Distinguished Chinese academics in Corfu

The World Sinology Centre President, Professor XuBaofeng, head of a twelve-member delegation of professors and researchers from Chinese universities and research institutions, visited the Ionian University following an invitation by the UNESCO Chair Director, Professor Stavros Katsios. It was a visit with a specific agenda given the preparatory work of the team set up at the UNESCO Chair of the Ionian University, coordinated by Associate Professor Elena Avramidou on the following issues:

- Introduction of Sinology in Greece

- Establishment of a Sinology Centre

- Collaboration between the World Sinology Centre and the Ionian University in terms of research programmes, lectures and teaching of courses

The meeting took place on Thursday 31 August in the Senate Hall of the Ionian Academy and it was attended by the Ionian University Dean Andreas Floros, the UNESCO Chair and Laboratory for Geocultural Analyses (GEOLAB) Director, Professor Stavros Katsios and the President of the University Centre for Research and Innovation, Professor Panayiotis Vlamos, representing the Ionian University.

The framework for collaboration, the practical next steps and the timetable of actions were confirmed at the meeting. This positive outcome is a follow-up of the agreement initiated by the UNESCO Chair of the Ionian University between the Ionian University and the International Chinese Centre for Language and Education Cooperation (CLEC) to fund a two-year programme for the teaching of the Chinese language at Ionian University.

* Sinology is an academic field that focuses on the study of China, especially Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history.