From November 30 to December 2, the "2025 Training Program for Local Chinese Language Teachers in Kenya," supported by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) under China's Ministry of Education, was held at the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.Yu Yunfeng, director of the CLEC; Zhong Yinghua, president of the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching (ISCLT) and dean of the International Chinese Education Development Research Institute; Dr. Carol Wangui Hunja, principal secretary for Higher Education and Research at Kenya's Ministry of Education; Professor Margaret Jesang Hutchinson, vice-chancellor of the University of Nairobi; and Faith Mworia, president of the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Kenya, attended the opening ceremony. Participants in the training included Wang Shangxue, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi; Zhou Xiaodong, director of the Confucius Institute at Kenyatta University; Liu Yutao, director of the Confucius Institute at Egerton University; Li Lihua, director of the Confucius Institute at Moi University, along with 184 local Chinese language teachers from the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Kenya, the Kenya Defense Forces Education and Language School, and various Kenyan primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions.

During the opening ceremony, Yu Yunfeng, Zhong Yinghua, Carol Hunja, and Margaret Hutchinson jointly inaugurated the Kenya Alumni Association—the first African alumni association for the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship. Alumni representatives from across Kenya and all training participants witnessed this significant moment.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, jointly established by Tianjin Normal University (TNU) and the University of Nairobi, was among the first Confucius Institutes established globally and the very first in Africa. Its cooperation agreement was officially signed on June 22, 2004. After 21 years of development, it has become a flagship project for China-Africa people-to-people exchanges.

TNU and the University of Nairobi have consistently adhered to the development philosophy of "Friendship, Development, Cooperation, and Mutual Benefit," actively serving the mutual learning between Chinese and African civilizations and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. The Confucius Instituteat the University of Nairobi has always focused on meeting the needs of Chinese education and cultural exchange in Africa, fostering a highly trusting cooperative relationship. It has helped promote the inclusion of the Chinese language into Kenya's national education system. To date, it has enrolled over 20,000 registered students, held cultural activities benefiting 140,000 participants, and trained 78 percent of Kenya's core Chinese language teaching faculty. The Institute launched a "2+2" dual-degree scholarship program, established an undergraduate program in Chinese language, and cultivated locally-trained Chinese language teachers with East African accreditation. It has developed a localized Chinese language teaching curriculum system to systematically train certified local teachers and established a system for cultivating and supplying these teachers. Graduates have filled key roles such as the first train captain, first female driver, and crew members for the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway. The Institute also compiled and published the first locally-adapted textbook series, "Practical Chinese for East Africa," aligning Chinese language learning more closely with learners' realities. These efforts have yielded significant results in cultivating professionals for the Belt and Road Initiative and organizing diverse community cultural activities.

Outstanding graduates of the Confucius Institute are now widely distributed across Kenyan government departments, including educational institutions at all levels, the Immigration Department, the Tourism Board, and the National Curriculum Development Committee, as well as enterprises and institutions such as Xinhua Africa, China Daily Africa, Huawei Kenya, Standard Bank, China Road and Bridge Corporation, and Keda Ceramics. They are highly recognized and commended by all sectors of Kenyan society.

By He Jierui