China-EU language exchange program launched
3/6/2008 16:53
The European and China launched in Brussels yesterday a language exchange
program to providing opportunities for Europeans to study Chinese and understand
Chinese culture.
"This language exchange program is an important step both in
encouraging language learning and in fostering inter-cultural understanding,"
said EU Commissioner for Multilingualism Leonard Orban.
Orban and Chinese
Vice Minister of Education Zhang Xinsheng officially launched the four-year
China-EU Language Exchange Program, entitled "EU Window."
The European Union
and China have maintained good cooperation in training high-level educational
personnel, Zhang said.
Until 2007, the number of Chinese students studying in
EU nations reached 193,000, while the tally of students from EU countries
studying in China was 15,000, he said.
The exchange of language program would
be helpful for mutual understanding of each other's culture and be good to "the
development of EU-China relations," Zhang said.
The 2009-2013 project, which
was presented on the occasion of the 10th China-EU Summit in November, 2007 and
sponsored by the Chinese government, will provide opportunities for 200 European
school teachers of Chinese language as well as 400 school headmasters from EU
member states to enhance their Chinese proficiency and the understanding of
Chinese culture.
The first phase of the program will last for two years and
will consist of two activities -- Summer training for 50 Chinese language
teachers from EU member states and a ten day study visit of 100 school
headmasters and education administrators from EU member states.
In the
context of EU-China structural dialogue in the field of education and culture, a
first technical meeting between representatives of the commission and the
Chinese Ministry of Education took place on Jan. 31, 2008 in Brussels.
The
parties agreed on three main priority subjects -- language teaching, joint PhDs
and education through sport -- to be developed into cooperation activities in
the two forthcoming years.
The first activity will be the organization of a
conference on languages to be held in Beijing in March 2009 which should
coincide with the visit of Orban to China.
A steering group, made up of
Chinese and European language experts, will be formed to prepare for the
conference.
In the first edition of the China-EU language scholarship scheme
carried out in 2007 for students, approximately 100 European students received
scholarships to study Chinese in China.
Most of students came from Poland
(23), Germany (17), Italy (15) and Belgium (8).
Xinhua
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