Goldsmiths wins Confucius Institute of the Year Award

The Goldsmiths Confucius Institute for Dance and Performance has been named a Global Confucius Institute of the Year 2017.

The unique strengths of the Goldsmiths Confucius Institute (CI) have been recognised at the 12^th Confucius Institute Conference 2017 in China’s ancient city Xi’an, where it was presented with the Confucius Institute of the Year 2017 award by the Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China.

Goldsmiths CI was the only institute in the UK to take home this award for 2017, highlighting its significant national and international achievements. With more than 500 CI’s globally, Goldsmiths CI is the only institute to specialise in dance and performing arts teaching, alongside its’ strong academic and language teaching expertise.

Goldsmiths CI Director Annie Guo expressed her gratitude and pride, and said: “This award is not only for our CI, but is also for Goldsmiths as a whole.”

Goldsmiths Registrar and Secretary Helen Watson joined Annie Guo on stage in Xi’an to accept the award, which was presented by Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China, Yandong Liu.

Helen said: “I was delighted to accept the Confucius Institute of the Year award on behalf of Goldsmiths at the opening ceremony of the 12th Global Confucius Institute Conference in Xi’an. The award reflects the success of our partnership with the Beijing Dance Academy, our CI partners.  It also acknowledges the wide range of teaching, scholarship and cultural events through which our CI promotes engagement with Chinese scholarship and culture.”

The Goldsmiths CI was established in 2013 as a partnership between the university and Beijing Dance Academy in China. It has become a part of the academic life at Goldsmiths, offering a range of joint degree courses in partnership with other departments, as well as an array of short courses in language, dance, music, and martial arts.

Events run by the CI have become a staple in the Goldsmiths calendar, from the much anticipated annual Chinese New Year Show, to regular cultural activities such as calligraphy workshops, staff tai chi and Mandarin sessions, and the Sino-UK Project which aims to bridge the gap between our local and Chinese students.

Goldsmiths’ Warden Patrick Loughrey said: “We are enormously proud of our CI. This award confirms what we have guessed for a long time - that it’s the best! It is unique in the world too because of its specialism in dance, not to mention its extraordinary leader Annie Guo. This recognition is a wonderful start to 2018 for Annie and her dedicated team.”