Opening Ceremony of 2018 Pre-job Training of Chinese Directors of Confucius Institutes in Asia and Africa Held in Dalian University of Foreign Languages

On July 14th, the opening ceremony of 2018 pre-job training of Chinese directors of the Confucius Institutes in Asia and Africa organized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) was held in Dalian University of Foreign Languages (DUFL). Yu Yunfeng, Deputy Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters and Deputy Director-General of Hanban, Liu Ximing, Secretary of the CPC Committee of DUFL, Liu Hong, President of DUFL, Sun Yuhua, Secretary of the CPC Committee of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization University attended the opening ceremony and Wang Weichen, Vice President of DUFL, chaired the event. 75 directors-designate from 53 universities and other institutions such as Peking University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Shandong University as well as China Radio International, who are to direct the Confucius Institutes or Classrooms in Asia and Africa will receive a 4-week special training here.

Wang Weichen, Vice President of Dalian University of Foreign Languages, addressing the opening ceremony

Liu Hong, President of DUFL, expressed with deep feelings in her speech that in terms of cultural exchanges and people-to-people connectivity, the cause of the Confucius Institute is in line with the overall development goals of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). As a comprehensive platform for cultural exchanges with language and culture as carrier, the Confucius Institutes assume the important mission of advancing the friendly ties between China and other countries, and have a close bearing on the overall situation of public diplomacy and cultural exchanges, especially educational exchanges. At present, the Confucius Institutes across the globe have brought one thousand Chinese and foreign universities together, laying the strongest foundation for building a community of a shared future for mankind pioneered by culture, language and education. Throughout 14 years’ development, there emerge a bunch of people who really enjoy Chinese language and culture in countries where the Confucius Institutes were opened. They take initiative to conduct in-depth contacts with Chinese culture, and identify the approaches to combine their own culture with Chinese culture and carry out mutual learning between cultures. The mutual learning between Chinese culture and other cultures from the rest of the world is currently underway.

Liu Hong, President of Dalian University of Foreign Languages, delivering a speech

Yu Yunfeng, Deputy Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters and Deputy Director-General of Hanban, gave the first lecture to the trainees themed with Telling fantastic Chinese stories well, Being a good director. He shared with the trainees the development of the Confucius Institutes in the past 14 years and the goals of the Confucius Institutes in the new era. He also put forward expectations on how to be a good Chinese director of the Confucius Institute in accordance with the reality of the Confucius Institutes in Asia and Africa. He noted that since the first Confucius Institute was opened in 2014, 525 Confucius Institutes and 1,113 Confucius Classrooms have been opened in 146 countries and regions so far. The Confucius Institutes actively accommodate the needs, grasp every development opportunity and remain committed to the cooperation between China and other countries. The Confucius Institutes are built, managed, owned and shared by all the Chinese and foreign parties together. Starting with language, the Confucius Institutes conduct exchanges through culture and promote people-to-people connectivity, thus building themselves into the largest language promotion agency in the world and an importance force for cultural exchanges between China and other countries. He pointed out that in this new era, the Confucius Institutes should add new dimensions to themselves, and adopt a development path featuring specialization, localization, and digitalization. The Confucius Institutes should adhere to openness and inclusiveness, reform and innovation, help their students achieve their personal dreams, and promote greater progress in universities, schools as well as the local areas and countries where the Confucius Institutes are built. Furthermore, the Confucius Institutes need to enhance people’s understanding of Chinese language and culture, and encourage diversified cultures to conduct exchanges and draw on each other’s strength, thus making new and greater contributions to building a community of shared future for mankind. He hoped that all the trainees will attach great importance and be fully dedicated to the pre-job training and improve their competence during the period. He also hoped that through this training, the trainees can identify their proper position, discharge their duties as Chinese directors, and become envoys to promote people-to-people bonds.

Yu Yunfeng, Deputy Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters and Deputy Director-General of Hanban, delivering a keynote speech with the theme of “Telling fantastic Chinese stories well, Being a good director”.

Guo Weidong, a professor from Xinjiang Normal University, delivering a speech as the representative of trainees

The venue

By means of lectures, seminars, inspection tours, hands-on experiences as well as sharing of experience, this training of Chinese directors will include the management of the Confucius Institutes, teaching and spread of culture, cross-cultural communication and coordination as well as project presentation of the Confucius Institute Headquarters. It is known that as the base for the international promotion of Chinese Language in Dalian, DUFL has established 10 overseas Confucius Institutes, spreading across Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. This number ranks 7th among all the universities and tops the list among the universities in Liaoning Province. In the recent decade, DUFL has organized 34 important training programs for directors of the Confucius Institutes and volunteer Chinese language teachers sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban), with the number of trained Chinese directors, Chinese and foreign teachers as well as volunteer Chinese language teachers totaling over 4000. DUFL has been highly recognized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and well acclaimed by its trainees, and has won the title of Outstanding Confucius Institute Chinese Partners for three times.