European Confucius Institutes Conference

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, October 18 to 20, 2009

The very first Conference of European Confucius Institutes took place at Group T, October 18 to 20, 2009. 65 institutes from 22 countries gathered to exchange ideas and tighten the bonds. The head of the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and the (vice-)presidents of 20 prominent Chinese universities also attended.

Opening speeches
Johan De Graeve, President of Group T and Chairman of the Confucius Institute at Group T, explored the conference's theme, Connecting and Developing. Yves Leterme, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Zhang Yuanyuan, Ambassador to China; Louis Tobback, Mayor of Leuven; Chen Feng, Vice President of Beijing Jiaotong University; and Xu Lin, Chief Executive of Hanban also took the floor.

Best practices and workshops
6 institutes introduced their most important achievements and their plans for the future. In 4 study groups, the conference participants discussed the Confucius Institutes 10-year plan; the training of local Chinese language teachers; the enhancement of the institutes' social role; and the development of didactic materials and other study tools.

Conclusions
The workshops rendered the following conclusions: the focus should not solely go to the study of the Chinese language, but also to the study of the country and its culture; there is a need to train local Chinese language teachers and to develop context-specific didactic materials; and participation with local government organizations should be promoted.

Closing ceremony
Zhao Guocheng, Deputy General Director of Hanban, conducted the closing ceremony. He started by referring to the Confucius Institutes' mission: establishing broad connections between people who love Chinese language and culture. Expanding this network is essential. Hanban also wants to develop model institutes that can be exemplary to other institutes.
 

• The conference website : www.confuciusconference.eu