Aesthetic education is one that looks to the future and integrates an appreciation of beauty from people at the grassroots, renowned professionals and academicians from around the world said at the ceremony awarding the Huamao Aesthetic Education Prize in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on Friday. 

Former prime minister of Greece George Papandreou said through a video that aesthetic education gives people the ability to interpret events and experiences that are new or unpredictable, to come up with creative ideas and to break new ground — all of which are essential in an era of novel challenges and swift changes, as in climate change and recurring health crises.

Long Yongtu, former secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia and chairman of the first selection committee for what is known as the M Prize, stressed the importance of aesthetic education in China's modernization and the power of role models in education. 

"Art masters inspire us and lead us in the right direction, while those unknown but outstanding teachers make efforts to put those theories into practice," Long said. "They are all role models for us."The M Prize, established by the Ningbo Huamao Education Foundation this year, will be awarded annually to people who made great contributions to aesthetic education. Each of the two winners will receive a gold medal and a prize of 500,000 yuan ($78,111).

Alvaro Siza, a Portuguese architect who was among this year's winners, said, "Aesthetic education is not a specialized form of education. It's something general for everybody."Good teachers, he said, are key.

"The main role of a professor is not always to give information but to engage in dialogue and appreciation of students' work. They're also in contact with students, looking for what is inside each of them and developing the qualities that each one has."Quan Shanshi, a 90-year-old Chinese oil painter who is still teaching art, was the other winner this year.

"Aesthetic education is a difficult and permanent task," Quan said. "I will spend the rest of my life striving for it." He added that he will donate all of his prize money to promote the development of aesthetic education.