On September 26, New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022 was officially opened at New Zealand Parliament House in the capital city of Wellington. During the week-long event, a variety of Chinese language learning and Chinese culture activities were held online and offline in several cities in New Zealand, building a good platform for Chinese language learners and Chinese culture fans to exchange ideas.

New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern delivered a video speech opening the event in Chinese. She said that learning languages is an important way to communicate with others and encouraged people to take advantage of this New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022 to learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture from different perspectives. There are over 240,000 Chinese living in New Zealand and they play an important role in New Zealand's multi-cultural development.

In his speech, New Zealand Speaker Rurawhe expressed his hope to see more young New Zealanders learn Chinese in the future, and he will try to introduce himself in Chinese at the opening ceremony of New Zealand Chinese Language Week next year.

Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong said that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand, and the growing popularity of learning Chinese in New Zealand reflects the increasingly close relationship between the two countries. In the eight years since its inception, the New Zealand Chinese Language Week has grown into a landmark brand for multi-level and all-round cultural and educational exchanges, laying a solid foundation for China-New Zealand friendship and contributing to the continued development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

In the evening, New Zealand Speaker Rurawhe, Multi-cultural Construction Minister Radhakrishnan, and Ambassador Wang Xiaolong presented awards to the 2022 Chinese Language Youth Envoys and 2022 Chinese Language Super Stars. Ambassador Wang Xiaolong invited the awardees to visit China and share their stories of learning Chinese with people around them, and encouraged them to become "Envoys" of friendship between China and New Zealand in the future.

This year, New Zealand Chinese-American singer-songwriter Venice Qin wrote the theme song Call My Name specifically for New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022. "Going back to an ancient place, where I am not a stranger at all. As long as I speak, every word out of my mouth they so well know." With its surging and passionate intro and catchy melody, this theme song of New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022 is widely popular. Venice said, "This song is about a bond: the connection I have with Chinese culture, and the people there. For me, that's what Chinese Language Week is all about."

The New Zealand Chinese Language Week was started in 2014 to support and encourage more New Zealanders to learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture, and has been highly recommended by the local government. This year, the Ministry of Minorities of New Zealand, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, the Forest Owners Association, China Forestry Group New Zealand Co. Ltd., Midea Group, the New Zealand-China Council, Fonterra Co-operative Group and many other organizations and companies provided support for the event. (source from Center for Language Education and Cooperation)