First Confucius institutes in Germany marks 10th anniversary

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".

在德国设立的第一批孔子学院迎来10岁生日之际，20多名院长和主任齐聚这里，以“新10年、新定位”为主题，交流心得体会。

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

同时，上星期五，与会者还就今后加强沟通和资源共享达成共识。

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.

自2006年起，约有16家孔子学院先后在德国落户，这些孔院各具特色，有的以汉语教学为主，有的更重视学术交流，有的则将文化传播视为重点。

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

10年来，德国各地孔院开展了很多语言推广和文化交流活动。

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".

埃尔兰根-纽伦堡大学孔子学院院长徐艳分享道，中德文化交流不能完全从中国视角出发，而是要“接地气”。

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

她说，可以通过合作实现双赢。

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.

经过10年努力，纽伦堡孔院已成功融入德国社会。5月2日，这家孔院在纽伦堡市政厅举办10周年庆典活动。

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.

中国驻德国大使馆公使衔参赞董琦说，汉语学习需求的增长，也对教师水平和教学内容提出了更高要求。

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.

董琦说，德国现在每年约有3万人学习汉语，越来越多的德国高校开始设立汉语师范专业。

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.

孔子学院是中国教育部下的一个非盈利性的社会公共教育机构，为海外华人的汉语和文化学习提供资金、师资和教材。

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.

全球首家孔子学院于2004年建立，它通常与当地的大学和学院合作以提供教学课程。孔子课堂主要面向小学、初中和高中。