Confucius spreads his word in Adelaide

Wednesday, 30 April 2008

Some of Australia's best young Chinese language students will be filmed at the University of Adelaide's Confucius Institute this Friday for a TV special to be aired to millions of viewers in China.

The Institute will host the preliminary finals of a national Chinese Proficiency Competition, which tests students from the University of Adelaide and their interstate counterparts in Western Australia, Queensland and the ACT on the Chinese language, culture and history.

The event will be filmed by a Chinese film crew as part of an Australian special, presented in a similar way to the audition episodes of the blockbuster talent series, Idol.

It is the first time that Adelaide has held the competition, which is open to international university students aged between 18 and 30, and not born or raised in China.

The competition is an initiative of Hanban, the office of Chinese Language Council International based in Beijing, which promotes the study and understanding of the Chinese language, culture and its economy through the establishment of Confucius Institutes around the world.

The University of Adelaide opened a Confucius Institute in 2007 - becoming only the third university in Australia, and among more than 200 in the world, to be granted the right to establish one.

This Friday's competition, which is free and open to the public, is being held in the National Wine Centre. Contestants will take part in written general knowledge tests, speeches in Chinese and cultural performances.

The first and second placegetters will win a trip to attend the semifinals and finals of the Chinese Proficiency Competition in Changsha in Hunan Province in June/July.

The Director of the Confucius Institute, Professor Mobo Gao, said this year's competition provided an ideal opportunity to raise the profile of Adelaide and the University in particular.

"This event will be seen by millions of people in China so it's a great chance for us to showcase our city and our knowledge of China in general," he said.

WHAT: Chinese Proficiency Competition
WHERE: National Wine Centre, Corner of Botanic and Hackney Roads, Adelaide
WHEN: Friday 2 May, 11.30am-4.30pm (main session 2pm)

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