Confucius Institute at University of Latvia jointly Organizes Seminars
From July 17 to August 6, 2023 and from August 6 to August 24, 2023, Confucius Institute at University of Latvia and Economic & Commercial Office of Chinese Embassy in Latvia jointly organized the “Seminar on Tourism Cooperation for Latvia” and “Seminar on Chinese Language and Culture for Latvia”.
Seminar on Tourism Cooperation for Latvia is composed of 25 Latvian experts, scholars, and artists selected and recommended by the Confucius Institute and the Economic and Commercial Office, including Karina Jermaka (Assistant Professor at the University of Latvia), Nataļja Rogaļeva (Principal of Riga 34 Secondary School), Marina Grečaņina (Vice-principal of Riga 34 Secondary School), Baiba Neimane (Principal of Riga 45 Secondary School), Laura Zavacka (Vice-principal of Riga 45 Secondary School), Jana Strautmane (In charge of the Chinese program at Riga 64 Secondary School), Jekaterina Beļajeva (Director of Flying Brush Studio), Ludmila Fila (Teacher of Flying Brush Studio), Marijeta Tarabrina（Head of Martial Arts Team), etc. The Seminar is held by Commercial Training Center of Department of Commerce of Hainan Province, which is a MOC Training Base for International Business Officials approved by Ministry of Commerce of China. Revolving around the theme of “Promoting Intercultural Exchange and Cooperation by Tourism,” the seminar is conducted mainly in three forms: namely lectures, research projects, and practical case study. Professional courses consist of 1.The Profile of China: Chinese history and folk culture, 2.Introduction of China’s poverty alleviation achievements and common prosperity strategy, 3.Development and innovation of tourism and hotel products in China (Hainan), 4.Deepening international tourism cooperation and promoting tourism recovery and development, 5.Cooperation between traditional Chinese culture and tourism under the background of cultural and tourism integration, 6.Artificial intelligence and tourism cooperation opportunities, 7.Smart hotel management, 8.Smart scenic spot management, 9.Rural tourism management: multifunctional agriculture and beautiful countryside development, 10.Tourism management model based on school-enterprise cooperation. The seminar combines the lectures and field trips. Participants are arranged to visit and investigate Qionghai city, Wanning city, Sanya city, Shanghai municipality and Suzhou city during the Seminar to have a comprehensive understanding of modern China and help comprehend the knowledge studied in classes, so that they can promote tourism management more effectively in the future work and promote the friendly cooperation between China and Latvia.
The group leader Karina Jermaka made a remark affectionately at the closing ceremony of the seminar: This visit has been very fruitful and rich. We not only visited many places of historical attractions, but also learned a lot of new knowledge. We saw how developed and wonderful China is, and how enthusiastic the Chinese are! I believe that other members, like me, fell in love with China and Chinese culture! Many of our members said that they don’t want to leave China anymore! The Mid-Autumn Festival is drawing closer, which symbolizes reunion and harmony. It is a traditional festival that Chinese people value very much. Appreciating the bright moon, eating moon cakes, and family reunion are cultural imprints rooted in the hearts of every Chinese.There is a Chinese saying: If you can’t get together with your family during the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can look at the round moon, and your family members in the distance will also look at the moon, so that the moon can connect you. The Chinese friends here have become our family. So after returning to Latvia, we will also look at the round moon, and miss you, miss China! The bright moonlight in front of the bed is suspected to be frost on the ground. We raise our heads to look at the bright moon and lower our heads to think about Hainan.
Seminar on Chinese Language and Culture for Latvia is composed of 14 Latvian college teachers and Chinese language/culture practisers and learners selected and recommended by the Confucius Institute and the Economic and Commercial Office, as well as Chinese language and culture practitioners and enthusiasts, including Edvīns Gajevskis (former secretary of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy), Anastasija Galkina (secretaryof the Confucius Institute), Madara Smalkā (teacherof the Confucius Institute), Dace Druveniece (Principal of Jekabpils Secondary School), Ilona Salmina (Principal of Jekabpils No. 2 Secondary School), Diana Komova (doctoral student at Shanghai International Studies University), Lorina Gordejeva (Zhejiang University graduate), Lana Burceva (master’s student at People’s Friendship University of Russia), Anastasija Zlidena (Sia Deel Latvia), Bogdans Galkins (Video inspector at Riga Airport), and Daugavpils film crew Olga Garajeva, Laura Ose, Andris Binders, Viktorija Kozlova.The Seminar is held by Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College and Commissioned by the Ministry of Commerce of China.The main contents are organized in lectures, culture experiencing, meetings, investigations; The major contents include: 1.Language courses such as Chinese comprehensive, listening, speaking, reading, writing etc. 2.Lectures on China such as national conditions, culture, folk customs etc. 3.Experiencing Courses such as music, handicraft, calligraphy etc. In addition, the program is in the form of teaching combining with practice. During the Seminar, investigations are arranged, both in Beijing and Dunhuang and Zhangye in Gansu Province. Thereby the participants are able to perceive more about the charm of China’s culture, to understand more about the current situation of China’s social development. Through this training, participants gain the ability of Chinese conversation, and basic Chinese reading and writing skills. They have a better understanding of Chinese culture, society, policy and other aspects. It aims to help creating the People-to-people bond between China and Latvia and lay a good foundation for further cooperation between China and Latvia.
The group leader Edvīns Gajevskis made a remark at the opening ceremony of the seminar: Our team includes not only teachers and students, but also friends from different fields who want to have a deeper understanding and promote the charm of China. Many of our members are professional photographers who help us record every happy moment as a precious memory. At the same time, I also hope that every one takes more photos and shares your experience with foreign friends. Since its establishment more than 10 years ago, Confucius Institute at University of Latvia has become an important platform for Latvians to learn Chinese and understand China, and a bridge for cultural exchanges, mutual learning and friendly cooperation between China and Latvia. For Latvian students who are eager to learn Chinese, the Confucius Institute provides an excellent opportunity to study and visit China. Civilizations become more diverse thanks to exchanges, and civilizations become more enriched owing to mutual learning. This seminar is a rare learning opportunity for all of us.Here we look forward to studying ancient Chinese history and culture in depth, re-walking the ancient Silk Road, not only visiting the Forbidden Palace and the Summer Palace, learning about the Ming & Qing dynasty court culture, but also observing Dunhuang to explore the Chinese culture in the depths of the desert.This seminar is both an opportunity and a challenge for us. We will cherish this hard-won learning opportunity to study more Chinese culture.
