Zhang Xiaozhen, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam, speaks at an awarding ceremony of the first local Chinese language teachers' teaching skills competition in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Dec. 2, 2024. (Xinhua/Emmanuel Herman)

The Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania hosted the first local Chinese language teachers' teaching skills competition over the weekend, in which 20 African teachers from 11 African countries participated.

The teachers came from Tanzania, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Zambia.

Zhang Xiaozhen, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute, on Monday announced the names of six winners after two days of intense competition, with Rasolofomanganjanahary Andersen Antonyo Sylviano, a Madagascan who teaches the Chinese language at the Confucius Institute at the University of Antananarivo, emerging as the overall winner.

The winners are eligible to participate in the finals in China. The Confucius Institute will provide round-trip tickets to China for them while the organizers in China will bear the domestic expenses, said Zhang.

The award ceremony was held Monday in tandem with the opening ceremony of the in-service workshop for the volunteer teachers in Tanzania.

Omari Kipanga, Tanzania's deputy minister of education, science, and technology, praised the teachers who took part in the competition, saying the Chinese language, like any other language, played an essential role in promoting diplomacy, cementing good relationships, and facilitating economic diplomacy.

Che Zhaoguang, the cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania, said language is a bridge for people-to-people exchanges and mutual understanding.

"I feel so great, and I am thankful to the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam for hosting this competition," said Sylviano, 32. 

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