The 10thConfucius Institute Conference, chaired by Mr. Yuan Guiren, Minister of Education, P. R. China, Vice Chair of the Council of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, was held in Shanghai on December 6th. Madam Liu Yandong, Vice Premier of P. R. China, Chair of the Council of the Confucius Institute Headquarters said in her Keynote Speech that Confucius Institutes should be innovated and reformed to enable Chinese education centers abroad to better meet foreign needs for Mandarin and Chinese culture lessons. The Confucius Institutes' teaching quality, operational modes and appeal have been improved in 2015, "building a bridge for communication and sowing seeds of friendship between Chinese people and people in the world," Liu said while addressing the institutes' global conference in Shanghai. She called on related agencies to gradually localize the Confucius Institutes overseas, and reform teaching content and methods to adapt to foreign demands and better serve the public. More than 2,300 people, including representatives from 500 Confucius Institutes in 134 countries and regions, attended Sunday's conference to discuss the institutes' future development.
Prof. Jiang Juncheng, Vice President of Nanjing Tech University was also invited to attend the conference. Since the establishment of NanjingTech first Confucius Institute with the University of Johannesburg in 2014, both universities have carried out a series of cultural and academic exchanges such as Panoramic Epic Painting Exhibition: In Salute of Mandela, Nanjing Charm: "Three Tour" Performance and the Summer Camp to Visit China under the guidance and support of Hanban (Confucius Institute Headquarters). In 2015 alone, a total number of 357 teachers and students at Johannesburg enrolled in our joint Confucius Institute.
Prof. Jiang Juncheng held meeting with Dr. David Monyae, the UJ CI Director and Prof. Lv Jianggao, the NanjingTech CI Director during the conference for discussions on the selection of CI teacher and volunteers, the credit system of Chinese Mandarin, the bilateral cultural and academic exchanges and the establishment NanjingTech-UJ joint research centers to facilitate the further development of our joint Confucius Institute.
