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1. The part-time Administrative assistant was employed and started to work after the candidates were screened. (Jan)
2. The successful Spring Festival Celebration co-hosted by CI and FSCCO (Feb 2)
3. Courses
In this year the Confucius Institute gradually opens 10 Chinese language courses including basic and intermediate “Conversational Chinese”, using Happy Chinese as the teaching material, intermediate and advanced “Business Chinese” and “Adult Chinese”, employing New Practical Chinese Reader and Great Wall Chinese as the material, and basic and intermediate “Children Chinese”, 2 Chinese culture courses which are “Chinese Painting” and “Chinese Calligraphy”, and a series of cultural demonstration courses including “A Brief Introduction to Chinese Music and Guzheng”, “Chinese Kongfu-Changquan”, “Chinese Kongfu-Taichi” and “Chinese Cooking”.
4. Friendly Exchange with the Confucius Institute in Edmonton (Feb 21)
Based on the investigation and survey, the co-directors at the CI chose the CI in Edmonton to study their experience and featured language teaching. The co-directors were inspired on their visit to the CI in Edmonton.
5. The Exhibition of the Outstanding Contemporary Chinese Women on the International Women's Day（Mar 8）
On the Women’s Day, the pictures of nearly a hundred outstanding contemporary Chinese women were demonstrated in the passage of the Arts Building in the University of Saskatchewan. These pictures showed their accomplishments and achievements in different areas and also displayed their personality charm in their careers.
6. The alumnus of University of Saskatchewan, Xiaoping Xu’s Report of his Experience of Founding New Oriental Group.（Mar 8）
Xiaoping Xu, the cofounder of New Oriental, the alumnus of University of Saskatchewan and the famous angel investor, returned to the university to attend his supervisor’s 90th birthday and awarded scholarships that donated by him to the winners.
The CI took the precious opportunity and invited him to have a report on his experience as a founder and pioneer when starting his business to the Chinese students at the University of Saskatchewan, visiting scholars and Saskatoon Chinese community. He employed his own experience and facts and called for the Chinese students to return to China and started their own business like he did. The CI converted his first and only tape of songs to CD version and also made a song-list. After his speech, he signed the disks and gave them as presents. The Confucius Institute granted Xiaoping Xu as the consultant expert of education and culture and awarded the letter of the appointment. Not only did he embrace the title, but said with earnest “I am so honoured since it is the time when I closest to the Confucius Institute.”
7. Vice Chairman of BIT council, Professor Shukang Yang paid a visit to the University of Saskatchewan and donated books to the Confucius Institute (Mar 12)
In order to know the current situation of the Confucius Institute, Professor Shukang Yang who has been always concerned about the work of CI, paid a special visit to the CI at the University of Saskatchewan and heard the work report of the Chinese co-director of CI. He surely affirmed the work achievement after the opening ceremony of the CI at the University of Saskatchewan and encouraged everyone to work hard. Professor Shukang Yang brought a series of multi-media teaching materials to the CI and discussed and also reached agreements on the cooperation program and the communication of teachers and students between the two universities.
8. One of our students Kirsten Cavanaugh won the Second Place in the junior group in “Chinese Bridge Competition” (Mar 17)
9. Chinese volunteer teachers Juanjuan Lv and Huan Wang arrived at the Confucius Institute at the University of Saskatchewan (Mar 29).
10. Chinese Culture Camp in Eastern (Apr 2)
11. The ambassador of Chinese Embassy in Canada, Junsai Zhang visited the Chinese Community in Saskatoon and both Chinese and Canadian co-directors of the Confucius Institute participated the reception and reported the work of CI. (Apr 9)
12. Work exchanges with the CI at the University of Regina and discussion on expanding Chinese language courses in local schools with the Saskatchewan Heritage Language Association. (Apr 11)
13. The International Affairs Advisor at the University of Saskatchewan and the Chinese and Canadian co-director of the Confucius Institute received the delegation of Beijing Institute of Technology (Apr 14)
14. CI at UofS assisted Chinese Consulate General in Calgary offering visa service in Saskatoon (Apr 29)
The CI arranged a multi-media classroom for the officials to work in and provided a room with a capacity of 150 people for applicants to wait in. Besides, a smaller reception room was also offered for people who brought with children to apply for a visa to China. It provided convenience for local people and they all spoke highly of the work of the consulate general and the cooperation of the Confucius Institute.
15. The visit of the Confucius Institute at the University of Regina (May 9)
The Chinese and Canadian co-directors of the CI at the University of Regina Mr. Jianxiong Chao and Ms. Li Liu visited the CI at the University of Saskatchewan as invited. The counterparts in the university and teachers received visitors and had exchanges on the work.
