MILAN, Dec. 10 (Class Editori) – The title "Confucius Institute of the Year" goes to the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. The award assigned by the Hanban - the office for the spread of the Chinese language, in charge of the management of Confucius Institutes in the world - was delivered today in Changsha, a city in southern China, as part of the international conference which brought together all the representatives of the 550 universities in the world that have a Confucius Institute.
On the tenth anniversary of its foundation, the Confucius Institute of the Catholic University received the award thanks to its vast activity for the spread of the Chinese language, with about 300 enrolled in language courses and 1,000 language certification exams per year.
The university delegation is composed of Professor Pier Sandro Cocconcelli, who will receive the award representing the rector Franco Anelli, and Professor Elisa Giunipero, director of the Institute. "It is an important result that comes after 10 years of intense work by many in Cattolica, shared daily with our Chinese colleagues at the Beijing Language and Culture University," explained Giunipero. "We are very happy and look to the next ten years of activity with confidence and commitment".
This year it was a student of Cattolica who ranked the best Chinese language student in Italy at the Chinese Bridge competition for university students. But the award is also given for the originality of the publications produced on China in global history, and for the innovative training courses for secondary school teachers on Chinese history and culture.
"Every year many young people from Italy and San Marino who study Chinese challenge each other with speeches in Chinese and various performances to demonstrate their mastery of the language and some disciplines typical of the Chinese tradition," explained Giunipero. From the first edition of 2002, over a thousand universities from 80 different countries took part in the competition, becoming an important international meeting and exchange event and an opportunity to learn more about the Chinese language and culture. This year is the 18th edition of the competition.
(Source:Class Editori)
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