President Chen Yiyi, Assistant to the President and Director of the International Exchange Office Li Li, and Dean of the School of Education Cao Huiying recently visited the Confucius Classroom of the Chinese Culture and International Education Exchange Center in Pretoria, South Africa. During the visit, the delegation visited the Chinese Embassy in South Africa, the Language Training Centre of the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
Chen Yiyi and his entourage visited the language training center of the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, and were warmly received by Cecilia Colarossi, the director of the center. In addition, the two sides discussed possible future cooperation in “Chinese + vocational training”, especially in artificial intelligence.
At the Chinese Embassy in South Africa, Chen Yiyi had a working exchange with Li Xudong, Education Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa. On behalf of the university, Chen Yiyi expressed his gratitude to the embassy for its care and help, and introduced the basic situation of the institution, international exchanges, and the development plan of the Confucius Classroom, and said that the school will make every effort to run the Confucius Classroom, and hopes to continue to receive the care and guidance of the embassy in the future.
Li Xudong fully affirmed the work of the Confucius Classroom in the university and hoped that the institution will continue to work closely with foreign parties to continue to expand its work and play an active role in promoting cultural and educational exchanges between China and South Africa.
The Confucius Classroom of the South African Center for Chinese Culture and International Education Exchange held its 10th anniversary celebration in Pretoria. More than 70 teachers and students attended the event, including Chen Yiyi, President of Shanghai Sanda College, Chinese partner of Confucius Classroom, Li Xudong, Education Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa, Albert Chanee, Deputy Director of Gauteng Provincial Education, South Africa, and teachers and students.
In his speech, Li Xudong said that the Confucius Classroom, as an important platform for cultural exchanges between China and South Africa, not only promotes the learning of Chinese language and culture, but also deepens the understanding and friendship between the two peoples.
Albert Chani said that the Confucius Classroom has made great contributions to education in South Africa, and he looks forward to continuing to cooperate in the future to jointly promote the cultural exchanges between China and South Africa to a deeper level.
In his speech, Chen Yiyi said that the Confucius Classroom has made a series of remarkable achievements in the past, and in 2018, it was awarded the title of “Global Advanced Confucius Classroom”. He believes that China and South Africa will continue to maintain the original characteristics and advantages of the classroom, and provide more high-quality teaching services for local people in South Africa who love Chinese and Chinese languages and culture.
Subsequently, Lu Zhilei, Director of the Confucius Classroom, delivered a keynote speech on China-South Africa vocational and technical exchanges and cooperation and the solution of youth employment in South Africa. Dai Wenhong, the Chinese director of the Confucius Classroom, summarized the achievements of the classroom in the past ten years and introduced the vision for the future development of the classroom.
She mentioned that in the future, the classroom will continue to be committed to cultivating talents with international vision and cross-cultural communication skills, and contribute to the friendly relations and cooperation between China and South Africa. “In the future, I will continue to devote my full enthusiasm and surging passion to Chinese teaching and disseminating the excellent Chinese culture, and hope that on the road of ‘Chinese language promotion’ in South Africa, my partners and I will continue to write a new chapter of ‘diligence, steadfastness and hard work’.” Yang Yu, a representative of volunteer teachers, shared his teaching experience and profound understanding of cultural exchange during the ceremony.
“In the past eight years, the Confucius Classroom has taken root in Chinese teaching at Waterkloof Primary School, opening a window for children to learn Chinese and understand China, and building a bridge of friendship between China and South Africa.” Monyai, principal of the Watcrouff Primary School, affirmed.
In addition, the unveiling ceremony of the “China-South Africa Tourism, Culture, Art Products and Research and Development Center” was held. Li Li said that the establishment of the center is also in response to the national “One Belt, One Road” initiative, to promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and South Africa, and to contribute to the development of relations between the two countries.
The celebration was rich and colorful, with dialogues between Chinese and South African guests, cultural performances and other links, which fully demonstrated the integration of Chinese and South African cultures and the fruitful achievements of Confucius Classroom. South African Chinese learners and volunteer teachers from the Confucius Classroom enthusiastically and vividly demonstrated their achievements in learning Chinese, traditional Chinese culture and art.
