The Ministry of Education (MOE) held a press conference on May 7 to introduce the 2026 World Digital Education Conference, which will be held in Hangzhou from May 11 to 13. Themed “AI+ Education: Transformation, Development and Governance”, the conference will examine global trends and opportunities in AI-powered education, explore how AI can help drive systemic transformation and high-quality development, discuss ways to build a more inclusive, secure, and sustainable global governance Framework for digital education.

Co-hosted by the MOE and the Zhejiang provincial government, the conference will include an opening ceremony, plenary sessions, parallel sessions, and a closing ceremony, along with an exhibition showcasing achievements in global digital education. Seven pre-event visit routes have also been arranged.

The opening ceremony, scheduled on the afternoon of May 11, will feature an opening show and guest addresses, followed by plenary sessions with keynote speeches, thematic presentations, and short “flash talks” on school–enterprise collaboration. These sessions will highlight innovative practices in AI-enabled educational transformation and industry–education integration.

On the morning of May 12, eight parallel sessions will cover eight topics: basic education, vocational education, higher education, teacher development, commercialization of research, educational assessment, lifelong learning, and industry–education integration. The closing ceremony that afternoon will include guest remarks, the signing of cooperation agreements, the release of conference outcomes, and a handover ceremony.

During the event, the World Digital Education Alliance will hold its first Global Youth AI Innovation Camp in Hangzhou from May 10 to 14. Open to high school students worldwide, the camp will bring together 27 teams from 23 countries, including Cambodia, Egypt, Russia, and Thailand. Through lectures, project-based activities, and hands-on experiences, it aims to promote international youth exchange and collaboration in AI and digital education.

The 2026 conference will mark the broadest and highest-level participation since the event was launched. Participants will include government leaders and education ministers from multiple countries, diplomats based in China, representatives of international organizations, officials from Chinese ministries and provincial education authorities, as well as heads of universities, vocational schools, and primary and secondary schools from China and abroad, as well as leading AI experts and representatives of major technology companies.

In recent years, China has actively expanded international cooperation in digital and AI-enabled education by building exchange platforms and sharing practical experience. From 2023 to 2025, the MOE held the World Digital Education Conference for three consecutive years, with growing scale, international participation, and visibility. Key outcomes have included the establishment of the World Digital Education Alliance, the launch of the international version of Smart Education of China platform, and the release of the White Paper on China’s Smart Education.