Confucius Institutes at UG, KNUST and UCC Organise 23rd Chinese Bridge Competition for Foreign College Students
As a lead-up to the 2024 'Chinese Bridge' Competition in China, the Confucius Institutes at the University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast (UCC) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology co-organised a preliminary contest for foreign college students (Ghana Zone).
Held at UG's Confucius Institute, twelve students from the three universities competed in a speech contest, written test and art performance, showcasing their proficiency in Chinese language and culture.
The Chinese Bridge is a Chinese Proficiency competition held annually for non-Chinese College students. The Competition aims at inspiring students over the world to learn Chinese and also strengthen their understanding of Chinese language and culture. Chinese Bridge is well known in the cultural and educational exchanges worldwide and is sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing.
Prof. Clement Appah, Ghana Director, of UG Confucius Institute, in his opening remarks emphasised the importance of the Chinese language in bridging the cultural and educational gap. He highlighted the role of the Chinese language in fostering uniformity and facilitating businesses, as well as enabling relationships.
Special Guest, Prof. Gordon Awandare, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs, UG, echoed the importance of the competition in strengthening the ties between China and Ghana.
“Chinese language has become a very important medium of communication both in business and in diplomatic circles. This means that, this is an important language that University of Ghana provides students and we have been incredibly privileged to work closely with the Chinese embassy and the Chinese community in Ghana over the last few years” he added.
Prof. Awandare revealed that, UG is the pioneer University to establish Chinese language as a Major programme of study and Management aims to make Chinese Language one of the most sought after programmes in the University.
“We are incredibly proud of the progress made by our students over the years and the opportunities the University has provided students through our partnership with the Confucius Institute Headquarters/ Hanban,’ he added.
He urged students to make good use of every opportunity presented to them to showcase their proficiency in Chinese language and culture.
Mr. Tang Hong, President of the Ghana Association of Chinese Societies in a brief remark expressed his gratitude to Chinese teachers and volunteers for their hard work over the years.
“This year marks the 64th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ghana and China. For the past 6 decades, education has been one of the major factors keeping the China and Ghana relationship alive” he added.
Stressing on the theme of this year’s competition, “One world, One family,” Mr. Hong noted the high relevance of the event, as it fosters unity among different cultures and backgrounds.
Mr. Li Yang, Minister-Counselor to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Ghana, noted that, ‘‘Language holds the key to unlocking the spirit of uniformity”.
He expressed his excitement about Ghanaian college students learning and speaking Chinese language fluently and studying the language as their major.
He stressed on the Chinese Bridge competition’s aim to encourage and inspire young Ghanaians to learn Chinese and promote the learning of Chinese for language and cultural exchanges. He climaxed his remarks by encouraging guests at the event to make a constant effort in contributing to promoting the relationship between China and Ghana.
Happy Heart School delighted the audience with an amazing local cultural performance.
Miss Liliana Ama Serwaa Tobias of UCC was named the overall winner, receiving an all-expenses-paid travel to China to compete in the global competition as Ghana's representative. Miss Dorcas Ntim from UG , who was also named first runner-up, won a brand new HD laptop as well as an all-expense-paid trip to China to compete in the global competition as Ghana's representative. Other contestants received electrical appliances from the sponsors.