During the 2012 Spring Festival, Blasie Thierrée, the French director of Confucius Institute in Brittany, which was co-founded with SDU, was interviewed by France 3 television station. Blasie Thierrée received an exclusive interview regarding the Confucius Institute’s great influence on the spread of Chinese language and culture. France 3 broadcasted this 7 minute interview during prime time, and as such was seen by a wide audience in France.

Blasie Thierrée stated that as sister provinces, the region of Brittany and Shandong province have been working closely in many fields with successful results, in the meantime, the Confucius Institute in Brittany conducts fruitful co-operation with SDU. All the above factors unlock the enthusiasm for learning Chinese in the western region of France. Thierrée also introduced series of “Chinese Culture Week” activities during the Spring Festival organized jointly be the Confucius Institute, the Rennes municipal government, educational organizations and culture associations. Activities such as acting performances, exhibitions, lectures, films, dragon and lion dances, and gourmet food brought a rich taste of Chinese cultural to the people of Rennes, as well as people in other parts of France.

Blasie Thierrée is the first French director of the Confucius Institute in Brittany. In 2010, he was awarded “Individual Performance Excellent Award” by Confucius Institute Headquarters. The Chinese director of this Confucius Institute at present is Professor Wang Liping from the School of Law at SDU. During the last 4 years, the Confucius Institute in Brittany has been constantly growing and improving with its Chinese language teaching program and various cultural activities. It has become the center for the promotion of Chinese language and culture in western France.

France 3(FR3) is the second largest French public television channel, providing daily news and around ten hours of cultural programming produced for and about the regions each week, which reach 95% of the French population.

Written by: Liu Shuhong

Edited by: Ben Hammer, Jing Zizhao

Source: Office of Confucius Institute,www.view.sdu.edu.cn