Confucius Institute
The Confucius Institute is a system of academic institutions for the promotion of Chinese language, culture and the arts. There are 530 branches of the Confucius Institute worldwide in 2019. The IC's stated goal is to promote Chinese language and culture, support the local population internationally, and promote cultural exchanges. Confucius institutions have been criticized in recent years for their dangerously growing communist influence in the countries where they work. The Confucius Institutes program was launched in 2004. The developer of the IR programs and the direct leader is Hanban (the official International Bureau of the Chinese Language Council). The institutes work in collaboration with local departments of colleges and universities around the world. The funding is distributed between Hanban and the IR host institutions. An additional IR program also collaborates with local schools. China compares the Confucius Institutes with other organizations for the promotion of language and culture, such as the Portuguese Institute of Culture, the Brazilian Cultural Center, the British Council, the French Alliance, the Italian Institute, the Cervantes Institute of Spain and the Goethe German Institute. However, in contrast to these organizations, numerous Confucius Institutes operate directly on campus, which raises issues related to academic freedom and political influence. There are currently four such centers in Ukraine:
- at the Kiev National Linguistic University
- at the Lugansk National Taras Shevchenko University
- at the VN Karazin Kharkiv National University
- at Konstantin Ushynskyi South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University