16. The visit to Moose Jaw of teachers in the CI at the University of Saskatchewan (May 19)
In order to let the teachers know better about the local culture, the CI arranged them to pay a short visit to Moose Jaw during the holiday. Through the visit of the local Western Development Museum, “The Passage of Fortune” and “The Chicago Connection”, teachers in the CI had a more comprehensive understanding of Saskatchewan and the hard life of early Chinese immigrants there. During the trip, teachers also visited the SIAST in Moose Jaw and did some preliminary research for opening new Chinese language classroom.
17. The successful visit to the University of Saskatchewan of Academician Haiyan Hu, the President of Beijing Institute of Technology and its delegation (May 25)
During the visit, the two universities signed agreements on a series of cooperation programs. The delegation paid a visit to the CI at the University of Saskatchewan, during which Mr. Hu also made important instructions on the work of CI. In addition, Mr. Hu and the delegation had a pleasant talk with some colleagues who worked and studied at the university in the CI office and donated a host of multi-media materials to the CI. The visit of Mr. Hu and the delegation was highly valued by the University and the president of the University of Saskatchewan rearranged his schedule and attended the reception and signing ceremony in person. The university also invited Don Morgan, the minister of higher education of Saskatchewan, Don Atchison, the mayor of Saskatoon, along with Vera Pezer, the supervisor of the university, Karen Chad, vice president of the university and Harley Dickinson, the international affairs counsellor of the university and Chinese and Canadian co-directors of CI to welcome the delegation. The visit deepened the cooperation of the two universities and also unveiled the friendly communication of the higher education in Saskatchewan and Chinese Universities.
18. Research subject “The historical development of the Chinese community in Saskatoon” was completed with the sponsorship of Chinese Canadian Danyuan Zhou (May)
19. Five schools were identified as Chinese language teaching schools after the meeting with Saskatoon Public School Division (May 31)
20. The Chinese co-director attended the Canadian Confucius Institute Conference in Montreal (Jun 28)
The Chinese co-director, Dr Youbin Yu attended the Canadian Confucius Institute Conference in Montreal and introduced the work progress of CI at the University of Saskatchewan to officials at the Education Department and representatives of CI of other universities. Dr Yu presented his own opinion and suggestion for the development of Confucius Institute in Canada, which was well received by Chunlan Zhang, the Minister Counsellor of Education Department and other representatives.
21. The Chinese and Canadian folk songs concert in Saskatoon promoted the friendly cultural exchanges of the two countries (Jul 6)
Five singers from Wuhan Conservatory of Music, along with Garry Gable, a famous singer at the University of Saskatchewan and Peter Stoicheff, the Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, the pianist Kathleen Lohrenz Gable performed Chinese and Canadian folk songs on the same stage.
22. Work Exchanges with Confucius Institute in Edmonton (Jul 13)
After the directors’ reporting of the work exchange experience with Confucius Institute in Edmonton to the board members, Professor David J. Parkinson, the chairman of the Administrative board of CI and deputy dean of College of Arts and Science at the University of Saskatchewan, decided to sponsor the exchange trip to Edmonton and went together with the directors, the administrate assistant and teachers of the Confucius Institute. This visit included following four activities: a. visit to the Confucius Institute and teaching facilities in the CI in Edmonton; b. Wei Li, the Canadian co-director of Confucius Institute in Edmonton introduced the construction and work experience of the Confucius Institute; c. teachers in CI in Edmonton’s introduction of the art of dough figures and work experience of teaching the special arts; d. the communication and gathering of the teachers of the two sides. The co-directors Sijun Wu and Wei Li led the group to visit the library, administration office, 13 international language centres and classrooms and got to know the honours the CI in Edmonton had won. The two sides discussed the experience about the books management, recruiting students to attend the non-credit courses and promoting of the Confucius Institute. Later, director Wei Li also introduced the development of the Chinese language as the second language program and the bilingual program (Chinese and English), the Chinese language level students would reach and the correspondent level of Chinese to European framework of language. Director Wei Li said that the key to the success of the Chinese program in the Confucius Institute in Edmonton is to ensure the teaching quality.
Through the visit, two sides reached agreement on the sustainable development policy of the Confucius Institute, and exchanged experience as well as ideas. This visit not only laid solid foundation for the development and cooperation of the two Confucius Institutes, but also paved ways for creating a great atmosphere of Chinese language teaching in Canada and the cultural exchanges between the two countries.
