The meeting took place at the head office of the Regional Coordinating Council. In attendance were, the Central Regional Minister, Mr. Kwamena Duncan, the Chief Director of the Regional Coordinating Council, Mr. Kwame Oppong, the Regional Director of Education, Mr. Jacob A. M. Korh and all the District Directors of Education in Central Region.
Prof. Hu met with the Central Regional Minister and the Regional Director of Education for a short discussion before the meeting began. During the discussion, he stated that Confucius Institute – University of Cape Coast would like to link up with the Regional Education Council, in order to set up centers in the various districts in Central Region to teach Chinese Language and Culture. Prof. Hu Liangcai was then invited by the Regional Director to give a speech at the meeting. He added that he will later have a personal meeting with Prof. Hu to discuss cooperation.
The meeting began with an opening prayer from one of the District Directors of Education. It followed with individual introductions of the District Directors of Education. After the self- introductions, Prof. Hu was called upon to give his speech.
Prof. Hu began his speech by stating that Confucius Institute is a Chinese Institute that is sponsored by Chinese government to teach Chinese Language and Culture to people all over the world. There are two Confucius Institutes in Ghana, one at University of Ghana – Legon and University of Cape Coast, and he is the China Director of Confucius Institute – University of Cape Coast. The Institute has set up many centers at various Junior and Senior High Schools in the university community and Cape Coast as a whole. He further indicated that the Institute is willing to extend their Chinese Language Teaching and Cultural activities to various schools in the Region. The teachers and students who will partake in the program will have the opportunity to gain half or full scholarships to study in China.
The Institute is also going to set up a local teachers’ training program to teach Ghanaian teachers who are willing to learn and teach the Chinese Language. He also stated that Ghana has a very strong cooperation with China. China is the largest trading partner of Ghana in the whole world, and Ghana at the moment, has the highest number of students that are studying in China among all African countries. Therefore, this culture exchange between the two countries will help to enhance their cooperation.
He ended his speech by saying a big thank you to all the members of the Regional Coordinating Council and the Regional Minister.