Professor Meng Wanjn, Director of Centre for Psychology and Special Education of the National Institute of Education Sciences, delivered his keynote address entitled ‘Positive Mental Health Education and Happiness Education with Chinese Characteristics and World Vision’.

Other keynote speakers included:

• Prof. Julia Carroll, Professor in Child Development and Education, Coventry University. Mental health in children and adults with learning difficulties (dyslexia).
• Mr. Lu Yunquan, Director of Education Commission of Haidian District, Beijing, China. Introduction of the Positive Mental Health Education Experience in Haidian District.
• Prof. Eugene Sheehan, Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, University of Northern Colorado. Enhancing Teacher Happiness Through Job Satisfaction.

This was followed by a seminar including sessions on the role of mental health education in various levels of the education system, and how it relates to teachers, classes, schools and education districts. Muhammad Salman Bin Mohamed Khair, Senior Research Associate at WISE spoke in one of these sessions about the work undertaken by WISE relevant to mental health education and the theme of the conference – Education, Happiness and Wellbeing. A visit to local schools has also been arranged during the conference to provide deeper insight on the context of the local education scene and engage the participation of attendees.

One of the expected outcomes of the conference was a report on the ‘Comparative Study on Happiness Education and Positive Psychology’, that further supports NIES’s focus on policy-making, innovating theory and guiding practice in the field of education.