experience to global education governance, working together to build a fairer, higher-quality, more inclusive, and sustainable global education ecosystem.

Important Dates for GCD X:

31st July 2025: Deadline for submitting abstracts for proposed topics.
8th November 2025: Deadline for speakers to submit their notes and PowerPoint presentations.
11th November 2025: Final deadline for registration.
25th November 2025: Programme available for download in English, Chinese, and dual-language formats.
5th December 2025: Date of the 10th Global China Dialogue.

The proceedings of GCD X will be published in 2026, featuring transcribed records, bilingual translation, and editing.

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