On December 18th, “2018 Small-sized Seminar of Confucius Institute Studies” was held at the School of International Education of the South China University of Technology. Jointly organized by the Centre of Public Diplomacy and Intercultural Communication Research and the School of International Education of South China University of Technology, this seminar aimed to further promote researches and studies by academia at home and abroad on the development of the Confucius Institute and to carry out in-depth communication and discussion on research results on Confucius Institutes. Three teams that focused on the study of the Confucius Institute, namely Professor Ning Jiming’s team from Shandong University, Professor Wu Yinghui’s team from Minzu University of China, and Professor An Ran’s team from South China University of Technology, were invited to this seminar. Present at the seminar were 37 experts and scholars, including Wang Yong, Director of the Division of Development and Planning of Hanban (Confucius Institute Headquarters); Li Jinjun, Head of the Exchange and Cooperation Division of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province; Liu Lening, professor from Columbia University; Chen Guoming, professor from the University of Rhode Island; Guan Shijie, professor from Peking University; and others from such universities as Peking University, Fudan University, Beijing Language and Culture University, East China Normal University, Heilongjiang University, Chongqing University, and Tianjin Foreign Studies University.
Group Photo
The opening ceremony was presided over by Wang Qingnian, Dean of the School of International Education of South China University of Technology. Wu Yechun, Vice President of South China University of Technology, and Wang Yong, Director of the Division of Development and Planning of Hanban (Confucius Institute Headquarters), addressed the opening ceremony.
On behalf of South China University of Technology, Wu Yechun extended his welcome to all the experts and scholars present at the seminar. He reviewed the development and research process of the Confucius Institute at South China University of Technology, hoping that this seminar would promote more extensive and in-depth studies on the Confucius Institute and better fulfill the prospect of building a strong China and a community with a shared future for mankind.
Wu Yechun delivering a speech
Wang Yong stated that Professor Ning Jiming, Professor Wu Yinghui, Professor An Ran and their teams are leading figures in the study of the Confucius Institute. Research on the Confucius Institute requires experts and scholars to communicate with each other more regularly for reasonable specialization, in-depth cooperation and overall advancement. He wished that this seminar could be a good start for establishing seminar mechanism, research collaboration and functional intelligence of the study of the Confucius Institute.
Wang Yong delivering a speech
Professor Ning Jiming and his team from Shandong University elaborated their studies on the Confucius Institute in terms of cultural sociology, national governance, global public goods and brand building. Ning Jiming first introduced the general situation and research progress of his team. He held that scholars should adopt a problem-oriented approach to their studies into the Confucius Institute, and conduct in-depth, extensive and multi-angle researches, trying to strike a balance between problem orientation and professional emphasis. He also pointed out that the problem encountered in the development of Confucius Institute was China’s attempt and practice in entering the center of the world stage, and was also the most significant, extensive and basic attempt in establishing a community with a shared future for mankind. Therefore, the academic circle should get a better understanding and analyze the problem for more extensive research. Ma Xiaole, Wang Yanwei, Wang Hailan and Zhang Yun from the team respectively delivered keynote speeches.
Professor Wu Yinghui and his team from Minzu University of China elaborated their studies on the development of international Chinese education by the Confucius Institute, the data-base construction of Confucius Institute development and comparison between the development of the Confucius Institute and that of world major language education institutions. Wu Yinghui first introduced in detail the research into the Confucius Institute and international Chinese education at Minzu University of China in the past ten years. He believed that the Confucius Institute was the major part of international education studies, and his team would mainly focus its future research on quantitative studies, evaluation, and development theory and practice and its comparison with other world major language education institutions. He then stated that his team was endeavoring to build 2007-2017 Confucius Institute database and a database of development elements comparison between the Confucius Institute and other world major language education institutions. Guo Jing, Liu Jingjing and Wang Henan from the team respectively delivered keynote speeches.
The team headed by Professor An Ran from South China University of Technology expounded on the team’s overall research, discourse research into negative news related to the Confucius Institute by Western mainstream media and market-oriented features of the Confucius Institute. An Ran first introduced the general situation of her team’s research. Then, she proposed a basic research concept for trans-culture communication and management of the Confucius Institute and a theoretical framework for the development of the Confucius Institute through interdisciplinary knowledge integration, multiple theoretical supports, thick description, and deconstruction of phenomena. She advocated that the Confucius Institute should actively explore the balanced and interactive relationship between “localized” development and Hanban’s macro strategic “globalization” so that long-term, stable and sustainable growth can be achieved. Liu Cheng and Liu Guoli of her team delivered keynote speeches.
Li Shiyong, Director of and the Office of Social Science Administration at South China University of Technology hosted the panel discussion of the seminar. Wang Yong delivered a keynote speech, introducing the speed, scale, model, major work, expenditure, difficulties and problems of the development of the Confucius Institute. Afterwards, attendants discussed freely with each other. Liu Lening, professor from Columbia University; Chen Guoming, professor from the University of Rhode Island; Guan Shijie, professor from Peking University; Pu Qing, official of the Overseas Exchange Center of Peking University; Li Lin, Deputy Director of the Confucius Institute at Fudan University; and Zhou Yong, Director of the Confucius Institute at East China Normal University, and other experts shared their views on issues including the development of the Confucius Institute.
At the seminar
This seminar provided a platform for face-to-face communication between Hanban (Confucius Institute Headquarters) and distinguished scholars in the study of the Confucius Institute. It enhanced scholars’ awareness of problem- and practice-oriented studies on Confucius Institute, and offered intellectual support to the prosperity and development of the Confucius Institute. (cited from Confucius Institute Headquarters, source: South China University of Technology, Story by Liu Guoli)
