Confucius Institutes around the globe are celebrating their 10th year anniversary this year by filming a television documentary to be viewed worldwide.
This year marks the seventh year that the Confucius Institute of the University of Memphis, one of about 360 locations operating on six different continents, was founded by Hsiang-Te Kung.
The CIUM focuses on the promotion of teaching the Chinese language and for exchange and cooperation in areas such as education, culture and economics with the rest of the world.
The institute has been ranked as one of the top six Confucius Institutes in the United States and one of the top 30 in the world by the National Office in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.
Senior Bethany LaGrone is a Memphis native and expresses great interest in the Asian language and culture. She is a quadruple major in economics, liberal studies with a concentration in Asian studies and International trade, international studies as well as foreign languages with a double concentration in Chinese and French.
"I chose ASIT as another major because I like their guidance with studying abroad, and they have some good scholarships and knowledgeable people," LaGrone said.
In commemoration of the 10th year anniversary of the Confucius Institutes worldwide, each institute was encouraged to shoot short documentaries, which are to be compiled into one longer documentary.
The institute teamed up with Running Pony Production Company, the largest production company in Memphis. T. Leigh Starns is the lead producer and director of the company.
"We do a lot of work for the university along with sports work," Starns said. "We are very committed to the city and we want to fee like people can come to us and get high quality production rather than going all the way to LA."
Running Pony does a lot of production for the university and they have had the honor of winning a few Mid-South Regional Emmy awards starring the University of Memphis football team in 2012.
The documentary is set to air this summer 2014 in China first, then it will air in the U.S.
The documentary will show scenes of offices, teaching sites, libraries and campuses of The Confucius Institute. There will also be interviews of the most prestigious directors including Assistant Director Yiping Yang and a few of the ASIT students and professors.
"I used to teach the English language in China and then I came here and focused on Chinese culture at the University of Memphis, and I am so excited," Yang said.
The CIUM is partnered University of Memphis and Hubei University in Wuhah, China. The institute is working with 24 partner schools in Tennessee.
Not only does the Confucius Institute have the ASIT program, but the Asian professors of the institute also teach Chinese at a few K-12 schools located in Memphis.
"We have so much to be proud of at the CIUM. We have a great team, wonderful students and amazing partner schools across Tennessee. The future looks very bright for the CIUM," Hsiang-Te Kung, director of CIUM, said.
