The 2018 Africa Confucius Institute Joint Conference was held at the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique, from 14 to 15 May, 2018. The conference was hosted by Confucius Institutes’ Headquarter (Hanban), and supported by the Embassy of the PR China in Mozambique.
There were more than 300 representatives including Chinese delegates of more than 60 Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms from 41 African countries as well as representatives from Chinese and African enterprises and institutions in attendance at the conference. Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Ms Veronica Macamo, from the Parliament of Mozambique, the DVC of DUT, Professor Sibusiso Moyo, the Co-Dean of the DUT Confucius Institute, Mr Frank Lin Wu, Professor Graham Stewart, were also present at the Joint CI Conference in Maputo.
Mozambican Minister of Science, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Jorge Olívio Penicela Nhambiu, said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the conference that the Confucius Institute is an important institution of Chinese language teaching and Chinese culture communication across the world. “The event held by Mozambique for the first time was a significant milestone in educational, cultural and social exchanges between China and Africa,” he said.
Ms Veronica Macamo, from the Parliament of Mozambique, added that Chinese education is of great significance to boosting economic and social development in Mozambique, and the Confucius Institute plays an essential role in promoting Chinese language. She hoped that this conference would provide some success experience for other countries in also promoting Chinese learning.
Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, who was visiting Mozambique, also addressed the opening ceremony. He said that 54 Confucius Institutes and 30 Confucius Classrooms have been established in 41 Africa countries, with a total enrolment of more than 1.4 million students, making Africa the region enjoying the highest Chinese teaching efficiency.
He hoped that both sides (China and Africa) would continue their sincere cooperation and make joint efforts in improving the teaching quality and level of Confucius Institutes, actively pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative, building a community of shared future for China and Africa, and pushing forward the development of a diverse world civilisation.
“At present, the all-round friendly cooperation between China and Africa is at a new starting point in history. We should make new and greater contributions to promoting exchanges and cooperation in education and culture as well as mutual understanding and friendship between China and Africa,” he said.
Forming part of the conference was a President’s Forum, which focused on promoting China-Africa friendly cooperation and building a community of shared future for China and Africa. DUT’s Prof Moyo represented DUT in the forum to share the experience and ideas of DUT CI’s development with five other heads of Chinese and African universities such as Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria, Chongqing Normal University, Beijing Language and Culture University and Zhejiang Normal University.
In her speech titled: Exploring The Positioning Of CI Within The University And Its External Environment, Prof Moyo pointed out that since the CI’s establishment four years ago, the CI at DUT had developed significantly, with more than 3,500 registered learners from DUT community, Durban community and local secondary schools, hosting or co-hosting more than 100 cultural, educational and academic functions with around 80,000 participants from local and Chinese communities in South Africa, to name just a few. She also added that distinctive and fruitful achievements have been made in Mandarin teaching and the promotion of the educational, academic and cultural exchanges between China and South Africa. “The development of a CI requires a strong internal support system, but it also requires building a comprehensive platform to achieve the sustainable development as well as providing services to the local society by merging the multi-resources together,” she stressed. Prof Moyo also added that this conference would offer an important opportunity for the Confucius Institutes in Africa in exchanging innovating ideas of development, enhancing the quality of education, strengthening collaboration with local stakeholders and promoting common progress.
The two day conference also entailed case sharing and panel discussions focusing on the innovation and characteristics development of Confucius Institutes, improving the quality of teaching and strengthening the cooperation and experience sharing among Confucius Institutes. It also provided valuable insights into the innovative and integrated development of the CI’s in Africa.
During the panel discussion, Prof Graham Stewart and Frank Lin WU shared the experience of DUT CI and expressed their opinions in promoting the skill training programme, strengthening cooperation with local official institutions and Chinese enterprise, focusing on localisation of Mandarin teaching and the development of digital and online Confucius Institutes.
“By participating in such a conference, DUT CI representatives have gained more innovative ideas, operation models and greater opportunities to bring back to DUT to further promote cooperative development. As this year marks the 20th anniversary of China-South Africa diplomatic relations, China-South Africa relations will enter a new chapter. The DUT CI will continually make its own contribution to promoting people-to–people exchange and the development of a multicultural world, and contribute to a harmonious world,” said Wu.
Pictured: Prof Graham Stewart, Prof Sibusibo Moyo and Mr Frank Lin Wu- Co-Dean of the DUT Confucius Institute, DUT’s DVC: Research, Innovation and Engagement, at the conference.
Copy: Lin Wu
