From December 9 to 10, the 2019 International Chinese Language Education Conference (ICLEC) with the theme of Innovation and Development of International Chinese Language Education in the New Era was held in Changsha, Hunan Province. More than 1,000 representatives from over 160 countries held discussions on deepening systematic reform, enriching education resources, improving teaching quality, and promoting diversified development and international cooperation. Sun Chunlan, the Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, attended the conference and delivered a keynote speech. The opening ceremony was presided over by Tian Xuejun, the Vice Minister of Education. Du Jiahao, the Secretary of CPC Committee of Hunan Province, and Chen Baosheng, the Minister of Education delivered speeches in the opening ceremony. Tian Xuejun, the Vice Minister of Education, attended the closing ceremony and delivered a speech. Li Yuanyuan, The President of HUST and Member of the Confucius Institute Headquarters Council, was invited to lead the HUST delegation to attend the conference and the Confucius Institute (CI) Headquarters Council Roundtable. The delegation also included Vice President of HUST Chen Jianguo as well as representatives of the Wayne State University (WSU) in USA, the University of Canterbury (UC) in New Zealand, the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil, the CIs at the three mentioned universities, the International Exchange Center of HUST and the School of International Education of HUST.At the following Roundtable, Li Yuanyuan introduced how the three CIs of HUST integrated into local communities and local education systems through helping the Chinese language education and discipline construction of the three respective universities. He pointed out that in the current international environment, efforts should be made to improve quality and efficiency for the connotative development of CI. HUST would take CI construction into its strategy of international cooperation, support the healthy and sustainable development of CI as usual, further develop disciplinary advantages, expand cooperation channels, and contribute to the promotion of diversified civilization and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

During the conference, Li Yuanyuan and Chen Jianguo met with the representatives of WSU, UC, UFMG, and the Directors and Deputy Directors of the CIs. Li thanked the three universities for their long-term support for the development of the CIs and their trust in HUST. He emphasized that the three CIs should further help meet the needs of local faculties, students, universities and communities, integrate into local communities, improve teaching quality, and promote mutual understanding and cultural exchanges to help build a community with a shared future for mankind. He also affirmed the hard work of the Deputy Directors of the three CIs, while the three universities stated that they would continue to support the development of CI and establish it as a platform to strengthen cooperation and exchanges.Prof. John Richard Brender from WSU shared a two-minute video of a funny Chinese language teaching carried out by them in the sub-forum with the theme "Chinese Language Education Construction". Prof. Barbara Malveira Orfano from UFMG was invited to share their hard work in serving local community and the society at a sub-forum with the theme "Demand-oriented International Chinese Language Education".It is reported that on December 7th, HUST successfully held the first joint conference of Confucius Institutes. The three universities engaged in discussions regarding strengthening cooperation and exchanges, not only among the CIs but also among the universities as a whole. A consensus was reached initially to form a joint conference mechanism to promote exchanges of students and faculties, share teaching resources, build joint workshops and explore the "CI +"cooperation model.

翻譯/編輯 王櫻

校譯 THUSHINI MENDIS

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