It’s New Zealand Chinese Language Week

Have a go at Chinese – It’s New Zealand Chinese Language Week

New Zealand Chinese Language Week starts (today) Monday 12 September and runs until Sunday 18 September. The week is about encouraging more New Zealanders to have a go at Chinese and seeks to bridge the cultural and linguistic knowledge gap between China and New Zealand.
Sir Richard Taylor from Wellington’s Weta Workshop has added his weight to the Week as he has seen Chinese language become an integral part of his business. “When young people are empowered by the use of each other’s language they can then build stronger artistic, creative, business or political ties between our two countries.” See his video of support here.

Co-chair of the New Zealand Chinese Language Trust, Raymond Huo, explains its value: “This Week is about preparing our future generations for the global village and more specifically, the increasingly important Asian markets.”

“China is already New Zealand’s most important trading partner, our largest source of international students and second biggest source of tourists. Shared understanding through language is the greatest way to win new business yet we have only 3.4 Chinese learners for every $1billion of export exposure.

“Learning the basics of another language goes a long way when building relationships with that culture. To bond with our Chinese colleagues, friends, and trading partners, we must try and get basic courtesies like pronunciation and greetings correct."

Co-chair of the Trust, Jo Coughlan says, “Many New Zealanders will have never considered giving Mandarin a go. It could be that it’s perceived as being too difficult or it may be they don’t know where to begin. This Week is about encouraging people to widen their horizons and showing them where they might find information to take the first step in learning Chinese.”

New Zealand Chinese Language Week website is a one-stop resource portal for anyone wanting to start learning Chinese. There are links to free online learning resources and information for schools wanting to incorporate Mandarin into their curriculum or as a subject. It also showcases all the events linked with NZ Chinese Language Week happening around the country this week. To see what’s happening at a location near you visit: http://nzclw.com/events
New Zealand Chinese Language Week also has full support from the Prime Minister (see his video of support here), the Chinese Ambassador Wang Lutong, John McKinnon Ambassador to China and Mongolia, and Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy.

The event is also endorsed by The Asia New Zealand Foundation, New Zealand China Friendship Society, New Zealand China Council, New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Air NZ, Immigration NZ, NZ Tourism Industry Association, Education New Zealand, Local Government NZ, our major universities and the mayors of Wellington, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Highlights of events happening around the country include:
• Calligraphy workshop with Master Stan Chan at National Library of New Zealand
• Workshops on basic Chinese greetings
• Mandarin storytimes and rhymes at Libraries nationwide
• Language Immersion days at primary and intermediate schools in Auckland, Wellington, Waikato, Canterbury and Otago
• University Campus Showcase days at Victoria, Massey Albany, Auckland and Waikato
• Peking Opera performance at Wellington City Library
• Chiense Language Week Signage at Christchurch airport
• Chinese Short Film Contest for Auckland Intermediate and Secondary School Students
• Free daily Mandarin Tours at Te Papa
• Mayor Meng Foon does Cooking demonstrations in Gisborne

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