The opening ceremony of the Chinese Language and Culture Course of the Central Bank of Barbados was held in the Central Bank of Barbados. A total of more than 30 guests, including Francois Jackman, Foreign Co-Director of the Confucius Institute (CI) at Barbados, and Song Qingbao, Chinese Co-Director of the CI at Barbados, 20 students and some media representatives attended the event.
The ceremony was chaired by Novaline Brewster, Director of the Public Affairs Department of the Central Bank. On behalf of the Central Bank governor Dr. DeLisle Worrell, she first thanked the CI for giving free courses to the staff of the Central Bank. She was pleased to announce that the first session had been fully registered and the second session of early 2017 had also seen hot enrollment. Mr. Jackman, Foreign Co-Director of the CI, said in his speech that the Confucius Institute would open more courses in the Central Bank next year to meet the growing demand of Chinese in the Central Bank.
The nine-week program will not only help the central bankers to learn Chinese better and understand China's economic development and financial policies, but it will also expand the influence and popularity of the Confucius Institutes in the local communities. This is an important step for the CI to go further into and communicate with the local community.
The mainstream media, such as the Advocate and the Caribbean Broadcast Corporation, has given positive coverage of this ceremony.