23. International Week at the University of Saskatchewan (Mar 15)
The Confucius Institute held a spot on the International Week and shared cultural demonstration with university students, introducing the Chinese courses, cultural activities, HSK examination and scholarship program.
24. Chinese Pavilion in the Folkfest in Saskatoon (Aug 18)
After over a month preparation, the cultural display in Chinese pavilion co-hosted by the Confucius Institute at the University of Saskatchewan and the FSSCO came into sight at the folkfest in Saskatoon. Together with other 21 different ethnic groups, the Chinese pavilion display came to an end with excitement and thrill after three days demonstration.
This year’s Chinese pavilion was composed of picture section, Chinese features section, multi-media section, food section, and crafts for sale section and performance section, which occupied a single performance hall. The deputy Chinese Consul General in Calgary, Xinping Wang also came to the pavilion and direct work there. Xuyan Liu and Zhuoxian Gao in the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy also arrived to direct the decoration and performance. Besides, Junbo Chen, director of the Chinese North American Office also came to the pavilion.
In the picture section, photos such as places of interest in China, traditional festival decorations, calligraphy and painting amazed the visitors; the Four Treasures of the Study, palace lanterns, shadow puppets, pendants, tea and Chinese traditional games in the Chinese features section dazzled the visitors; in the multi-media section, the display of Olympic Games in Beijing, the economical and social development of China and the local Chinese community also impressed the guests. Besides that, the Chinese traditional food offered Chinese regional cuisines and the special performance of Chinese folk music, traditional dance, clothes, magic and martial arts provided a culture banquet for the visitors and guests. Although in a relatively isolated passage without other pavilions adjacency to the Chinese pavilion, the number of tourists reached up to ten thousand. The mayor of Saskatoon, Donald J. Atchison led the delegation and guests to the Chinese pavilion and delivered greetings to the audience. An old Chinese Canadian who served as a volunteer said “the Chinese Pavilion is really distinct with the direction of the Confucius Institute!”
25. Chinese Cultural Summer Camp (Aug 19)
The “Cutting out China in your Impression” themed culture camp enable students to get better understanding of the Chinese paper-cut arts. Besides, students also learned Chinese characters, calligraphy and Chinese traditional instrument, “erhu”.
26. Mr. Xianmin Wang, the deputy Consul General paid a visit to Chinese enterprise in Saskatoon (Aug 25)
27. International Academic Conference: Policies on western development in China and Canada (Aug 29)
Cooperated with the sociology department in the University of Saskatchewan, the Confucius Institute sponsored the international symposium and discussed issues about Chinese western development and social policies.
28. Three local teachers of the Confucius Institute were sent to Beijing to take the teacher training courses (Aug)
29. Teacher’s Day (Sep 10)
In order to celebrate the Teacher’s Day, the Confucius Institute sent a letter to each of the teachers and offered moon cakes, which were ordered in Calgary as the presents in such a special day. Each of the teachers also had the chance to invite local students and friends to host their own Mid-autumn Festival gathering.
30. Chinese traditional Mid-autumn Festival Poetry Meeting (Sep 19)
In order to celebrate the Chinese traditional Mid-autumn Festival, the Confucius Institute hosted the first Mid-autumn Festival Poetry Meeting of Confucius Institute at the University of Saskatchewan and displayed the Chinese holiday’s culture and Chinese traditional poetry. The Confucius Institute also invited Peter Li to give a vivid introduction of the appreciation of poems related to the special festival, elaborating the shi and ci to the audience combined with his own pieces of work. Besides that, the meeting was also packed with other activities, including the modern Chinese poetry reciting, guzheng and Hulusi playing and Chinese Kongfu performance by Dr Xiaoling Li, the professor in sociology department.
31. The Performance Collection of the Confucius Institute at the University of Saskatchewan in Prince Albert Cultural Festival was very well received (Sep 28)
As invited, the Confucius Institute at the University of Saskatchewan brought the groups of Chinese martial arts, folk music, traditional dance and the multi-media equipment to Prince Albert and presented unprecedented Chinese cultural elements on the two-day cultural display.
Before leaving, numerous local audiences walked the performers out of the stage. And many Chinese Canadians served as the social workers at the Collection, held hands of teachers of the Confucius Institute and volunteers and praised “It is such a wonderful activity!” “You really bring us very local Chinese culture, 32. The Chinese Cultural Experience Day was very well received in Greystone Heights Collegiate (Oct 4)
Oct 4, 2013 was the “Open House Day” in Greystone Heights Collegiate. The Confucius Institute and Chinese, Canadian co-directors Dr Youbin Yu and Dr Li Zong brought traditional Chinese crafts, games, paper-cut, teaching material and multi-media equipment to Greystone Heights Collegiate and presented local culture to over 200 local students and parents. A host of students and parents acquired direct Chinese cultural experience through the different display and equipment. This activity won the favourable comment from the school, students and parents, and also paved way for opening courses in local schools.
