On July 3, Rwanda regional finals of 20th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students and the 14th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students successfully concluded online. Ms. Xing Yuchun, Political Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda, Dr. Florien Nsanganwimana, Acting Principal of College of Education, University of Rwanda, and Chairman of Confucius Institute board of directors, together with Chinese and Rwandan Directors of Confucius Institute at University of Rwanda, as well as judges, teachers and students from local schools, representatives of Chinese communities in Rwanda attended the closing function.
On behalf of the Embassy, Ms. Xing Yuchun expressed her appreciation for students' active participation and devotion to the Chinese learning, and paid tribute to teachers from both Confucius Institute and local schools who organized the competition. Ms. Xing said, language is the carrier of culture, also the bridge of communication between countries and nations. She hoped that people could work together to build a bridge of communication, to deepen bilateral friendship and cooperation, and to build a stronger community with a shared future.
Dr. Florien expressed thanks to China for its support to education in Rwanda. He said, since the outbreak of the epidemic, Confucius Institute has been exploring adaptive ways for teaching to support students in learning Chinese, with four activities have been successfully held online this year. The Institute will continue to cope with the challenge of COVID-19. Furthermore, as a non-profit program, the Institute is also open to all Rwandan people, playing a bigger role in promoting Chinese culture and facilitating exchanges.
This year's competition is composed of keynote speech, talent show and knowledge contest. A total of 7 college students and 4 secondary school students entered the regional finals. Aron Niyonsenga from the College of Education, University of Rwanda, and Cynthia Uwase from Ecole Notre Dame de la Providence de Karubanda won the competition for college and secondary school students respectively.