Confucian Institute
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| Founded | 2004 |
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| Type | Educational organization |
| Focus | Chinese culture, Chinese language |
| Location |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Method | Education |
| Website | chinesecio |
| Confucius Institute | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 孔子學院 | ||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 孔子学院 | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Kǒngzǐ Xuéyuàn |
Confucius Institute (Chinese: 孔子学院; pinyin: Kǒngzǐ Xuéyuàn) is a non-profit public educational organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, whose aim is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges.
The Confucius Institute program began in 2004 and is overseen by Hanban (officially the Office of Chinese Language Council International). The institutes operate in co-operation with local affiliate colleges and universities around the world, and financing is shared between Hanban and the host institutions. The related Confucius Classroom program partners with local secondary schools or school districts to provide teachers and instructional materials.
China has compared Confucius Institutes to language and culture promotion organizations such as Portugal's Instituto Camões, Britain's British Council, France's Alliance Française, Italy's Società Dante Alighieri, Spain's Instituto Cervantes and Germany's Goethe-Institut. However, unlike these organizations, many Confucius Institutes operate directly on university campuses, thus giving rise to unique concerns related to academic freedom and political influence.
Controversy regarding Confucius Institutes in the US, Australian, and Canadian press include criticism that unlike other government's language and culture promotion organizations, the Confucius Institutes operate within established universities, colleges, and secondary schools around the world, providing funding, teachers and educational materials. This has raised concerns over their influence on academic freedom, the possibility of industrial espionage, and concerns that the institutes present a selective and politicized view of China as a means of advancing the country's soft power internationally.
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