The 9th Global Confucius Institute Conference was held from December 7 and 8 in Xiamen City in Fujian Province of China. More than 2000 delegates from more than 126 different countries attended the conference. This conference was very special since this year is the 10th Anniversary of the start of the Confucius Institute initiative.
The opening ceremony was held at the Xiamen International Conference Center and Vice Premier of China, Madam Liu Yandong, made the keynote speech. The governor of Fujian Province and 4 other representatives spoke as well at the ceremony. The ceremony was chaired by Mr. Yuan Guiren, Education Minister of China.
All the speeches reflected on the many achievements of Confucius Institutes during the past 10 years and the importance of assisting more people to learn Chinese language and culture, thus establishing a better global understanding of China that will benefit for both China and the rest of the world.
Assistant Superintendent Mrs. Mary Michailides, Wei Li and Mian Xie attended the conference as the CIE delegates.