Minutes of the 2013 Joint Conference of Confucius Institutes in Asia The 2013 Joint Conference of Confucius Institutes in Asia was successfully held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from May 29 to 31, 2013. The conference was attended by a total of over 200 delegates, including the presidents and Chinese and foreign directors of 86 Confucius Institutes and 3 Confucius Classrooms from 31 Asian countries, as well as a number of presidents of Chinese partner universities. Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia attended the opening ceremony, along with 5 deputy prime ministers and 21 ministerial-level officials, and delivered a speech. Madam Xu Lin, Member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, Counselor of the State Council of China, Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters and Director-General of Hanban, delivered the keynote speech. At the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Sen honored Madam Xu Lin with the “Friendship and Cooperation Medal of the Kingdom of Cambodia”, and the two of them unveiled 3 Confucius Classrooms together. In order for the conference to serve as a platform for sharing experience and exchanging ideas, the CI Headquarters has collected in advance over 80 articles from Asian Confucius Institutes on their Chinese language education, cultural activities as well as lectures and forums, and selected 40 of them to assemble a Compilation of Good Examples from Confucius Institutes in Asia, which are distributed to the delegates at the conference. In addition, 5 Confucius Institute Directors were invited to share their experience on conducting special credit courses, language and cultural practices as well as the training of local teachers and the development of teaching materials. This has become yet another highlight of the conference, as their speeches were well received and their interaction with the audience achieved the desired effect. At the conference, the CI Headquarters gave introductions to the Confucius China Studies Program, the core teacher position and the establishment of majors in Chinese language teaching, and the delegates conducted heated discussions on a range of topics, including the fulfillment of the tasks and objectives for the year 2015 according to the Confucius Institute Development Plan (2012-2020), the strengthening of the training of local teachers for Confucius Institutes and the development of teaching materials, the preparations for Confucius Institutes’ 10th anniversary celebrations in 2014, and the implementation of the “core teacher” program. 1. On the fulfillment of the tasks and objectives for 2015 according to the Plan The delegates agree that the timely publication of the Confucius Institute Development Plan (2012-2020) points the direction for Confucius Institutes’ sustainable development. The objectives and tasks stated in the Plan are scientific and reasonable, and the specific tasks and goals for 2015 can be accomplished. (1) The development of Confucius Institutes and Classrooms should aim at the reasonable distribution of numbers. Since there are fewer Confucius Classrooms in Asia compared with European and American countries, it is suggested that qualified Confucius Institutes in Asia should set up more Confucius Classrooms in primary and middle schools. (2) Individual Confucius Institutes should have a clear understanding of their own positions, set goals for different development stages, and try to become part of the university’s development plan through the Board of Directors, in order to better satisfy the needs of the university and the local community. (3) The mechanism for tripartite cooperation among the CI Headquarters and the Chinese and foreign partner universities should be further strengthened, and a mechanism for communication between Confucius Institutes in the same region or country should be established, in order to effectively promote the fulfillment of the policies and tasks in the Plan through multi-channels. (4) It is suggested that more HSK test centers for online registration be set up in Asia, so as to further promote the Chinese proficiency tests online. (5) Some delegates from Confucius Institutes in Arab countries (such as the UAE) have expressed their concern that because of their countries’ conditions and the Confucius Institutes’ short span of operation, they have difficulty fulfilling the Plan’s goals for 2015 and hope that they can be given more time to catch up, as they will try their best to attract more students through the innovation and expansion of cultural activities. 2. On the strengthening of the training of local teachers for Confucius Institutes and the development of teaching materials The delegates exchanged views and shared their experience on the training of local teachers and the development of teaching materials. The delegates agree that the CI Headquarters should publish as soon as possible the International Chinese Language Teachers Standard and develop its accreditation system, so that an evaluation standard can be provided for the construction of qualified local teachers. It is suggested that the accreditation system should be constantly improved to promote the Chinese language education quality in Confucius Institutes. In addition, the delegates agree that the establishment of majors in Chinese language teaching in the host universities is also an effective measure to promote the training of local teachers. However, doing so involves a lot of complicated local application procedures, and some universities have difficulty in providing the necessary facilities and funds. Therefore it is suggested that pilot programs be set up first at Confucius Institutes with the necessary qualifications. In terms of the development of teaching materials, the delegates indicate that foreign language readings in literature and culture developed by the CI Headquarters have been well received, and have lent great support to the Confucius Institutes in their special cultural courses, such as literature and film appreciation. It is suggested that more effort be made to develop Chinese language teaching materials with characteristics, online video teaching materials and anime teaching materials, as well as micro videos and smartphone apps for learning Chinese, in order to further enrich the CI Headquarters’ Internet resources. The delegates also agree that the development of teaching materials should aim at the integration of teaching and test-taking, local experts should play a larger role in the process, and the development of teaching materials should be linked with HSK levels and suitable for universities in different countries. 3. On the preparations for Confucius Institutes’ 10th anniversary celebrations in 2014