On Tuesday a group of European primary and secondary school students began to "feel" the upcoming Olympic Games which would be held in Beijing in August.
With the theme of "feeling Beijing to the Olympic", the Olympic Camp, a seven-day program sponsored by the Office of Chinese Language Council International (the Hanban) and hosted by the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BSFU), will take the 65 students from 7 European countries to Olympic venues and places of historical interest in Beijing. They will also learn Chinese and Chinese arts and crafts, and enjoy Chinese cuisine.
On March 25, 2008, Mr. Zhao Guocheng(R), vice director of the Hanban (the Office of Chinese Language Council International), delivers a speech on the opening ceremony of the Olympic camp of the primary and sencondary students from Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Austria, Hungary, Germany and Italy.The students were selected by the eight Confucius Institutes --- a non-profit public institute with a mission of promoting Chinese language and culture and supporting local Chinese teaching --- in seven European countries.
Mr. Zhao Guocheng, vice director of the Hanban leading the establishment of the Confucius Institutes around the world, highlighted the significance of the program in promoting people-to-people communication on which "the peace is founded".
"Confucius Institutes embrace and contribute to promote the ideal of world peace," said Zhao, telling the students that 239 Confucius Institutes had been established in 69 countries beyond China since 2004. "Like the Olympic flame which was lit yesterday on Mar. 24, those institutes are a bridge of heart between people," said Zhao in his speech.
on March 25, 2008, Mr. Georgi Peychinov, Bulgarian Ambassador to China delivers a speech on the opening ceremony of the Olympic camp of the primary and sencondary students from Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Austria, Hungary, Germany and Italy. Diplomats from embassies of five European countries，Bulgaria, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Italy also attended the opening ceremony.
Mr. Georgi Peychinov, Bulgarian Ambassador to China told the students that the Confucius Institute in his country was established in 2006, the first in the Balkan area. He praised the institute as a "platform of communication" between the Chinese and Bulgarian people.
Mr Gabor, Cultural Counselor of Hungarian Embassy to China said there was growing interest among people in his country in understanding China. Twenty percent of the population in Hungary are studying Chinese now, compared with 10 percent in the past few years.
He also told People's Daily Online some of his plan to promote the mutual understanding between the two peoples --- the younger generation in particular, such as TV productions featuring natural landscapes and life of people, and introduction of publications and music.
Eight Hungarian students, five girls and three boys, have joined the group. The girls, who have learned Chinese for some time, are excited about their "first China visit, and even Asia visit" which will be so "special" for them.
Mr. Hans-Ulrich Greiner, head of DGHK, an association of education of gifted children in Germany, leads the German delegation. One of the eight members is his elder son in his tenth grade. The boy chats and plays computer games through the Internet with his friends from other countries including China. "I have never met my Chinese friends face-to-face," said the boy, "but I don't think they are different from us although they speak a different language. We enjoy chatting and playing together."
Mr. Greiner believes the purpose of the Olympic Camp reflects the spirit of Olympics: bringing people together.
By People's Daily Online
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