International Forum on Youth Values Education Held at Tsinghua
The 2026 International Forum on Youth Values Education was held at Tsinghua University in Beijing from May 11 to 12.
The forum, themed “Values Education for Youth in the Future: China and the World”, was co-hosted by Tsinghua University, Wuhan University and Northeast Normal University. It brought together more than 170 scholars, education officials and practitioners from China and abroad to discuss theoretical innovation, practical approaches and evaluation methods in youth values education.
The opening remarks framed youth values education as a pressing issue in the digital age. Guo Yong, deputy Party secretary of Tsinghua University and chairman of the forum organizing committee, noted that artificial intelligence, digitalization and the internet are reshaping the environment in which young people grow up. He said Tsinghua will work with Wuhan University and Northeast Normal University to deepen research on the effectiveness of youth values education.
Policy and practice were also key themes. Yu Xianting, deputy director-general of the Department of Ideological and Political Work of the Ministry of Education, called for the use of AI and big data to better understand young people, establish stronger links between research and frontline practice, and enhance the training for educators. Wei Xubin, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, introduced Beijing’s efforts to promote values education through systemized classroom teaching, AI-empowerd educational resources, as well as heritage site visits and study tours that constitute the “walking ideological and political courses”.
These remarks pointed to a broader shift: values education is no longer confined to classroom instruction, but increasingly depends on evidence-based research, digital tools, social resources and real-life experience.
Scholars from China and abroad further expanded the discussion. Yang Xiaohui, former Party secretary of Northeast Normal University, focused on cultivating young people’s inner moral order, social responsibility and ethical awareness in the use of technology. Christian W. Haerpfer, president of the World Values Survey Association, highlighted the need for long-term, cross-cultural research on how digitalization is reshaping youth values. Ulisses F. Araújo of the University of São Paulo, president of the World Association of Problem-Based Learning and Active Learning Methodologies, emphasized active and experiential learning, arguing that real-life problems and cooperation can help students develop moral judgment, empathy and public participation.
Together, the discussions showed that values education in the AI era should better use technology, strengthen international exchange and respond more closely to young people’s real-life needs.
During the forum, participants also joined six sub-forums on theoretical frameworks, cultural comparison, evaluation methods, curriculum reform, school practices, family education and digital governance in terms of youth values education.
At the closing ceremony, the Tsinghua Initiative for Advancing Global Values Education for Youth was launched, calling for joint efforts from governments, schools, families, media organizations and researchers to improve values education for youth and address new challenges brought by artificial intelligence.
