Chair and Directors at 12th Confucius Institute Conference
The VUW Confucius Institute Chair, Director and Deputy Director attended the 12th Confucius Institute Conference in Xi'an, China, from 12-13th December. The conference was sponsored by Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban), and aimed at seeking improvements in Chinese language education. It was attended by more than 2,500 directors of Confucius Institutes and presidents of the host universities from 140 countries and regions.
Liu Yandong, Vice-Premier of the State Council of China and Chair of the Council of Confucius Institute Headquarters attended the conference and delivered the keynote speech. She delivered plaques to 10 newly built Confucius Institutes and presented awards to outstanding institutes and individuals.
VUW Confucius Institute Chair Tony Browne was on a panel discussion on how to build a better public image of Confucius Institutes (delivered remarks here), and Director Rebecca Needham contributed to one on capacity-building of Chinese language teaching staff. Both these issues are critical to our Confucius Institute’s success.