Honourable guests, ………first and foremost, let me express my gratitude to you for the advice, guidance and blessings you have given us in our organization of this course, The "Certificate in Teaching English Communication Skills". Without your support, this training course could not have materialized.
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It also gives me great pleasure to address the more than one hundred English teachers who have come from the different areas of Western China, from Hong Kong and from Macau. Our being able to come together at Yellow Sheep River International Convention Centre has been made possible through the dedication and hard work of Mr Wen Say ling. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and sincerely thank Mr Wen for his courage and vision. Mr Wen not only had vision of Internet Villages. He took concrete steps to make that vision a reality. He invested his energy, time and personal resources so that we now have this beautiful and magnificent center to make his vision a reality.

In December 2003, I came to YellowSheepRiver International Convention Centre to participate in "the Principal's Forum" which was organized by Town and Talent Technologies. At the Forum, the principals of the member schools of the Company shared that besides financial resources, improvement in the quality of teaching is desperately needed in this part of China. A lack of resources in this rather remote part of China has meant that teachers here have very limited opportunities for their professional development. These teachers truly need support in this regard. My own observation of teachers' professional needs during my visit in December motivated me to muster and mobilize resources in Hong Kong for this purpose.

In July 2004, a group of educators, school principals, teachers and other professionals came together and The Living Knowledge Communities - or LikeCom for short - was established. Energized by a passion born from the love they have for humanity, the members of LikeCom are committed to providing technical and professional support for people in the less developed areas of China. LikeCom believes that social justice means every member in that society has equal opportunities for maximizing his/her potentials. Our global society is made up of multicultural communities and these communities should live together in harmony and we should all care for one another. To achieve this peace and harmony, we should work closely and in a co-operative spirit and close gaps that result from inequitable policies and systems. One of the aims of LikeCom is to close the gaps in knowledge between communities. Likecom strive very hard to achieve this aim. One of the ways it does this is thought conducting capacity building programs, through seminars and conferences such as the one we are now taking part in. Through these programs, people from all sorts of backgrounds, indeed from all parts of the world are brought together in a spirit of collaboration, of sharing and discovery of knowledge that is meaningful to their lives.

The "Certificate in Teaching English Communication Skills (Foundation Course)" is an English teacher training program has been organized with those aims above. 22 English teachers, English language experts and educators from Hong Kong and Macau have travelled long and far to come to this remote but beautiful part of Gansu province to share their skills and knowledge with their counterparts here. This sharing is part of the 2-week training program in English communication and teaching. Yet another part of the program is the development of "Communities of Practice" on the internet. The aim then is to encourage and stimulate the development of communication between participating teachers on the internet after the completion of the course so that these teachers form groups of speakers of English and practitioners of English teaching.

This program is LikeCom's first endeavor in providing professional support in rural education development. Its success in bringing this training into reality has been a result of its close collaboration with its partner, The International Education Language and Training Association (IELTA), and with its host, Town and Talent Technologies. No less important has been the financial and spiritual support it has received from individuals and companies, the names of whom you will find on page 32 of our program. We are all deeply moved by the professionalism that that all of you, the participants in the course have shown. Your devotion to your professions, shown from the sacrifices that you have all made in terms of time and resources spent in just making your way to this course is truly moving. It is now up to all of you to see that your sacrifices bear fruit - and I have no doubt they will. I wish you all a most fruitful, happy and unforgettable learning experience ahead!

Thank you!