Abstract

The Belt and Road initiative (BRI) represents an emerging and important geo-political and geo-economic ambition for China aiming to reconnect Eurasia through the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the oceangoing 21st century Maritime Silk Road. Despite its rapid development since its inception in 2013 and the growing literature surrounding this initiative, to date few studies focus on education. This talk aims to fulfill this gap by examining the relationship between education and BRI .

Although education is under-represented and under-researched on the
New Silk Road, there has been an growing interest in analysing and
theorising such nexus. This talks aims to shed light on BRI education
policy formation and explains the ways in which education policy are
constructed and coordinated in relation to culture, politics and
economy. By undertaking policy document analysis, interviews with key
scholars, stakeholders and policy makers, I highlight the importance
of education and its essential and constituting role in facilitating
the overall development of BRI. The rapid changing global and regional
geopolitical and economic realities potentially mediate how education
has been traditionally understood, thus shaping the future pathway
simultaneously posing new questions and challenges for decades to
come.