Yaounde, August 24th, 2011--In July and August, the summer vacation months in Cameroon, the Confucius Institute at the University of Yaounde II launched severals Chinese language and culture summer camps in its teaching centres in Yaounde, Maroua and Douala, providing local Chinese language enthusiasts with a chance to learn the Chinese language and experience Chinese culture based on their different requirements.

The second session of the 4-week summer camp started on August 1st, 2011 with over 40 students participating. Some of them were new-comers and some of them had also attended the first session held in July.

The summer camp consisted of two sessions, 100 hours for each--80 hours designed for learning the Chinese language and 20 hours for experiencing Chinese culture. The culture course covered tai chi, paper-cutting, calligraphy, Chinese knotting, Chinese songs, as well as common knowledge about Chinese geography, etc. The students learned Chinese language and experienced Chinese culture for 3 hours a day. According to their records, the event attracted a total of 92 participants.

With the growing influence of the Confucius Institute, there is a rising number of people in Cameroon learning the Chinese language. The participants for the camp came from various fields, including office workers, businessmen, teachers and students who desired to enrich themselves during their summer vacation. The oldest participant was over 50 years old and the youngest one was only 4 years old. There was a special group among the participants--a father driving a mother and their 4 children to the Confucius Institute every day. It turned out that the father was a Chinese culture enthusiast who runs a restaurant in local area. This was the second time the family had participated in the Institute's camp this year.

Local Chinese teachers developed a colorful curriculum for the campers not only in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, but also in Maroua. What's more, the camp was available to the public for the first time. Over 30 participants got involved in each session, including some staff members of Cameroon Radio & Television (CRTV), professors and students from the University of Maroua as well as students from local secondary schools. In Douala, Chinese teachers also developed colorful language courses for campers from various fields.

The Institute will also join hands with Zhejiang Normal University to host an "Experience Tour in China"summer camp this summer vacation. 14 college students and government officials who have a strong interest in China have signed up for the event. The participants will have the chance to learn Chinese language in Zhejiang Normal University and experience Chinese culture in different cities.

The Institute won high praise from various fields for its well-developed summer camp this year. The camp took place concurrently with the president of Cameroon paying a visit to China, and dozens of media outlets went to report on the event in Yaounde and Maroua and interviewed some teachers and students. Both the Chinese teachers and Cameroonian participants believed that increasing interaction between the two peoples will help strengthen the friendship between them.