The 11th Confucius Institute Conference commenced in Kunming, capital city of southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Dec 10, 2016.
The opening ceremony was attended by Chinese vice premier Liu Yandong, Yunnan governor Chen Hao and Chinese minister of education Chen Baosheng, as well as 2,200 plus delegates from 140 countries and regions worldwide.
“Up to now, 511 Confucius Institutes and 1,073 Confucius Classrooms have been set up in 140 countries and regions, with the number of teachers working in the institute reaching 46,000,” said the vice premier, who is also Chair of Council of the Confucius Institute Headquarters.
Yunnan governor Chen Hao said the 11th Confucius Institute Conference brings about an opportunity for Yunnan to exchange and cooperate with the international community, and will make Yunnan better known to the world.
Hungarian local Chinese teacher Karsai Zsuzsanna and Canadian pianist Roger Lord told their personal stories related to China and the Chinese language with touching words.
Themed “innovation, cooperation, inclusion and sharing”, the two-day conference aims to exchange ideas and language teaching experiences between China and foreign experts in an attempt to improve teaching quality and upgrade Confucius Institutes.
Cultural exhibitions and forums for university presidents and Confucius Institutes directors are simultaneously held during the conference.
Hailed as the educational Davos, ten sessions of the conference have been held in Beijing, Shanghai and Fujian Province since 2006.