On October 11, the Confucius Institute at UNSW held an official ceremony to unveil the Confucius Classroom at Rosebank College.
Many distinguished guests attended the inauguration, including Mayor of the City of Canada Bay, Angelo Tsirekas; Pro Vice-Chancellor International at UNSW, Laurie Pearcey; Education Counsellor of the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, NIU Wenqi; Education Counsellor of the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, LIU Jianbo; and A/Prof Junfang Xi, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at UNSW.
Celebrations began with a captivating lion dance and students sharing their recent travel experiences in China. Laurie Pearcey, Pro Vice-Chancellor International at UNSW, also imparted his own experiences of learning Mandarin, encouraged students in their learning journey, and spoke about the important role Chinese language proficiency has played in his own career.
Principal of Rosebank College, Tom Galea, delivered an address and remarked on the rich potential of building friendships, sharing wisdom and understanding others and oneself which comes with learning about another culture.
Chinese has been taught at Rosebank College since 2014, and in 2015 the Confucius Institute at UNSW signed an agreement to establish a Confucius Classroom at the school. Currently there are 360 students studying Chinese.