32. Chinese co-director attended the Second Symposium of Confucius Institute in Canada (Oct 19)
The Second Symposium of Confucius Institute (Confucius Classroom) held by the Portland State University in America brought together representatives from dozens of Confucius Institute. Dr Youbin Yu, the Chinese co-director of Confucius Institute at the University of Saskatchewan attended this meeting and presided at a parallel session, reading out the academic paper named as “The Attempting Discussion of International Chinese Language Teachers Standards”. In addition, in order to promote the level of the teaching, management and cultural events planning at the Confucius Institute, Dr. Yu also exchanged work experience with many other Confucius Institutes.
33. The Canadian co-director of the CI attended training of Hanban (Oct)
The Canadian co-director Li Zong attended the training courses in the East China Normal University. Through the training, Li Zong had a more comprehensive understanding of the regularities and procedures at the work of CI, and familiarized with the management and operation at CI. Furthermore, foreign co-directors had very good communication during the training.
34. Local training on teachers and volunteers of the CI (Oct to Nov)
Five special training courses on classroom organization, webpage design, organization of summer camp and on-line teaching at the University of Saskatchewan were arranged to offer skills for newly arrived volunteers. These training helped to enhance the teaching skills of teachers and volunteers who worked at the CI effectively.
35. Eight Chinese cultural classes at local elementary school and high school (Nov to Dec)
36. The establishment of the dance group, making a hit in the Spring Festival Celebration through the performance of “paper cut girls” (Nov)
37. Chinese cultural activities at local public schools (Nov 14)
Special Chinese cultural activities were arranged to enable the local public schools to be familiar with the work plan and the courses and program in the CI. Through the introduction to the teachers’ situation, course design, and cultural activity plan, the local schools would have better chance to select courses or activities according to their own situation and interest. Not only had it helped interested students acquire information about Chinese language and culture, but also aided them to choose and learn courses based on their interest and also participated in some activities of the Chinese Cultural Club.
38. Cultural Activities held by Chinese Cultural Club (Jun to Nov)
1) Lecture on Chinese Kongfu (Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do)
2) Chinese Kongfu movies watching (The Karate Kid and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon)
3) Food culture activities (Chinese cuisines display and tasting)
4) Chinese Kongfu Performance (Introduction on Chinese Kongfu branches and Changquan and Taichi performance )
5) Introduction on Chinese classic games（Chinese chess, weiqi, Chinese ring puzzle, interlocked and mahjong）
39. Chinese Cultural and Social Series Lecture—Peter S. Li “From the Cold War to the reform and opening up—A research report of the trend of Chinese immigrating” (Nov 27)
The Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada, Peter S. Li’ s lecture was very well received by students and professors at the University, local citizens and Chinese community.
40. Cultural Activities Series in the five local school (Nov to Dec)
Nine cultural activities including the establishment of Chinese Culture Club, workshop, Chinese language teaching, cultural display and musical play “Mulan”.
41. Representatives of the CI council attended the Eight Confucius Institute Conference in Beijing (Dec 7 to 9)
42. The third Board meeting of the Confucius Institute at the University of Saskatchewan was held at the Beijing Institute of Technology (Dec 9)
43. Successful musical of “Mulan” of Grey Stone Heights directed by the Confucius Institute (Dec 10)
44. The Visit to China of the culture and education delegation of Saskatoon (Dec 21)
The delegation group was composed of administrators, principals and of local public school and expertise who worked at cultural education institutions. The group started its trip on December 7 and visited Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai, exchanging experience with local educational organizations and schools. After the two-week trip, the delegation group returned to Saskatoon. The trip enabled them to have a real and very comprehensive understanding of Chinese education, culture, society, urban construction, local customs, food culture, raiment culture and places of interest. It surely is a rewarding trip by all accounts.
45. New Year Gathering (Dec 26)
The CI arranged a gathering around the Christmas and New Year, professional and local Chinese teachers and volunteers got together to exchange work experience and contact with each other. The special experience enabled everyone to feel the warm and the powerful cohesion of the CI.
46. Administrative meetings
47. Regular meetings (Every Tuesday)
Confucius Institute at the
University of Saskatchewan
Mar 10, 2014