Between December 9th and 11th, Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) successfully held the Annual Meeting of BFSU-as-Chinese-partner CIs 2011 with over 50 participants, including the council members, Chinese and foreign directors of 17 Confucius Institutes (CIs)/Confucius Classrooms and the presidents of the host universities in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Malaysia, ROK, UAE and the US. Prof. Yang Xueyi, Chairman of the University Council of BFSU, Prof. Yang Jianguo, and Prof. Sun Youzhong, President Assistants of BFSU, Prof. Miroslav Mašláň, President of Palacky University of Czech Republic, Prof. Daniel Ladislav, Vice-president of Palacky University of Czech Republic, Prof. Albert Corhay, Vice-president of University of Liege of Belgium, Prof. Zoltán Horváth, Vice-president of Eötvös Loránd University of Hungry and Prof. Yuri Sukharev, Vice-president of Moscow State Linguistic University of Russia were among the distinguished guests present in the opening ceremony.

Prof. Yang Xueyi, Chairman of the University Council of BFSU delivering a speech in the opening ceremony

Prof. Miroslav Mašláň, President of Palacky University, Czech Republic delivering a speech in the opening ceremony

Prof. Yuri Sukharev, Vice-president of Moscow State Linguistic University, Russia delivering a speech in the opening ceremony

Held just ahead of the 6th Confucius Institute Conference whose theme was the “Next Decade for Confucius Institute”, the annual meeting focused on the localization of the CIs. In his opening remarks, Prof. Yang Xueyi pointed out “a country's success in foreign language education to its essence requires localized faculty, teaching material and methods. The more localized the education is, the more popular and influential it will be.” As an outstanding base for cultivating high-quality talents in foreign exchanges, BFSU in its 70 years of history has witnessed the whole process and splendid achievements of China in localizing foreign language teachers, teaching material and methods. Similarly, the localization of the CIs is also a fundamental and long-term task.

During the meeting, the delegates discussed the localization of faculty and teaching material, cultural activity development for CIs, as well as how to cooperate effectively with local governments, cultural institutions and enterprises etc. The training for Chinese language teachers in the Confucius Institute at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, the Chunqiu Lectures in the Confucius Institute at the University of Rome La Sapienza, the training for local Chinese language teachers in the Confucius Classroom Munich were all valuable exploration in localizing the faculty. A speech on how to establish a career development mechanism for CIs’ working staff delivered by the delegate from the Confucius Institute in Liege was really enlightening. The textbook Chinese for the Italians compiled by the Confucius Institute at the University of Rome La Sapienza， the Chinese Textbook for Hungarian written by the Confucius Institute at Eötvös Loránd University and the Dictionary for Chinese Learners of the Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna were successful examples in developing countries-specific Chinese teaching resources for the countries speaking less-commonly taught languages. Moreover, the delegates also unanimously attached great importance to the localization of cultural activities.

Confucius Institute Office of BFSU launching the Cooperative Program for CIs in 2012

Before the closing ceremony, the Confucius Institute Office of BFSU launched the cooperative program for CIs in 2012, in which the “Three Tours” (namely, performances, textbook exhibitions and cultural lectures) program, the training for local Chinese language teachers on teaching material, the HSK Workshop, the Summer Camp for Primary and Secondary School Students from Asia, Europe and America 2012 and other projects entrusted to BFSU by Hanban received positive feedback from the delegates. All participated CIs expressed their commitment to actively participating in relevant programs and promoting the comprehensive and sustainable development of CIs on the basis of their own features and advantages.

Group photo for the Annual Meeting of BFSU-as-Chinese-partner CIs 2011

The meeting is the fifth collective event for the overseas CIs sponsored by the BFSU as the Chinese partner, most of whom have celebrated the 5th anniversary. They have reached a consensus that strengthening the capacity building and meeting the local demand for Chinese language and culture was imperative and key for the sustainable development of the CIs. The meeting was praised by the delegates as a fruitful and successful event for choosing the highly relevant topics, focusing on key points and meeting the CIs’ demand for further development.