First Confucius institutes in Germany mark 10th birthday

As the first established Confucius institutes in Germany mark their 10th birthday in 2016, more than 20 directors and co-directors gathered here to share experiences under the theme of "New 10 years, New Position".

Meanwhile, the participants on Friday also reached consensus on strengthening communications and sharing resources in the future.

Since 2006, about 16 Confucius institutes, each with their own characteristics, have settled in Germany. Some are primarily involved in Chinese language teaching, some in academic exchanges, while some focus on cultural transmission.

In last 10 years, the Confucius institutes in Germany carried out lots of Chinese language and culture promotion activities.

Xu Yan, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, said that cultural exchanges between China and Germany should not be entirely from the Chinese perspective, but has to be "down to earth".

A win-win situation can be achieved through cooperation, said Xu.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, which has successfully integrated into German society after 10 years of efforts, will host its 10th anniversary celebration in Nuremberg City Hall on May 2.

Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Germany Dong Qi said the growing demand for Chinese learning also sets a higher request on the level of teachers and teaching content.

According to Qi, each year about 30,000 people in Germany are now learning Chinese. More and more German universities began to set up Chinese major for training teachers.

The Confucius Institute, a non-profit public educational organization under China's Ministry of Education, provides funding, teachers and teaching materials for overseas Chinese language and cultural courses.

Confucius institutes, first established in 2004, usually work with local universities and colleges in providing courses. Confucius classrooms focus on primary, middle and high schools.