By Xiao Yang

　　"SPORT has the power to change the world, the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that little else can. It speaks to people in a language they understand. Sport can create hopeswheresthere was once only despair."

　　Steve Grainger, the managing director of Youth Sport Trust, shared Nelson Mandela's words with more than 20 head teachers from British and Chinese sports schools at the School Sports Policy Seminar organized by the Cultural and Education Section of the British Consulate-General.

　　Focusing on developing young people through sports, British council member Jeff Streeter stressed the two goals of this seminar: to discuss school sports policies and establish foundations for co-operation between British and Chinese schools.

　　"Physical education is a matter of national importance," said Li Junxiu, the deputy director of the Shanghai Education Commission. In Shanghai's schools, some teachers worry that sports may cause injuries to students, so physical education does not always get widely developed in schools. "It is not enough if we only combine physical education with health," Li added.

　　Actually, people's demand for physical training is continuously increasing with the economic development of Shanghai. Sports and health have become central issues of education.

　　On the question of how to use sports to develop young people, Steve suggested that large major sports events should be used to create an environment for young people to learn about and enjoy sports. In 2008, the Olympic Games will be hosted in Beijing. This event will be a chance to provide inspiring stories and role models for young people, according to Steve.

　　Li Weiting, deputy director of Shanghai Sports Bureau gave a detailed introduction to the flouring fitness sports in Shanghai, which helped more foreign head teachers to understand the development of sports in Shanghai.

　　Besides the matter of how to develop sports as a tool to support education, the importance of physical activities and health and other topics concerning physical education were also discussed at the seminar.