Building a 3L and 6W learning city in Hangzhou

Hangzhou, capital city of China’s Zhejiang province, has made significant progress in developing a Learning City since the 1st International Conference on Learning Cities.

Hangzhou has formed a Municipal Steering Committee of Learning City Construction and an associated Executive office to involve all stakeholders across different sectors. Based on the Beijing Declaration on Building Learning Cities and the  Key Features of Learning Cities, they have drafted The Exploration and Practice of Developing a Learning City in Hangzhou and The Indicator System of Learning City Construction in Hangzhou, leading Hangzhou’s journey towards becoming a learning city. In this context, a Consultation Meeting of Learning City Construction in Hangzhou was organised, inviting local and international experts, including Dr Hans d'Orville, former Assistant Director General of UNESCO’s Bureau of Strategic Planning.

Based on this preparatory work, the city has been developing a 3L (Lifelong, Lifewide and Lifedeep) educational system and is building a 6W (no matter Who, When, Where, Why, access to What information in Which way) learning city. In its 3L and 6W learning city, Hangzhou aims to build an education system that covers communities, work places and families, and stretches from pre-school education, basic education, higher education, adult education to special education and informal learning. Examples include offering Extracurricular Activities for Youth, a Credit Bank for lifelong learners, a Migrant Worker School, mobile bookstalls in public places, building digitised e-learning platforms and operating the Hangzhou Cultural and Creative Entrepreneur Incubating Project.

Looking into the future, Hangzhou’s municipal government will cooperate with Universities such as Zhejiang University to establish a Research Centre of Learning City Construction. It will serve as a think tank, providing supervision and advice on building a Learning City.

More information on Hangzhou as a city and its actions:

• Report on Building a Learning City in Hangzhou
• Hangzhou City