Educational responsibility is upon us. On January 10th, the "Good Future Corporate Social Responsibility Report and the Launch of Xiwang Online Education Platform" conference was held in Beijing. Many experts, scholars, corporate professionals, and beneficiaries from the fields of education and charity attended the conference and engaged in in-depth discussions on how educational companies can take on social responsibilities under new circumstances.

Participants believe that education holds profound significance for societal development, and the world expects educational institutions to play a more important role. In addition to maintaining the quality of their own education, institutions should continuously question the essence of education and, with the help of technological advancements, collaborate with various resources to innovatively fulfill their social responsibilities.

I. Reflecting on Education to Promote its Return

Not long ago, UNESCO's report "Reflecting on Education" proposed, "To achieve sustainable development in an increasingly interdependent world, education and knowledge should be seen as a common global interest." Senior Professor Gu Mingyuan of Beijing Normal University believes this means that knowledge creation, control, acquisition, learning, and application should be open to everyone, representing a collective societal effort.

Fu Guoliang, the Eighth National Inspector of the Ministry of Education and Deputy Director of the Working Committee for the Care of the Next Generation, stated that the responsibility of education is to promote spiritual and intellectual growth. This should be the value orientation and evaluation criteria for educational professionals. Sustainable survival requires a significant shift in mindset, and education must be part of this transformation.

Lu Mai, Secretary-General of the China Development Research Foundation, delivered a speech titled "Children's Development: The Fundamental Path to Eradicating Poverty and Promoting Social Equity." As the first link in the chain of social equality, equal education concerns the future of millions. Unfortunately, the educational gap is still severe. There are 40 million impoverished children in contiguous poverty-stricken areas in central and western China, and their education and nutritional conditions are worrisome. The lack of early childhood education in impoverished areas and the hidden disparity in the early development of urban and rural children will lead to the "intergenerational transmission of poverty."

This theme sparked lively discussions among the participants. Wei Yuchu, a UNESCO consultant and professor from the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong, stated that with the development of globalization, promoting educational equality has become a global call to action across different countries and regions. She advocates for a humanistic value system that promotes equal rights and social justice and hopes that professionals can construct a more just society through the use and development of knowledge.

"Education is targeted poverty alleviation and is a crucial means to promote social equity and national socio-economic development. Educational enterprises bear an important social mission. Therefore, they need to closely follow international trends and, through innovative ways, fulfill their social responsibilities and create greater public value," said Deng Guosheng, Deputy Director of the Institute for Philanthropy and Social Innovation and Director of the Center for Innovation and Social Responsibility at Tsinghua University.

The internet has introduced greater possibilities. The "13th Five-Year Plan" for Education Development recently passed by the State Council stipulates the use of information technology such as big data and cloud computing to promote the development of "Internet + education," advance the co-construction and sharing of high-quality educational resources, promote balanced development across regions, and advance educational fairness. 

II. Doing Good Education is the Greatest Responsibility

The strong public nature of education makes corporate social responsibility in education unique. When education enterprises transmit educational resources to more groups, the prerequisite is to ensure that the resources themselves are of high quality. This forces educational enterprises to ensure quality.

Many industry insiders have expressed that education is a marathon, and regardless of how the times change, the spirit of craftsmanship never expires. In the future, education needs more responsible education enterprises and individuals who are willing to explore and provide higher-quality educational products and services.

In Deng Guosheng's view, the corporate social responsibility of educational institutions is entirely inherent in their own business model. Observing educational enterprises from this perspective, one would find that the business models of leading educational institutions are somewhat colored by public welfare, such as the development principle of "one class for one good teacher" at Good Future.

"Doing good education and training is in itself the greatest responsibility and public welfare," said Zhang Bangxin, CEO of Good Future. At the conference, Good Future unveiled its "2016 Good Future Corporate Social Responsibility Report," systematically displaying the company's exploratory path in recent years and its practices in fulfilling its social responsibilities.

It is worth mentioning that, how can high-quality educational resources be extended to more people while ensuring management growth and quality? In response to these seemingly contradictory goals, Good Future adheres to the mission of "using technology to promote educational progress."

