Over 7,000 music education professionals and performing groups from over 90 countries will gather in Beijing next month for the upcoming International Society of Music Education (ISME) World Conference 2010.

With the theme Harmony and Future of the World, the six-day conference, beginning August 1, will feature presentations, round-table symposia, class lesson demonstrations, concerts and an exhibition of instruments and teaching materials to enhance communication and understanding between different nations, according to the organization committee.

Events will be held at the China National Convention Center and concert halls of the China Conservatory of Music, where conference participants will also discuss how to promote harmonious global development through music.

"An ISME World Conference is more like a fair than a conventional conference. This has been ISME's main concern over the past decades and continues to be our most important source of motivation," said Hakan Lundstrom, president of ISME. "The ISME World Conference in Beijing will cover every possible aspect of music education and learning."

Launched in 1953 by ISME, an affiliation of UNESCO, the conference is held in different countries and regions every two years and this year's is the first to be staged in China. The conference in Beijing is being co-hosted by China Conservatory of Music and Chinese Society for Music Education.

"China became a member of ISME in 2004 and has made efforts to apply for the right to host the conference since then," said Xie Jiaxing, deputy secretary-general of the organization committee of the 2010 conference, who has been preparing for the conference since 2004.

"In 2006, we beat candidates Greece, Brazil and Russia and became the host of 2010," he explained.

The next ISME World Conference is scheduled to be held in 2012 in Greece.

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