On November 5, GDUFS held the Unveiling Ceremony of Confucius Institute Hosting Universities Alliance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay and the International Chinese Education High-end Forum of the Greater Bay Area both online and offline. The Confucius Institute Hosting Universities Alliance is a regional cooperative organization initiated by GDUFS and jointly founded by GDUFS, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the University of Macau, the Sun Yat-sen University, the South China University of Technology, the Jinan University, the South China Normal University, the Guangzhou University and the Lingnan Normal University. The Alliance takes mutual learning and win-win cooperation as its objective, and relies on its strategic position in the GBA to build a regional alliance, with Chinese Confucius institute hosting universities in GBA as the main body and other institutions as the support.
The Alliance was announced to be founded
Zhao Lingshan, vice president and secretary general of the Chinese International Education Foundation, and Qiu Kenan from the Department of Education of Guangdong Province attended the ceremony and gave their speeches. Shi Youqi, president of GDUFS, delivered a welcome speech, and vice president Jiao Fangtai presided over the ceremony. Li Hongyu, deputy director of the Project Funding Department of CIEF, Li Jinjun, director of the Office of Exchanges and Cooperation of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Zhu Honglin, council president of the Confucius Institute of Hong Kong, Xu Jie, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Macau, Xiao Haipeng, executive vice president of the Sun Yat-sen University, Li Weiqing, vice president of the South China University of Technology, Zhang Hong, vice president of the Jinan University, Yang Zhongmin, vice president of the South China Normal University, Wu Kaijun, vice president of the Guangzhou University, and Dai Shu, vice president of the Lingnan Normal University, attended the ceremony.
The first session was the Unveiling Ceremony of Confucius Institute Hosting Universities Alliance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay. Shi Youqi said in his speech that the construction of GBA is one of the hottest topics at present and that GDUFS will give full play to its characteristics and advantages by making all-out efforts to build a high-quality platform for foreign cooperation and exchange so as to serve the national strategies with its language and culture courses. Shi Youqi mentioned that the construction of Confucius institute/classroom is an important part of the education internationalization strategy of GDUFS, and also an important responsibility and mission of GDUFS as a well established higher education institution in foreign studies. GDUFS will, through the Alliance, better tell the stories of GBA, further strengthen cooperation with the 8 brother universities who had founded their Confucius institutes/classrooms in GBA, fully implement the Alliance’s constitution, better tell China’s stories, spread China’s voice, thus making Confucius institute/classroom an excellent window and bridge for communication between Chinese and foreign languages and cultures, pushing the construction and development of Confucius institute/classroom to new heights and jointly writing a new chapter in international Chinese language education.
Shi Youqi delivered a welcoming speech
Zhao Lingshan introduced six practical tasks that the Foundation accomplished since its founding. The Foundation is responsible for awarding and managing the brand Confucius Institutes. The Foundation has basically completed ownership transfer of Confucius institutes/classrooms. The Foundation set up the Confucius institute/classroom service system. The Foundation set up the communication platform. The Foundation trained Chinese directors for Confucius institutes/classrooms and organized foreign directors in studies. The Foundation commended Chinese and foreign directors who had served as a director for 10 years. Zhao Lingshan stressed that no tasks of the Foundation can be done without the support of Confucius Institute hosting universities. The Alliance is a regional organization for the promotion of the brand Confucius Institutes and the exchange of experience in international Chinese language education. He believed that the development of Confucius institutes/classrooms must adhere to the principle of openness, collaboration and innovation, and attract more support from all walks of life at home and abroad. Developing the Alliance well is an important measure and effective starting point to achieve this goal. Zhao Lingshan said that the Foundation will actively support and leverage the Alliance and thus promote mutual learning and cooperation between the Alliance and other China-foreign alliances and universities.
Zhao Lingshan delivered a speech
Qiu Kenan stressed that the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone inject new impetus into the construction of GBA and also bring new opportunities for the development and integration of higher education and culture in GBA. Qiu Kenan believed that the founding of the Alliance will further gather and integrate the educational and teaching resources of GBA universities, and give play to the important role of Confucius institutes/classrooms founded by these universities in GBA in international Chinese language education and enhancing cultural exchanges between China and other countries. The Department of Education of Guangdong Province will, as always, he said, support Chinese Confucius institute/classroom hosting universities, further promote the construction of Confucius institute/classrooms in GBA and provide institutional guarantee for the construction of the faculty team of Confucius institutes/classrooms. He hopes that Chinese Confucius institute/classroom hosting universities can make full use of their initiative and the Alliance to strengthen cooperation and communication, and better promote the development of international Chinese language education.
Qiu Kenan delivered a speech
At the ceremony, members of the Alliance deliberated on, voted for and approved of the Constitution of Confucius Institute Hosting Universities Alliance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the List of Chairman, Vice Chairman and Council Members of Confucius Institute Hosting Universities Alliance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. GDUFS serves as the chairman of the board, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Macau as vice chairmen of the board, and the Sun Yat-sen University, the South China University of Technology, the Jinan University, the South China Normal University, the Guangzhou University and the Lingnan Normal University as council members of the Alliance.
International Chinese Education High-end Forum of the Greater Bay Area
Jiao Fangtai presided over the ceremony
The second session was the International Chinese Education High-end Forum of the Greater Bay Area. The nine attending universities had heated discussions over four topics, namely making full use of the advantages of GBA to build Confucius institutes with characteristics, promoting Cantonese, Hong Kong and Macao cultures to go global based on discipline programs, promoting cultural exchanges among Confucius institute hosting universities and strengthening the training for international Chinese language education teaching staff, proposed suggestions for the construction of Confucius institutes/classrooms and worked together to promote the construction and development of a high-quality and high-level alliance. In his speech, Jiao Fangtai shared the experience, development status and achievements of the seven Confucius institutes/classroom of GDUFS, and expressed GDUFS’ expectation to fully bridge member universities of the Alliance, provide high-quality and accurate services for them, and make the Alliance a platform for the development of Confucius institutes/classrooms in GBA.
Group photo of participants
