Conference on Social Inclusion Policy and Practice in China and Canada Held in SDU

On December 11th, the Conference on Social Inclusion Policy and Practice in China and Canada was held in SDU. Mr. David Mulroney, Ambassador of Canada to the People's Republic of China, Prof. Tim Stainton, Interim Director of the School of Social Work, University of British Columbia and SDU Vice-President Fan Liming attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

Mr. Mulroney reviewed the development of friendship between Canada and China and communication between SDU and Canadian universities. He also shared his own understanding on social inclusion, which is the theme of this conference. Vice-President Fan welcomed scholars from home and abroad and highlighted the significance of this conference. She also introduced the history, faculties and academic activities of SDU. Prof. Stainton highly acknowledged the conference and expressed his gratitude to the organizers for providing such a good opportunity to understand China. He hoped the conference would contribute to building a better society.

The conference was hosted by the Public Economy and Public Policy Research Center, SDU, the School of Philosophy and Social Development, SDU and the University of British Columbia, Canada. Its aim was to investigate the social inclusion policy under a harmonious society. Two plenary sessions concerning the Canadian social inclusion model and Chinese social inclusion model were included in the conference. Representatives exchanged ideas on the social inclusion systems in the two countries. There were also four sessions concerning the Canadian social inclusion model, social inclusion and vulnerable social groups, social inclusion and social policy and medical care and medical rehabilitation in social inclusion.

More than 80 representatives including officials from the Canadian Embassy in China, and scholars and experts from the University of British Columbia, McMaster University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Peking University attended the two-day conference. The conference also attracted the presence of several non-governmental social service organizations.

By Cui Xinyuan