On November 15th, the special conference on "The Legacy and Development of Confucius Institutes (CI) — Stepping into the Next 20 Years" was successfully held in Beijing. Ren Youqun, Vice Minister of Education, attended the event and delivered a keynote speech. Yang Wei, President of the Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF), along with nearly a thousand participants including representatives from Chinese and local CI host institutions, Chinese and Local Directors, enterprise and media representatives, and guests from various sectors were also present.
Ren Youqun stated that after two decades of development, CIs have become a crucial platform for educational and cultural cooperation widely recognized by the international community. Confronting new circumstances, CIs must enhance the operations quality, improve and refine the teaching system, and strive to establish Chinese language majors where conditions allow; they must actively utilize artificial intelligence to empower Chinese language teaching, constructing a new tripartite collaborative model of "Teacher-Student-Machine" in Chinese language education; they need to proactively align with the needs of overseas Chinese enterprises and the career development of learners, promoting "Chinese Language+Profession" and "Chinese Language+Career" education to serve practical cooperation between China and other countries; it is essential to build a CI ecosystem involving both Chinese and local host institutions as well as external partners, allowing more social forces to participate in the CI development.
Ren Youqun, Vice Minister of Education
Yang Wei expressed that looking forward to the next two decades, we will continue to build bridges for language connectivity, mutual understanding, mutual trust, and mutual learning among civilizations, jointly composing a magnificent new chapter for CIs over the next two decades.
Yang Wei, President of the CIEF and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Representatives from the Chinese and local CI hosts shared their experiences and insights regarding the CI development.
Prof. Isaac O. Kibwage, Vice Chancellor of Egerton University
Prof. Duan Peng, President of BLCU
Christophe Boisseau, Director General of ESCE International Business School
Assia Kaced, Vice Rector of University of Algiers 2 - Abou El Kacem Saâdallah
The event featured the global launch of We Are Friends: An Integrated Chinese Course—the first demonstrative teaching resource suite developed specifically for CIs. It also included ceremonies to inaugurate the Global Alliance of Agriculture-Focused Confucius Institutes, and to sign agreements and present plaques for new CIs.
Official launch of We Are Friends: An Integrated Chinese Course
Establishment of the Global Alliance of Confucius Institutes with Agricultural Characteristics, GACIAC
Signing Ceremony for the Establishment of New Confucius Institutes.
Confucius Institute at University of Chittagong, Bangladesh
Confucius Institute at Szechenyi Istvan University, Hungary
Confucius Institute at University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Confucius Institute at Lumbini Buddhist University, Nepal
Confucius Institute at University of Chittagong, Bangladesh
Confucius Institute at Escola Superior Normal de Chicoutimi, Guinea-Bissau
Confucius Institute of Vocational and Technical Education at University of Fianarantsoa, Madagascar
Confucius Institute in Leuven, Belgium
Confucius Institute at University of Patras, Greece
Confucius Institute at Szechenyi Istvan University, Hungary
Confucius Institute at University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy
Confucius Institute at Fluminense Federal University, Brazil
Zhao Lingshan, Vice President and Secretary-General of CIEF, chaired the conference
