In March 2016, three topics from the Open University of China’s (OUC) Multimedia Press were included in a list of projects selected to be funded by the 2016 Annual National Publication Foundation, as announced by the National Publication Foundation Planning and Management Committee.
The three topics are One Land Breeds One Kind of Music: Chinese Regional Music Culture, Fifty Lectures on Ecological Civilization, and The Earth is a Life Body, among which One Land Breeds One Kind of Music: China Regional Music Culture and Fifty Lectures on Ecological Civilization ranked first place in the arts and environment sections respectively, while all three selected topics were projects conceived through the "OUC Open Forum."
One Land Breeds One Kind of Music: Chinese Regional Music Culture, with the help of music geography theory, explored the relationship between terrain and music. The topic, with Qiao Jianzhong, Chairman of the Chinese Traditional Music Association as chief editor, aggregated scholars long engaged in Chinese traditional music studies, creating six categories of music colleges and universities. Taking Chinese geography, topography, and river systems as its foundation, the project captures representative music from each region to explain how Chinese traditional music is produced, and the connection between Chinese traditional music and nature, history, culture, and folklore, which not only displays the beauty of music, but also explores the deep cultural value of heritage.
Fifty Lectures on Ecological Civilization intends to popularize science with the aim of enhancing public welfare through constructing an ecological civilization. Breaking through the stereotype of an "ecological civilization" as environmental protection, the topic gives comprehensive consideration to the earth’s ecology through examining a variety of areas, including production, consumption, urban construction, culture and education, and legal management. This topic brings together academicians and experts from more than ten disciplines to expound on their understanding of the ecological civilization from the perspectives of industrial ecology, energy and power, chemical engineering, architecture, law, and philosophy to introduce current practices in ecological civilization construction, explore how to transform modes of development through ecological civilization construction, and realize the dream of a "Beautiful China."
The Earth is a Life Body discusses the proposition of harmonious coexistence of man and earth, with its content constructed around the three levels of ecosystems on Earth, a planet in peril, and the protection of the earth through construction. The topic introduces the status quo and functions of several major ecosystems, such as forests, oceans, grasslands, and wetlands, as well as explores environmental crises like sand dust and smog, which greatly impact human survival. Aiming to strengthen ecological and environmental protection, it also details an effective method of dealing with environmental problems, conveys the necessity and urgency of environmental protection and ecological restoration to the public, and points out that human beings must make needed efforts to maintain ecological balance on the planet.
"OUC Open Forum" is an open university lecture course planned by the OUC, and coordinated, designed, and implemented by its Learning Resources Department and Multimedia Press, which has always adhered to the principle of selecting excellent, professional, university-related topics so as to gather high-quality educational resources, and build up a bridge between the academy and the great masses. Cultivated by the "OUC Open Forum" project with the aim of aiding course construction, the Audio-visual Publishing House has made numerous improvements to topic planning and video production, as well as outstanding achievements in the fields of Chinese traditional culture and science popularization. In recent years, the National Publication Foundation funded a total of five of its projects, like Lectures on Science Popularization by 100 Academicians and Experts,, while its "Experts Talking About Ancient Chinese Culture” won the Chinese Excellent Publication Award.
By Multimedia Press, OUC