North Campus, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, October 21th 2021: Recently, in memory of the 2572th birthday of the great educator Confucius, Zhou Fuqiang, the Chinese dean of GDUFS’s Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Verde, and Ermelinda Tavares, the foreign dean, were invited for an interview by Cape Verde National Television.

Zhou Fuqiang being interviewed

In the interview, Zhou Fuqiang said that Confucius’ thoughts constitute the core gene in Chinese culture. As one of the most important institutions for the spread of Chinese culture, the Confucius Institute has made positive contribution to cultural exchange and the peace of the world.

Ermelinda Tavares talking about the development of the Confucius Institute at Cape Verde

Ermelinda Tavares elaborated on the development of the Confucius Institute at Cape Verde in recent years. She said that since the establishment of the institute in 2015, more and more people in Cape Verde have showed their interest in Chinese culture and taken the initiative to learn Chinese. In the Confucius Institute of Cape Verde, more than 50 Chinese teachers have held a post successively. The number of registered students has reached 5000, and hundreds of activities have been held. When talking about the current situation of the Confucius Institute, she pointed out that the University of Cape Verde and its Confucius Institute would be relocated into a new campus in August this year, which was built with the assistance of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. At the same time, the Confucius Institute of Cape Verde plans to recruit its first undergraduate students majoring in Chinese. In the next five to ten years, the institute will cultivate local Chinese teachers with high levels of professional skill and a strong teaching ability, with the aim of providing high-quality teachers for middle schools offering Chinese courses.

This interview with a national television station is not only a local recognition of the Confucius Institute’s scale and capabilities, but also a unanimous acknowledgement of the Confucius Institute’s contribution to cultural exchange between the two countries. During the epidemic, Zhou Fuqiang, the Chinese dean, and other Chinese teachers stood on the front line of teaching at the Confucius Institute. On September 15th, five Chinese teachers from GDUFS volunteered to visit Praia, the capital of the Cape Verde, for Chinese teaching. In the future, the Confucius Institute of Cape Verde will keep on expanding itself and promoting the development of Chinese teaching in the Cape Verde.

GDUFS is the first university in Guangdong in setting up Confucius Institutes abroad, with the largest number of Confucius Institutes in the province. GDUFS has seven Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) around the world: the Confucius Institute of the University of Sapporo, the Confucius Institute at the Russian Urals Federal, the Confucius Institute of the University of Saint Mary’s Catholic University in Peru, the Confucius Institute of the university of Cape Verde, the Confucius Institute of Ain Shams University, the Confucius Institute of the University of Porto, Portugal, and the Lagerstroemia Australia Confucius Classroom.