International Chinese Language Day

Together with the solar term Grain Rain, the 13th UN Chinese Language Day fell on April 20, 2022. As a professional public institution for the development of international Chinese language education, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as "CLEC") and the online Chinese language education platform ChinesePlus, together with global partners, initiated the International Chinese Day event themed “Chinese Language: Together for a Bright Future and joined by Chinese language educators. Learners and Chinese culture lovers all over the world.

Better vision shared by worldwide partners

The global initiative for the 2022 International Chinese Language Day jointly launched by CLEC and ChinesePlus received positive and wide social responses. Representatives of international organizations, diplomats to China, the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching, worldwide universities, international Chinese education institutions, cultural scholars. International Chinese teachers, volunteers, and Chinese language learners have sent videos expressing their love for the Chinese language and their vision to connect the world with Chinese language and build a better future for all. Various activities including Chinese language courses, cultural talks, literature dialogues, and film screenings were organized to celebrate International Chinese Language Day.

High-quality activities for global youth

A website was launched by CLEC and ChinesePlus especially for International Chinese Language Day. The “Achievements” section presents the new standards such as “Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education”, and new resources like “1+2” quality teaching materials and Chinese language courses. It also showcases “new brands” such as Online Chinese Classroom and “Chinese+” Classrooms, as well as "new collaboration" with education departments, international organizations, and universities worldwide.

To celebrate this Chinese Language Day, CLEC and China Media Group jointly produced a special program "Voice-Share One Chinese Language Class across the Globe", inviting Chinese language and culture experts to give Chinese class to global youth, attracting an on-site audience as well as 100 online audiences from 42 countries. The program was live-streamed on TV and the Internet.

The seven culture-related modules, namely “Tell (My Chinese Stories)”, “Recite (Chinese Literature Classics)”, “Sing (Chinese Songs)”, “Listen (Classical Chinese Music)”, “Draw (International Chinese Language Day Logo)”, and “Understand (Chinese culture)” share the learning stories of Chinese language enthusiasts around the world and shows the modern vitality of traditional Chinese culture, such as Chinese medicine and martial arts. The “Selected Global Activities” section displays a wide range of activities held around the world presenting the joyous celebration of Chinese language learners and blueprinting their bright future together.

Remarkable results and far-reaching impact

This year's International Chinese Language Day included a total of 1160 events held by over 600 organizations in 105 countries. This included 69 Chinese embassies and consulates, UNESCO, the World Tourism Organization and other international organizations, more than110 Chinese institutions, and 60 worldwide universities, more than 340 Confucius Institutes, over 10 international Chinese language organizations, more than 20 Chinese and foreign enterprises, Chinese language schools and Chinese communities, and reaching out to over 150 million people. Mainstream media from 51 countries, including Sputnik (Russia), PR Newswire (USA), Independent Online (South Africa), and Harian Nusantara (Indonesia) have published 868 related covers with a readership of over 30 million.

According to statistics, by the end of 2021, more than 180 countries and regions around the world were engaging in Chinese language education; 76 countries have incorporated Chinese into their national education system; more than 25 million people are learning Chinese, and the cumulative number of people learning and using Chinese is close to 200 million.