2025
01/01
Hello, 2025.
People hustle and toil, sweat and strive, watching the stars rise and fall. May the first light on the horizon of 2025 be the dawn that gently illuminates your face.
Through a slowly emptied jar of honey in the kitchen, we savor the sweetness of life in every shared meal; through a crayon worn down by a child’s creativity, we celebrate the joy of growth with every colorful line.
Fish don’t think about water, trees don’t give thoughts to the soil, and birds don’t ponder the sky. But humans, in the rhythm of the universe, feel the pulse of life, seeking to understand the tides of time and find answers between the past and the future. We yearn to break through.
As we reach the first quarter of the 21st century, humanity has just turned the corner from a global pandemic. The rise of AI has brought us to yet another extraordinary moment of decision. AI is changing everything. Today, we are all contemplating its potential impact—not just on machines but also on the human condition and how we position ourselves within it. This isn’t just about the next generation; it concerns every individual caught in the currents of our time.
When we look to the future, education remains a powerful force for transformation. The long-term development of individuals and society is inseparable from education. Chen Yidan Foundation is committed to exploring diverse pathways in education, opening up multiple perspectives to understand the world. We see education as a method—a way to make it a haven for everyone, a garden to nurture the soul. In this space, people can grow freely, discover themselves, see others, and build their own worlds.
How can viewing education as a method make hopes come true? In 2024, the Foundation continues its journey of exploration. This year’s Yidan Education Forum focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation in future education within the ecosystem context of the AI era. Experts from various disciplines and industries, educators, and business representatives from around the world came together to engage in in-depth discussions and showcase outcomes on leading ideas, models, methods, and cases in education. During the forum, we released the report “CMYK: The Cross-Boundary Design for Learning by a Future Educational Syntax,” marking the third consecutive year of publishing reports on future learners.
Time and practice have witnessed the growth of this educational syntax. In 2022, the CMYK Future Education Syntax (Competence - Methods - Years - Knowledge) was introduced as a theoretical framework aimed at cultivating future learners. It was envisioned as a system with neuron-like characteristics, capable of personalized growth. By 2023, CMYK had moved from theory to practice, answering how to design future learning through concrete examples and actions across family, school, and society educational settings.
In 2024, CMYK ventures into interdisciplinary collaboration. We launched the "Future Learners’ Day," to answer how CMYK can design interdisciplinary learning through educational practice. We invited educational experts, designers, engineers, and traditional craft artisans to use CMYK as a tool to design interdisciplinary learning experiences for middle and high school students. These activities combined traditional craftsmanship with modern AI technology, allowing students to experience the joys and challenges of hands-on work while discovering the limitless possibilities and innovative power of AI. Through these interdisciplinary explorations, children found joy in learning. In the field of education, we continue to iterate and explore the flexibility, openness, and growth of this educational syntax, striving to bring more possibilities and working with partners to build a haven for education.
Dr. Charles Chen Yidan once explained his dedication to education: “In the next 10, 20, or 30 years... change is inevitable. You can’t just wait for it to happen. You are part of the change. You are a participant and a driver of the change.”
Humanity now stands at a crossroads in civilization. The future is a co-evolution of human nature and technology. This process requires education to guide us, helping us establish a new worldview—a different way to understand how our world operates and our roles within it.
In 2024, Chen Yidan Foundation entered into a long-term partnership with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Together, we established the "Chen Yidan Professorship in Artificial Intelligence," aimed at advancing research and applications in AI for education. This initiative includes offering AI courses, supporting educational research projects, and fostering international collaboration. Additionally, this partnership will also promote educational collaboration with the Greater Bay Area, facilitating interdisciplinary, cross-regional, cross-cultural, and cross-sector collaboration.
While we embrace the vast lands of our country, education cannot be confined to one place. It needs to connect with different regions, building resonance and connections with the world. Future education must account for life, return to life, and engage with the real world to help shape a healthier society.
The Foundation’s "Competency-Based Education Booster" program has entered its third year. Through the development and implementation of innovative competency-based education activities, the program supports the growth of such education in rural areas. In Jimunai County, a small border town, local teachers have taken the lead in developing diverse thematic courses that are gradually being implemented in schools. Three tinkering communities and six picture book clubs have been set up locally. Teachers and children have also learned to incorporate daily life into their studies—from glaciers and grasslands to traditional patterns, they even add “the flat nose of my dad" into their learning experiences. These experiences reveal that meaningful education doesn’t always require advanced technology. Everything can be explored—a handful of soil or a wildflower holds educational opportunities.
In 2024, we returned to Beichuan, Sichuan Province. In July and August, the Yuepu Music Space was livelier than ever with two themed summer camps: “Music and Emotional Expression” and “Singing on the Moon.” In addition to regular classes in basic instruments, music appreciation, and performance, as well as offline concerts, we experimented how to combine music, language, and physical expression together. This approach encouraged children to enjoy music in a relaxed atmosphere while learning to express themselves, care for others, and communicate kindness.
Today’s world is like no other in history. Material abundance and technological progress give us more choices than ever, but they also bring an equal measure of challenges. The explosion of information, the rise of AI generating increasingly indistinguishable fake content, and the blurred boundaries between digital and reality have created unique dilemmas.
This is the golden age of curiosity, but also a difficult time for attention. People spend more and more time on screens, while connections between individuals and with nature are dwindling. This is a collective spiritual challenge for humanity.
We are acutely aware that the children born today will be the "natives" of the AI era. They will need to learn how to collaborate and coexist with AI while also returning to their inner selves. The international bilingual school "Mingwan School," co-found by Chen Yidan Foundation in Shenzhen’s Qianhai, will officially open in 2025. The school’s first two core values are "kindness" followed by "strength."
Even if AI holds all the world’s knowledge, methods, and experiences, it cannot replace your experiences, feelings, and judgments. This is AI’s limitation and humanity’s stage. We shouldn’t merely be consumers of technology or objects of AI. Everyone should be the protagonists of their life, confidently participating in and shaping the new world.
Technological advancements have brought numerous new challenges, but we have always believed that humanity can guide and overcome these issues.
Change is only possible when we see ourselves clearly. In ourselves, we can see the essence of this era. Every ordinary person is a universe in their own right, and every life has its unique meaning.
In the past, we often viewed education as something grand, burdened with too much significance. In reality, education can be very simple. Listening to the sound of birdsong is a simple yet effective way to connect with the natural world. There are countless similar actions—small but meaningful—that can help us improve ourselves, experience more, discover more, and create more joy in life.
As the new year approaches, perhaps we can start with small steps, like eating breakfast mindfully or refraining from looking at our phones while walking. Practice saying "no" to unnecessary distractions and explore ways to care for yourself. Each day, take a moment to say "thank you" to yourself.
The coming year will undoubtedly bring uncertainties. Emerging technologies will reshape our lives on an even larger scale. While short-term optimism may sometimes lead to disappointment, history teaches us that our long-term predictions are often too conservative.
As Confucius said by the river: "The passage of time is like the flow of water, ceaseless and unrelenting."
Life, like a river, continuously flows forward. As we navigate the sea of time, braving its hidden currents and storms, let us paddle towards our aspirations and dreams.
When spring once again turns the branches green, a new year brings new hope. Let us start with small acts, gathering educational practices into a thriving haven. From Shenzhen and Hong Kong, we wish every one of you across the world a Happy New Year.
Chen Yidan Foundatioon
January 1, 2025
