Lu Mai was invited to participate in the 10th Anniversary Commemoration of the University of Chicago Beijing Center

On January 8, 2021, Lu Mai, vice chairman of the China Development Research Foundation, was invited to participate in a series of commemorative activities for the 10th Anniversary of the founding of the University of Chicago Beijing Center. The theme of this event is "China REACH: Promoting the Development of Children in Rural China." Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago James J. Heckman, Professor of the University of Chicago Amanda Woodward, and scholar of the University of Chicago Zhou Jin were invited to attend and discuss together "How the "Wise Education China" project has enhanced human capital and community resources in rural areas in China.

"China Reach: China Rural Education And Child Health Program" is a comprehensive intervention project for rural education and child health (China REACH), which aims to test the early parenting intervention model for 6-36 months old children and home visits in rural areas of China and explore the fundamentals. It is an effective way to eliminate the inter-generational transmission of poverty and improve the human capital and community resources in rural areas of China. The project has been widely carried out in rural China, and the cooperation between the University of Chicago team and the China Development Research Foundation is also deepening during the development process.

Cooperation between Professor Heckman's team and China Development Research Foundation in the " China-Reach" project

Lu Mai gave a speech on the role of the "China REACH project in poverty alleviation and social justice. Lu Mai said that the "China REACH" project is of great benefit to the growth of disadvantaged children. The learning ability and social ability of children who received home visit intervention have been greatly improved.

Intervention effect of Huachi pilot counties

According to the early childhood development survey results in poverty alleviation areas conducted by the Foundation in 2020, Lu Mai pointed out that the early comprehensive development level of children aged 0 to 3 years old in poverty alleviation areas is still below the national average. Early childhood development in poverty alleviation areas has a long way to go.

Professor James Heckman said that the "China REACH" project had played a great role in instructing parenting knowledge, intergenerational interaction, and public policy formulation. Professor Amanda Woodward praised the large-scale coverage and extensive social mobilization of the "China REACH" project.

Zhou Jin said that the China REACH project is based on international experience, local pilots, and empirical research. In the future, it will conduct in-depth research on how to quantify children's skill development better and explore the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.