Dec. 13 – Five hundred universities, 3000 attendees, 2000 deans: these are the numbers of the 8th International Conference of Confucius Institutes, which ended in Beijing in recent days. This year’s theme was “Retrace the past and predict the future” and saw the participation of 100 American universities. The conference, created by the “Hanban” Office of the Ministry of Education in China, was the perfect occasion to assess the work and activities of the various institutes and to reward those who particularly distinguished themselves. There are currently 440 Confucius Institutes in 120 countries and regions, committed to promoting and spreading the Chinese language and culture in the world. In Beijing – during what is now considered the largest gathering of universities in the world – the University of Macerata stood out. The Confucius Institute of Macerata – born just two years ago – is back in the winning circle, as it was one of the few Italian institutes to receive an award, together with that of Milan, now in its fifth year of operation. In China, the University of the Marche was represented by the Dean Luigi Lacchè, president of the Institute, by the directors of Confucius Institute, Giorgio Trentin and Yan Chunyou and by a member of the board of directors, Tommaso Pellin. Only fifteen people were awarded the prize for outstanding individual performance, the “Confucius Institute Individual Performance Excellence Award,” awarded directly from the Deputy Prime Minister of China, Liu Yandong. Dean Lacchè was one of the lucky recipients, as “under his management, student enrollment increased by 50 %, the courses and teaching centers doubled and the winning students scholarship tripled.” “This award – said Lacchè – represents for us the debut in top academic league, after just two years of operation. The quality of our work was so appreciated that the Hanban Office has decided to invest even more in our Institute.” “Our Confucius Institute – pointed out director Giorgio Trentin – while remaining an entity of the University, moves independently, with independent services and a prestigious venue with classrooms, laboratories and offices housed in the eighteenth-century Villa Cola.” Alessandra Lavagnino, director of the Confucius Institute of the University of Milan and chairman of the steering committee of the School of Linguistic and Cultural Mediation, collected the award ” Confucius Institute of the Year 2013.”
