Chinese Ambassador’s Scholarship Awards Ceremony and Spring Festival Activities

The annual Chinese Ambassador’s scholarship award to outstanding students of Chinese was held in a ceremony hosted by the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana on Thursday February 19, 2015. The Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, H.E. Madam Sun Baohong offered scholarships to ten BA Chinese students of the University of Ghana and 20 students of the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana, who were mainly pupils of the University of Ghana Basic Schools. The award ceremony was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana Professor Ernest Aryeetey. Also present were; the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor John Gyapong; Provost of College of Humanities, Professor Samuel Agyei-Mensah; the Provost of the College of Education, Professor Cephas Omenyo, and other Senior Members of the University of Ghana as well as dignitaries from the Chinese Embassy, the China Chamber of Commerce, Chinese Medical Team in Ghana, and parents and guardians of the recipients. 

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey; H. E. Madam Sun Baohong, Chinese Ambassador and Provost of the College of Humanities, Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah

In his welcome address, the Provost of College of Humanities, Professor Samuel Agyei-Mensah stated that the annual award of scholarships to brilliant BA students of Chinese by the Chinese Ambassador was established by the former Chinese Ambassador, H. E. Gong Jianzhong in 2012, to motivate students and encourage them to work hard at the language. In the past, ten students were awarded each year. At this year’s ceremony, additional 20 awards were given to students of the Confucius Institute. 

The Chinese Ambassador presenting awards to BA Chinese Students of the Chinese Section, Department of Modern Languages

The Chinese Ambassador presenting awards to Confucius Institute students from the University of Ghana Basic Schools

The Vice-Chancellor in his remarks expressed his gratitude to the Ambassador and her Embassy for the continuous support it offers to the University. He stressed the importance of China in the world’s economy today and the need for both Ghana and China to strengthen the relationship between them.

H. E. Madam Sun Baohong expressed her admiration of the Vice-Chancellor for the recent grand launch of the University’s Strategic Plan and wished the University well in its endeavour to attain a world class status.

About the award ceremony, she congratulated the recipients and stated her excitement about the learning of Chinese by the pupils of the University Basic Schools and pointed out the advantages of learning a language in the formative years. As the day also marked the Chinese New Year’s Day, which is beginning of the Chinese Spring Festival, the Ambassador seized the opportunity to educate the audience about the festival which has a history of over 4000 years and is regarded as the most important traditional Chinese festival by the Chinese. She thanked the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana for hosting the award ceremony and for marking the Chinese New Year’s Day with a series of traditional Chinese activities.

There were five main activities showcasing the Spring Festival: Chinese Dumpling Making and Cooking, Chinese Paper Cutting, Chinese Couplets Writing, Chinese Knot Tying and Peking Opera Facial Makeup Painting.

 

After the scholarship award ceremony, the Chinese and Ghanaian Directors of the Confucius Institute Dr. Meilian Mei and Dr. Josephine Dzahene-Quarshie lead the Vice-Chancellor, the Chinese Ambassador and other dignitaries to inspect and participate in the Spring Festival activities, after which the audience also joined in the activities.

A cross-section of dignitaries being escorted by the Directors of the Confucius Institute

 

Audience trying their hands on Chinese Knot tying art

 

Audience joining in Chinese dumpling making and cooking

 

Audience participating in the writing of Chinese couplets

 

An audience showing his paper cutting work

 

Audience engaged in Peking Opera facial makeup painting