Cultivating roots among students
--Confucius Institute at Kharkiv State University Celebrates 10th Anniversary

On May 30th, 2018, local time, the 10th anniversary of the Confucius Institute at Kharkiv State University was celebrated at the conference hall of the university’s main building.

Karpova Larissa Georgievna, Director of the Department of Science and Education of Kharkiv Regional Government, Bakirov Vil Savbanovich, President of Kharkiv State University, Babaiev Volodymyr Mykolayovych, President of National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv, Xue Zhaoming, Vice President of Anhui University, Wang Dajun, First Secretary of the Culture and Education Office of the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine and Directors of several Confucius Institutes in the country attended the activity.

Outside the conference hall, the guests watched the 10th anniversary exhibition of the Confucius Institute, including Chinese education, examinations, and cultural promotion. They expressed appreciation for the achievements of the Institute over the past decade. Afterwards, the round-table meeting themed on “Confucius Institutes - the History, Status and Future Prospects of Building the Relationship Bridge between China and Ukraine” was held at the conference hall.

Babaiev Vil Savbanovich extended warm welcome to the guests. He said that learning a language is no easy task, but he believes that it is worthy to invest time and energy in understanding an outstanding culture. The establishment of the Confucius Institute is of great significance to Kharkiv State University. With the help of the Confucius Institute, Kharkiv State University will conduct more cooperation with Anhui University in the near future.

Karpova Larissa Georgievna shared her family’s connection with and her deep affection for Chinese and China. She believed that everyone who comes to the Confucius Institute and is willing to have contact with and understand Chinese culture will gain from what they have learned.

Babaiev Volodymyr Mykolayovych, in his speech, expressed his gratitude to the Confucius Institute for setting up teaching spots at National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv. The university hopes to have more opportunities for cooperation and communication with Chinese universities through the Confucius Institutes.

Wang Dajun, on behalf of Du Wei, the Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine, congratulated on the occasion. He said that the Confucius Institute has been jointly established by Chinese and foreign universities. Over the past ten years, it has helped Chinese language and culture to take root in Ukraine. It has made positive contributions to bilateral relations and played a significant role as a bridge in the areas of science and education, culture, politics and economy.

Xue Zhaoming expressed his gratitude to all parties for their continuous support for the Confucius Institute. He reviewed the history of cooperation between China and Ukraine as well as Anhui University and Kharkiv State University. He said that Anhui University has always attached great importance to the work of the Confucius Institute and called for China and Ukraine to join hands and score greater achievements in the next golden decade.

The Confucius Institute Headquarters sent a letter to extend warm congratulations on the10th anniversary of the establishment of the Confucius Institute at Kharkiv State University, and expressed sincere gratitude to the friends from all walks of life in China and Ukraine who have contributed to its development. Over the past ten years since its establishment, the Confucius Institute has not only helped Ukrainian youth realize their dreams of learning Chinese, but also built a bridge between the Chinese and Ukrainian cultures. It has played a positive role in promoting mutual understanding and learning from different civilizations between the two peoples.

Besides, Confucius Institute at University of Saint Thomas in Chile, Confucius Institute at Baku State University in Azerbaijan, and Diaspora of Chinese in Ukraine also sent congratulatory letters.

After then, Anhui University presented a Confucius statue to the Confucius Institute at Kharkiv State University. The Department of Science and Education of Kharkiv Region praised Kharkiv State University and Anhui University for their contributions. Kharkiv State University also commended Chinese and Foreign Directors of the Confucius Institute and its teaching spots.

Anhui University presenting a Confucius statue to the Confucius Institute

After the meeting, Qi Jun, Director of the International Affairs Department of Anhui University, Wang Lianglong, Dean of Wendian College, Hu Yanjun, Dean of the School of Internet, and Nazyrov Zarif Fyatikhovich, Vice President for Research and Educational Affairs at Kharkiv State University, conducted in-depth discussions on inter-school cooperation. Anhui University also used the Confucius Institute as a platform to hold overseas recruitment seminars which have attracted dozens of outstanding overseas doctors.

Group photo of Presidents of Chinese and foreign partner universities

At 3 p.m., the guests watched the “Charming Anhui” performance tour of Anhui University in the auditorium. The rich and novel performance included flower-drum lantern, folk songs, operas, folk music, dances and cheongsam show, which fully demonstrated the charm of excellent Chinese culture and won the praise from the guests.

Performance of “Charming Anhui” of Anhui University

Group photo

Over the past ten years since the establishment, the Confucius Institute at Kharkiv State University has become the center of Chinese teaching and Chinese culture promotion in eastern Ukraine. It has established 11 teaching spots in four regions and seven cities and created a series of remarkable achievements.

Story by Wu Ji; Photo by Yu Haichang