From October 14 to 15, "Language Communication, Cultural Learning" - The 1st International Forum on Teaching of Chinese as a Foreign Language in Portugal was successfully held in Lisbon. The event was hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Portugal and the Macau Scientific and Cultural Center of the Ministry of Education and Science Portugal (CCCM), with the support of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), the Portuguese Ministry of Education, and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education.

The number of people attending and participating in the event was 150, covering government officials from both sides, education professionals, experts in the field of Chinese language education from Italy, the United States and Spain, and Chinese language educators. The following officials attended the forum, including Zhao Bentang, the Chinese Ambassador to Portugal; Florbela Valente, the representative of the Portuguese Minister of Education and the Deputy Director General of School Construction; Carmen Mendes, the President of CCCM; Paulo Jorge Nascimento, the Portuguese Ambassador-designate to China. Prof. Ma Jianfei, Director-General of CLEC, attended the opening ceremony by video and delivered a speech.

Prof. Ma Jianfei said that with the support of the Portuguese government and the Chinese Embassy in Portugal, and the cooperation of relevant Portuguese institutions, Chinese language education agencies and language cooperation centers, Chinese language education in Portugal has achieved fruitful results, especially the Chinese language teaching program in Portuguese public secondary schools, which has become a model of cooperation between China and Portugal in Chinese language education programs. The CLEC will strengthen cooperation with the Portuguese side by supporting the establishment of Chinese language majors or Chinese language teacher training programs, offering opportunities for further training in China, and providing more support for the development of Chinese language teaching in Portugal.

Florbela Valente said that the Chinese language program is of great importance to the educational growth of Portuguese youth, helping improve their language abilities and bringing more possibilities for their future development. In the future, Portugal will continue to strengthen the sincere cooperation with China and make positive contributions to the Sino-Portuguese friendship.

Paulo Jorge Nascimento said that every country should value and support language communication. The Portuguese-Chinese language communication strengthens communication and understanding between the two peoples and promotes the development of friendly relations. Paulo Jorge Nascimento hoped that Portugal and China would use language as a medium for mutual respect, mutual learning and more cooperation and exchange.

Zhao Bentang said that the Chinese language program in Portugal has been warmly welcomed by local people, and has covered dozens of large, medium, and small schools, benefiting tens of thousands of Portuguese students. It has become a major highlight of educational exchanges and cooperation between the two countries and had a wide and positive impact, making positive contributions to the further development of friendly relations between China and Portugal.

During the forum, renowned experts in the field of international Chinese language education, including Prof. Federico Masini from Italy, Prof. Liu Lening from the United States and Prof. Juan José Ciruela Alférez from Spain, gave lectures on "The Development of Localized Chinese Language Teaching Curriculum and Teaching Materials in Italy", "The Gains and Losses of Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogical Theory Applied to International Chinese Language Teaching", "Language Distance, Text Distance and Cultural Distance: Challenges of International Chinese Language Teaching". They shared the latest research results and applications of Chinese language teaching. The delegates excitedly exchanged ideas and discussed on the theme of "Language Communication, Cultural Learning". And they expressed that this forum was very beneficial to them, with their confidence strengthened and meanwhile language skills increased. (source from  Center for Language Education and Cooperation)