12th Confucius Institute Conference to Be Held in Xi’an, Shaanxi

At the news briefing of the 12th Confucius Institute Conference held on December 10, it is learned that the 12th Confucius Institute Conference will be held from December 12th to 13th in Xi’an, Shaanxi.

Press conference

It is reported that the theme of the conference is “Deepening Cooperation, Developing through Innovation, Working Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind”. The conference is sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and People’s Government of Shaanxi Province, organized by the Department of Education of Shaanxi Province and Xi’an Municipal People’s Government, and co-organized by the Department of Culture of Shaanxi Province, Foreign Affairs Office of Shaanxi Province and Xi’an International Studies University and other institutions.

University presidents as well as representatives of Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) from about 140 countries, envoys from foreign embassies in China, and delegates from international institutes of language and culture promotion, national ministries, local education administrations and host universities will attend the conference. At the opening ceremony of the conference, ten new Confucius institutes will be presented plagues, and 70 prizes including “Confucius Institute of the Year”, “Confucius Classroom of the Year”, “Confucius Institute Individual Performance Excellence Award” and “Outstanding Confucius Institute Chinese Partner” will be awarded.

The conference will hold a “conference forum” for the first time, and presidents and scholars from prestigious universities from China and abroad will exchange ideas on the “Development of Confucius Institutes and Building of a Community with Shared Future for Mankind”. In addition, there will be seven presidents’ forums and eight directors’ forums. These forums will witness discussions on topics such as the Performance Management Of Confucius Institutes, Capacity Building of Teaching Staff for Confucius Institutes, Innovation of Teaching And Resources for Confucius Institutes, Creative Cultural Programmes of Confucius Institutes, Chinese Proficiency Test and Scholarships’ Support for Confucius Institutes, Building a Better Public Image of Confucius Institutes, Confucius Institute and China Studies, Chinese and Host universities’ Participation in the Belt and Road Initiative through Confucius Institute Programmes, and Confucius Institutes’ Demand-oriented Development Strategies. Exhibitions will also be held during the conference, such as the Confucius Institutes’ Achievements Exhibition, the Confucius Institute Chinese Language Teaching Resource Exhibition, the Theme Exhibition on Chinese Food Culture, the Brief Introduction to Higher Education in Shaanxi, and the Calligraphy Creative Product Exhibition of Chinese Calligraphy Institute.

Hailed as an educational “Davos”, the Confucius Institute Conference is a grand gathering for Confucius Institutes all over the world and has been held successfully for 11 sessions. At present, 146 countries and regions have established 525 Confucius Institutes as well as 1113 Confucius Classrooms in middle and primary schools, among which 140 institutes and 136 classrooms are established in 53 countries along the “Belt and Road”. In 2017, the Confucius Institutes and Classrooms in all the countries have 2.32 million students of various types, and have attracted 12.72 million participants in their cultural activities.

16216

(Story by Hao Yunfei, xinhuanet.com, Xi’an, December 10th)