Inaugural Ceremony
On December 10th, according to Dalian University of Foreign Languages, the opening ceremony of the Liaoning Province Confucius Institute Partner University Alliance was held in Changsha, Hunan Province. 12 universities from Liaoning Province and nearly 100 representatives of Confucius Institutes from 23 overseas universities attended the opening ceremony. Dalian Foreign Studies University was elected as the council chair of the Alliance.
At present, 100 universities in Liaoning Province have established friendly relationships with more than 1000 universities, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations in the world, and 13 universities have established 30 Confucius Institutes and 4 Confucius Classrooms overseas. As the council chair of the Liaoning Province Confucius Institute Partner University Alliance, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, from building the first Confucius Institute overseas in 2007 to establishing the Multi-Language Base in Dalian of the International Promotion of Chinese Language, has been sending directors, teachers and volunteers to train all kinds of teachers for the Confucius Institute Headquarters, and cooperating with 10 universities on four continents to establish 10 Confucius Institutes. It has become a university with the largest number of Confucius Institutes established overseas by provincial institutions in China.
Unveiling Ceremony of the Alliance
At the conference, the council chair and the vice council chair of the Alliance were elected, the draft articles of the Alliance were voted on, and the framework agreement of the Alliance was signed jointly. Members of the Alliance expressed that on the basis of the framework, they would jointly adhere to the concept of "openness, inclusiveness and win-win", and work together to integrate resources, complement advantages, share and innovate collaboratively. They would establish multiple and effective cooperation mechanisms in the fields of cultural exchanges, mutual learning, personnel training and scientific research, jointly promote the high-quality development of Confucius Institutes, boost the in-depth cooperation between Chinese and foreign universities, promote multiple parties to learn from each other in cultural exchanges and strive to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
At the inaugural ceremony, Ma Jianfei, Deputy Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, said that as a bridge for cultural exchange and communication between China and foreign countries, Confucius Institutes bear great significance in strengthening friendly cooperation and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. The establishment of the Liaoning Province Confucius Institute Partner University Alliance is conducive to gathering and integrating the educational and teaching resources of colleges and universities in Liaoning Province, further supporting the cooperation between Chinese and foreign education, serving the “going global” of cultural exchange in Liaoning Province, providing a new platform for the world to understand Chinese culture, playing a greater role in promoting the diversified development of the world and building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Hua Lei, Deputy Director of the Department of Education of Liaoning Province, delivering a speech
Hua Lei, Deputy Director of the Department of Education of Liaoning Province, said that the Alliance has established stable and diversified inter school communication and cooperation relations between Chinese and foreign universities through Confucius Institutes, and has created multi-party cooperation platforms, and has built a general layout for common development so as to continuously strengthen all-round cooperation in various fields such as student exchange, visiting scholars, academic exchanges, co-construction of discipline, and realize the deep integration of the universities in the Alliance. In the meantime, it will enhance the cultural soft power of Liaoning Province and promote the internationalization of Liaoning Province in the fields of education, culture, economy and trade.
Wang Weichen, Representative of Council Chair of the Alliance and Deputy Director of the Board of School Administration of DUFL, said that the establishment of the Alliance can not only improve the internationalization level of Liaoning Province, but also benefit the universities in the alliance. It will help to promote the benign interaction between colleges and universities, establish an efficient multi-party cooperation mechanism so as to vigorously promote open cooperation between colleges and universities, and to help cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and foreign countries. (cited from Confucius Institute Headquarters, source: chinanews.com, Story by Yang Yi, photo by Dalian University of Foreign Languages)
