By Kaelan Young
Viristar’s Director, Jeff Baierlein, will be a keynote speaker at the 2024 Wuhan Sports University Experiential Education International Forum. Jeff will be giving a presentation titled "Risk Management in Experiential Education.”
The presentation will explore theoretical models of incident causation, such as AcciMap and the Risk Domains model, which view experiential education activities from the perspective of complex socio-technical systems theory. Jeff’s presentation will address the importance of resilience engineering, Just Culture, and systems-informed design in enhancing safety and effectiveness in experiential and outdoor programs.
Scheduled for September 27-29, 2024, in Wuhan, Hubei China, the Forum will focus on discussing the current significance of experiential education and exploring its future prospects with a range of stakeholders.
The Forum is presented in cooperation with Outward Bound Hubei, the Hailiang Education Technology Service Group, Outward Bound Hong Kong, and others.
Safety, Outdoor Experiences, and China
Developing the experiential and outdoor sectors in China is a national priority.
A 2022 report issued by the Chinese government, Outdoor Sport Industry Development Plan 2022-2025, calls for a massive and comprehensive push for advancing outdoor education, adventure tourism and environmental education, and building China’s market dominance in these sectors.
The report envisions building 10,000 outdoor sports camps by 2025, improving “outdoor education and training,” and integrating artificial intelligence, transportation, land management policy, shipping, festivals, materials research, arts, virtual reality, sectoral associations, and industry standards in the drive to develop the outdoor sector.
The Chinese government also issued "Guidance on Promoting the Healthy and Orderly Development of Camping Tourism and Leisure" in 2022.
This guidance calls for developing the “natural education” and outdoor recreation sectors by improving standards, effecting supply-side structural reform, and integrating camping with culture, sports, and “upstream and downstream industrial chains of camping, tourism and leisure.”
Risk management was identified in the guidance as a “key task.”
The need for this became clear in a recent tragic incident in at the Shiren Gorge Scenic Area in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, south of Shanghai, where on June 2, two tourists drowned while attempting to cross a stream, and holding onto a rope spanning the swift-moving water. The stream was experiencing high flows following heavy rain the day before, the handline was not well-secured, and good stream-crossing safety and rescue procedures did not seem to be in place. The hikers lost their balance and were swept away. Their bodies were recovered two days later.
Images from the Shirenxia incident (浙江台州石人峡).
About the Forum
The Wuhan Sports University Experiential Education International Forum stands as the longest-standing professional gathering in China's experiential education industry.
In celebration of its tenth anniversary, this year’s forum is themed “Cross-Domain Integration and Innovation: Experiential Education in New Scenarios.” The event will explore and discuss the contemporary significance and applications of experiential education across various fields.
Experts and practitioners will gather to share strategies and successful case studies, highlighting how experiential learning can be integrated into different domains to enhance educational outcomes and address modern challenges. This forum aims to foster a deeper understanding of the evolving role of experiential education.
Mariya Georgieva
Forum Highlights
The 2024 forum will feature an array of activities designed to engage participants:
Expert Lectures: Well-known experiential education experts, scholars, and practitioners will share the latest research results and practical experience.
Roundtable Discussions: These discussions will explore various topics, including international trends and localization paths in experiential education, providing a platform for dialogue and idea exchange.
Exhibits: Teams will showcase experiential education products on-site.
Interactive Workshops: Participants will have the chance to engage in several hands-on workshops, experiencing the essence of experiential education.
Academic Exchanges: Selected papers will be presented as special reports, showcasing the latest research results in the field of domestic experiential education.
Activities: Special activities, including film screenings, fly fishing, and yard games, will be held on-site.
Scheduled presenters, in addition to Jeff Baierlein, include Outward Bound Singapore Executive Director Nicholas Conceicao, Outward Bound Hong Kong Executive Director Nick Cotton, and Outward Bound International Executive Director Iain Peter.
Mariya Georgieva
More Information
To learn more about the 2024 Wuhan Sports University Experiential Education International Forum, visit the webpage here.
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