The Oriental Rostrum, which convenes nearly 1,000 experts and professors in various fields under its banner and organizes lectures to the general public in 125 organizations in Shanghai, is celebrating its first anniversary. Over the past year, as many as 400,000 people listened to 1,317 lectures covering a broad spectrum of issues ranging from social security, economic reform to family education and community development.

I am very keen on the Oriental Rostrum due to its role as "a platform for socialized education", as defined by the organization.

Based on the idea of "lifelong education", social education goes beyond a certain period of time spent in schools and colleges and continues through an individual's life. However, in our society, education has long been centred around schools and targeting students only. Individuals leaving school may still have channels for professional education but almost no way to further their humanistic social education. On the other hand, universities and colleges, though with rich resources for humanistic education, find it hard to better serve society. The Oriental Rostrum is significant in bringing down the wall between universities and society and becoming "a platform for socialized education" with its lectures in communities. This practice is not only creative but also sustainable.

People in the West started to realize the importance of civic education - as the kind provided by the Oriental Rostrum - long ago. More than 2,500 years ago, civic education sponsored by the state was already in place in Greece. Drama, chorus, public recitation of works of Homer and sports events in city-states were all regarded as beneficial activities aimed at the personality development of citizens, improvement in their lives and betterment of their capability for democratic participation in city-state affairs.

French sociologist Emile Durkheim reiterated the importance of civic education by regarding educational organizations as intermediary organizations commissioned by social civilization. Civic education should nurture citizens' awareness of the nation, social morals and team spirit, expand their scope of knowledge and improve their quality and personality.

All these form not only the moral basis for building a harmonious society but also the "soft power" of a nation. The practice of the Oriental Rostrum, by improving the public's quality via education and making civic education an everyday item for the public, is a great social experiment.

The project has also had an impact on the production and spread of knowledge. Traditionally, knowledge is spread from teachers and scholars to students in school education. When the media and other cultural organizations feel the percussion of school education, they transmit the ripples onward to ordinary citizens.

The rostrum has facilitated the direct and interactive communications between scholars and the public. More than teaching the public knowledge, it also allows lecturers to acquire first-hand information about our society, which is conducive to the production of new knowledge.

(The author is a sociology professor at Fudan University)