University of Botswana (UB) authority said Friday the 5th anniversary of the founding of its Confucius Institute (CIUB) is an important occasion in the university's history and people of Botswana.

Deputy vice-chancellor of UB Otlogetswe Totolo said during the anniversary ceremony learning Chinese language and culture contributes to and promotes the mutual understanding between people of Botswana and China.

The ceremony is a part of the 5th anniversary celebrations beginning on Monday. The celebrations include photo exhibition, Chinese movies display, Chinese song and poem competition and open Chinese classes.

Others include lectures under themes of achievements between China and Botswana since the establishment of diplomatic ties and traditional Chinese medicine and traditional Chinese ideas towards life and health.

The institute, named after ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius, served as non-profit public institutions to help foreigners better understand China through language teaching and culture introduction in universities overseas. The first such institute was established in 2004.

Chinese ambassador to Botswana Zheng Zhuqiang said CIUB in the past 5 years played a significant role in boosting people-to- people exchange between China and Botswana and promoting mutual understanding and friendship of the two peoples.

CIUB was established under the memorandum of agreement between the University of Botswana and the partner university, Shanghai Normal University. Established in 2009, CIUB now has 12 teachers with 4,700 graduates. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)