The directors of the Confucius Institute at UKIM, prof. Dr. Vlatko Stoilkov and prof. Dr. Liao Wei, on March 11th , 2021 had an online meeting with the Mayor of the Municipality of Probishtip, Mr. Dragan Anastasov and the head of the department for public activities Mr. Rade Ilievski. This online meeting marked the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation and the official start of cooperation between the Confucius Institute (CI) and the Municipality in the field of education, namely the organization of online Chinese language courses for students from two primary schools and one secondary school.
Prof.Liao Wei expressed gratitude for this new cooperation and the signing of the Memorandum. He briefly introduced the Institute, its history, work, activities since its establishment in 2013. He stated that the pandemic created new circumstances for work and teaching online, and yet it brought an opportunity for cooperation with other municipalities. He mentioned that thanks to the teacher Daniela Eftimova who comes from this municipality, this cooperation was realized and now her fellow citizens have the opportunity to learn Chinese. He further said that in future a Confucius Classroom could be opened in Probistip, where students can physically attend classes.
Prof. Stoilkov, expressed gratitude for the new cooperation, and spoke about the Institute and the opportunities for students to visit Sichuan in China through scholarships and the summer camp. He also mentioned some of the rich cultural events that have been organized in the past 7 years, the number of students who have attended courses at the Institute and that now in the pandemic there are more students from other municipalities. He expressed hope that the two parties will have a successful cooperation and the opportunity to meet in person soon.
The Mayor Mr. Dragan Anastasov expressed gratitude for this opportunity. He introduced briefly the Probishtip Municipality, and then stressed that the citizens of Probistip for the first time have the opportunity to learn such an important, but distant foreign language.
Mr. Rade Ilievski expressed his joy and gratitude and presented the local schools, the number of students, as well as the various cultural activities organized by the Municipality. He hopes that after the pandemic is over, various events can be co-organized to celebrate holidays, anniversaries and other activities.
Teacher Daniela Eftimova spoke about the registering of new students, in 5 days about 70 people applied who wanted to learn Chinese. She is happy to present the Chinese language and culture to her fellow citizens.
Ms. Elena Damjanoska talked about the achievemnts of the Confucius Institute in the field of education and culture, namely organizing Chinese language and culture courses for over 1000 students, cultural events and activities that have drawn large audiences and enthusiastic feedback from society in general.
Prof. Liao thanked the Probistip Municipality representatives and expressed a hope that they will meet in person and have the opportunity to visit the city of Probistip.