On the occasion of the celebration of Chinese Language Day at the United Nations, UNESCO at its headquarters in Paris held a specific seminar on April 18 to discuss the characteristics of Mandarin Chinese teaching in the world.
Roberto Lafontaine, director of the CLEC Foundation – Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, was invited by the Permanent Delegate Ambassador of China to UNESCO, His Excellency Jiang Jing, and Mrs. Jing Wei, Deputy Director General of the Language Teaching Center and International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education of China, to present on the teaching of Mandarin Chinese in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The forum was held in person at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, and was also followed virtually by the Vice Minister of Education of China and Chairman of the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for UNESCO, Chen Jie; Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, among other high-level authorities.
On this occasion sinologists and linguists from all over the world met to exchange and contribute to the promotion of multilingualism and cultural diversity. This year’s theme was “The Chinese Language: Facilitating Dialogues Between Civilizations”. Together with other experts from France, Germany and England, Roberto Lafontaine presented the situation of the teaching of Mandarin Chinese in Latin America and the Caribbean and how educational institutions strengthen their ties with China through the teaching of the Chinese language, giving them an opportunity different from his students and teachers. Specifically, the teaching of Chinese+ was mentioned, a program that allows different university degrees to include Mandarin Chinese in their specialties.
