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The Scotland-China Education Network (SCEN) Conference was held at the Edinburgh International Conference Center on Wednesday with the theme of Bridging Education and Culture.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond addressed the conference with the presence of Xu Lin, Director General of Hanban of China.

Salmond thanked Judith McClure from St George's School, who is the convener of the SCEN for pioneering the teaching of Chinese in and out of the classroom.

"The establishment of this network has shown your determination to ensure that as many young Scots as possible get the chance to learn about China."

The network are providing learning opportunities to young Scots and their teachers, the minister said, adding "Through exchanges, summer schools and partnerships with Chinese schools, young Scots in a growing number of classrooms are learning China's language, celebrating its culture, and building firm friendships."

And at the same time, thousands of Chinese students are getting the chance to learn more about Scotland, the minister said.

"I'm delighted that this conference is giving so many people a chance to show us what they've been learning -- and I want to wish all the young people involved the very best for their performances," Salmond said.

The minister emphasized that these are early days for the network, and just the beginning of efforts to bring China into the classroom and said he wanted to encourage all the teachers to continue to do all that you can to encourage the passion for learning that is so evident today.

Participants of the conference shared their exciting progress in learning about each other. The conference was seen as one of the milestones for the SCEN founded in January 2006, which had already held two Pupil Conferences and one Practitioner Conference, to further its aims.

The mission of the SCEN, which has about 60 members all over Scotland, is to support international education by raising the understanding of Chinese language and culture in Scottish schools and promoting the understanding of Scottish culture and education in Chinese schools.

Judith McClure told Xinhua "Across Scotland, many teachers are trying to support each other to bring China into our schools. There is plenty of support for schools and authorities that plan to begin, or even expand, their efforts to engage Scottish pupils to learn about China's society, culture and language."

The Scottish Executive has made plain its commitment in the report Scotland's Strategy for Stronger Engagement with China, the first objective of which is to raise understanding of China's language and culture in Scotland, the SCEN convener said.

The conference brought together leading officials from Hanban and principals of some partner schools in China, as well as some 200 representatives of Scottish schools, the Scottish government, representatives of Scottish business links and associations.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2007)