Confucius Institute celebrates UN Chinese Language Day in Botswana

Young girls participate in the UN Chinese Language Day celebration in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 20, 2024. (Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)

GABORONE, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The Confucius Institute at the University of Botswana (CIUB) celebrated UN Chinese Language Day on Saturday, promoting Chinese language and culture while advocating for cultural and linguistic diversity.

This first-ever event hosted by the CIUB took place at one of Gaborone's busy shopping centers, Airport Junction. Established in 2010, UN Chinese Language Day aims to promote the equal use of the UN's six official working languages while celebrating multilingualism and cultural diversity, according to Pu Durong, Chinese director of the CIUB.

The celebration featured activities and presentations that showcased Chinese language and culture.

Pu said that the day honored the mythical figure Cangjie, presumed to have invented Chinese characters some 5,000 years ago.

People participate in the UN Chinese Language Day celebration in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 20, 2024. (Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)