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Confucius Institute

Since 2008 The Confucius Institute is a reference point for knowledge, exchanges and economic activities between Tuscany and China, as well as for the cultural recognition of the Chinese community in Tuscany

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The Confucius Institute is a non-profit public organization, promoted by the Chinese Ministry of Education. The main objectives of the Confucius Institute are linguistic training and promotion of Chinese culture, in order to pursue the ideal of lifelong learning and enhance the mutual comprehension and friendship among peoples. The Istituto Confucio di Pisa is the outcome of a cooperation agreement between Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies and Chongqing University signed in December 2004 in Beijing. The agreement promotes scientific, cultural and academic co-operation between the two university institutions.

Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies is a special-statute public university, which belongs to the Italian network of Schools of Excellence and Advanced Studies. It operates in the field of applied sciences: Economics, Law and Political Sciences, Agriculture, Medicine, Industrial and Information Engineering.
Chongqing University hosts thirty Colleges, ranging from Engineering to Arts and Management. Being one of the most prestigious universities in China, it is the main centre of higher education and research in the Chongqing area, economic and cultural hub of Southwest China.
The Istituto Confucio di Pisa belongs to the academic and scientific structure of Sant’Anna School, which runs it in cooperation with Chongqing University and with the support of the China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (Hanban, in Chinese), department of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.

It is an important cultural, economic and academic project, which, under the direction of a group of scholars and experts, represents a point of reference for the mutual understanding, exchanges and economic activities between Tuscany and China, as well as for the cultural recognition of the Chinese community in Tuscany.
The Istituto Confucio di Pisa belongs to a network of 243 Confucius Institutes located in 71 different countries.
The Istituto Confucio di Pisa pursues its objectives and develops its activities following the principles of:

  • Intercultural learning;
  • Scientific rigour;
  • International cooperation.

Objectives

The objectives of the Istituto Confucio di Pisa are:

  • Chinese language teaching;
  • Research on the transformations of contemporary China;
  • Promotion of Chinese culture;
  • Creation of a meeting space and of a place of territorial and international integration.

Activities

The main activities of the Istituto Confucio di Pisa are:

  • Chinese language courses, diversified according to the needs of the customers (schools, university students, institutions, enterprises). The courses are held by native Chinese teachers selected by Hanban;
  • Training in the Chinese Proficiency Test (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi - HSK);
  • Scientific activities such as research groups, conferences, seminars, exchange among professors, teachers, researchers and students;
  • Cultural events such as concerts, book societies, drama performances, exhibitions, performances of Chinese traditions and folklore, projection of movies and documentaries;
  • Publication of the outcomes of the scientific activities carried out at the Institute.

Direction and Coordination

The Istituto Confucio di Pisa is directed by Prof. Alberto Di Minin (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies) and co-directed by Prof. Huang Yunlin (Chongqing University). Dr. Giada Alì and Dr. De Carlo Fabiana (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies) are in charge of coordination and management. A Scientific Committee, whose members are Italian and Chinese professors with expertise in Chinese and intercultural studies, is responsible for the activities plan of the Istituto Confucio di Pisa.

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