To upgrade educational productivity, approaching the goal of "individualized education" more closely, Good Future has invested continuously in technology. Last year, the company spent hundreds of millions of yuan on Internet technology research and development. For example, since 2007, Good Future has invested in a team of 200 people and several hundred million yuan in the development of the Intelligent Teaching System (ICS) and the Intelligent Practice System (IPS). At the same time, online education is constantly being explored. In 2009, Good Future founded Xueersi Online School, and four years later, it established Huiyi Live, creating a new mode of "live + tutoring," significantly improving the online learning experience and effectiveness.

While technology drives corporate iteration, it also upgrades the educational public welfare model. According to the report, in June 2016, the Good Future Charity Foundation carried out the "Same Classroom" project, bringing courses and products into 8 rural primary schools in Sichuan and Gansu through live broadcasting technology and the "Dual Teacher Classroom" (online live broadcast and offline tutoring). In November of the same year, Good Future launched an educational informatization project in Foping, Shaanxi, supported by the Central Cyberspace Administration, and signed a framework agreement for "Internet-assisted intelligence" with poverty-stricken areas such as Jinggangshan, Ruijin, and Ningdu in Jiangxi, accelerating the flow of high-quality educational resources to promote development. 

III. Building Platforms to Promote Educational Fairness

Individual influence is ultimately limited. How to unite more forces, exert stronger effects, and create greater value has become the direction for educational enterprises to innovatively fulfill their social responsibilities.

Evidently, future educational public welfare is no longer a solo effort by companies, but rather requires collective effects, which are closely linked to the connection role of technology. "The information technology revolution is the greatest tool for social equality. Children in remote rural areas can access the same high-quality educational resources as urban children through mobile internet," said Xu Yongguang, Chairman of the South China Non-Profit Foundation, Special Researcher of the State Council Research Office, and founder of the Project Hope.

There was a time when Project Hope influenced an entire generation, changing the destinies of many impoverished children. Xu Yongguang is pleased that technology has made "Hope Online" possible. Through "technology + public welfare," he believes that "Hope Online" can bring the best teachers to rural children and bring hope for educational fairness.

On January 10th, after the release of the 2016 Social Responsibility Report by Good Future, the company announced the launch of the "Hope Online" education platform (www.xiwang.com), aiming to gather more educational resources, promote supply-side reform of high-quality education, and drive educational fairness.

The "Hope Online" education public welfare platform embodies three main concepts: a sharing platform, an online action platform, and a communication community. Educational institutions, public welfare organizations, and individuals can carry out public welfare actions through three paths: 

The first is the B2C model, where educational institutions such as Good Future directly share educational resources with students.

The second is the B2B2C model, where educational enterprises can provide educational products to public welfare organizations, allowing professional personnel to solidly implement the provision of educational resources, making public welfare more efficient.

The third is the C2C model, where individuals can provide remote teaching assistance to students in need through the "Hope Online" public welfare platform, leveraging live streaming technology provided by Good Future. 

The "Hope Online" education public welfare platform attracted the participation of many educational institutions and public welfare organizations immediately upon its launch. On the first day, seven "Future Stars" members, including Yuan Tiku, Qingqing Tribe, Heziyu, Jiliguola, Youth Creation Academy, Hezhong Meihua, and Shanghai STEM Cloud, voluntarily contributed quality resources to the platform. Additionally, six public welfare organizations, including the South China Non-Profit Foundation, China Development Research Foundation, Western Sunshine Rural Development Foundation, 21st Century Education Research Institute, Shanghai Dream Fund, and the China International NGO Cooperation Promotion and Exchange Committee's Joint Management Committee of Parents and Teachers, were invited to become the first batch of cooperative organizations on the "Hope Online" platform.

"Integrating corporate development strategies into public welfare, incorporating the advantages of its products and services into public welfare, and generating the long-tail effect of public welfare paving the way, commercial support, industrial expansion, and sustainable development is an effective enterprise strategic public welfare model," Xu Yongguang said. "Hope Online" public welfare platform will provide a new paradigm for corporate strategic public welfare.

Zhang Bangxin stated, "The launch of the 'Hope Online' education public welfare platform is just the beginning. Subsequent iterations will be made based on actual operations, with an expectation to 'use technology to promote balanced educational development' and ensure that every child can equally enjoy high-quality educational resources."