Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In March 2007, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by Hanban and the Suez Canal University (SCU or جامعة قناة السويس) regarding the the construction of a Confucius Institute at SCU. The construction of the Confucius Institute was jointly undertaken by North China Electric Power University (NECPU) and SCU. In June 2007, an official agreement between Hanban, NECPU, and SCU, began the construction phase of the Confucius Institute at SCU. On July 31, 2007, a board of directors for the Confucius Institute at SCU was formed and groundbreaking took place the same month. On April 1, 2008, the Confucius Institute at SCU was completed and an official opening ceremony was organized. The institute is more than 1,200 square meters in size, includes four classrooms, three multimedia language labs, a reading room, a computer with 20 seats, a teacher’s office, a meeting room, and a conference hall that can accommodate over 200 people. Hanban equipped all of the institute's facilities, provided 8,000 books, and transferred $419,000 of cash assistance to cover the initial budget, the 2009 project budget, the 2010 project budget, a Great Wall Chinese Multimedia Lab project budget, and a book exhibition project budget. On April 1, 2009 the Confucius Institute held a one year anniversary celebration. Then, on June 14, 2009, He Guoqiang, of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of CPC presented equipment for “Chinese Cultural Experience Center'' to the Institute on behalf of the Chinese government. According to a China Daily article, the Institute holds classes for members of the China-Egypt Teda Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, the British University, and Helwan University. The institute is also known for helping Egyptian students find jobs with Chinese companies operating in Egypt, organizing Chinese proficiency tests, providing scholarships for study in China, promoting cultural exhibitions, facilitating cooperation between Chinese and Egyptian Museums, and holding cross-cultural trainings.