AILA International Events

Confucius Institutes in Brazil (by Francisco Figueiredo- ALAB)

Brazil Unifies Its Confucius Institutes Under New National Network; 

UFG Represents Country in Global AI Forums

On September 12th, 2025, the Network of Confucius Institutes in Brazil was officially established, marking an important milestone in strengthening academic and cultural cooperation between Brazil and China. The proposal for its creation originated from the Confucius Institute at UNESP, which also hosted the inaugural meeting. On that occasion, it was decided that Professor Luís Antônio Paulino, from UNESP, would assume the presidency of the Network.

The event was marked by broad institutional and diplomatic representation, bringing together Brazilian and Chinese directors of the Confucius Institutes operating in the country, as well as various authorities from both China and Brazil. Among those in attendance were the Minister of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, the Acting Consul General of the Consulate General of China in São Paulo, the Director-General of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) in Beijing, along with the Rector of UNESP, the Rector of UnB, the Vice-Rectors of UEPA, UEMA, UFBA, UFC, and UFT.

Currently, Brazil has 14 Confucius Institutes – located at UNESP, UFG, PUC-RIO, UEPA, UFBA, UFC, UFF, UFMG, UFRGS, UFRJ, UnB, Unicamp, UPE, and FAAP – and one Chinese Center at UFMT. Together, they form a national network dedicated to ‘promoting the Chinese language and culture, as well as fostering academic and scientific exchange between the two countries.

Subsequently, on October 10th, 2025, the first online meeting of the Council of the Network of Confucius Institutes in Brazil was held. The main objectives of the meeting were to approve the 2026 Work Plan and to elect the two vice-presidents of the Network, as established in its Statute. Following deliberations, Professor Francisco José Quaresma de Figueiredo, Director of the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at UFG, and Professor Antônio Braga, Director of the Confucius Institute at UEPA, were elected to join the Network’s leadership alongside the president.

The strengthening of this organizational structure represents a significant step toward consolidating the presence of the Confucius Institutes in Brazil, expanding opportunities for interinstitutional cooperation and broadening the reach of initiatives aimed at Chinese language teaching and the promotion of intercultural dialogue.

The Confucius Institutes have as their main objective the dissemination of the Chinese language and culture, and some of them, such as the Confucius Institute of Chinese Medicine at the Federal University of Goiás, in addition to offering courses on the Chinese language and culture, also provide courses in the area of Chinese Medicine. Every year, a major global event is held in which new methods and approaches for teaching Mandarin are discussed – the World Chinese Language Conference, which took place in Beijing from November 14th to 16th 2025. The event is attended by directors of Confucius Institutes around the world, as well as the President or Vice-President of the institutions responsible for each Confucius Institute. This year’s theme was “Innovation Leads, AI Empowers: Learning Chinese Without Borders.”

The use of Artificial Intelligence in Mandarin teaching was also discussed at another event held in Hong Kong from November 16th to 17th – the Global Confucius Institutes Hong Kong Forum, organized by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, with the theme “Exploring New Opportunities for Cooperation among Confucius Institutes in the Era of AI.” The event was attended by 150 invited participants from various Confucius Institutes in 69 countries. The Confucius Institute of Chinese Medicine at UFG represented Brazil at this event.

Prof. Francisco José Quaresma de Figueiredo

Brazilian Dean of the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at UFG

Vice-President of the Network of Confucius Institutes in Brazil

 

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GAFSU – Global Alliance of Foreign Studies Universities held in Hangzhou

Presidents' Forum of the Global Alliance of Foreign Studies Universities held in Hangzhou

Themed "Future Solutions, AI Empowerment, Integrated Development", the Fifth Presidents' Forum of the Global Alliance of Foreign Studies Universities (GAFSU), hosted by Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and organized by Zhejiang International Studies University, was held in Hangzhou on Oct 24.

The forum was attended by leaders from 24 member institutions of the alliance, and over 170 global experts and scholars from more than 60 universities and institutions.

The Fifth Presidents' Forum of the GAFSU is held in Hangzhou. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

During the forum, Liu Limin, president of the China Education Association for International Exchange, vice president of the Western Returned Scholars Association, and China's former vice minister of education, highlighted the importance of strengthening the collaboration between foreign language universities and research institutions. Liu emphasized leveraging the "intelligence" and "inclusive" advantages of digital technology to promote the deep integration of cutting-edge technology and foreign language education.

Liu Limin delivers a speech during the forum. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

In his address, Jia Wenjian, chairman of the GAFSU, BFSU's president and deputy secretary of the CPC BFSU Committee, offered future-oriented suggestions: deepen the integration of digital intelligence in language education; enhance the interdisciplinary integration of academic disciplines and specialties; and strengthen the resource integration in the development of the alliance.

Jia Wenjian offers future-oriented suggestions for the development of the GAFSU. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Zhang Huanzhou, board member of the GAFSU and president of Zhejiang International Studies University, noted that the forum has created a platform for an exchange matrix within the intercultural education community for members of the alliance.

Zhang Huanzhou highlights the importance of the forum. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

The forum released the "Initiative for Collaborative Advancement of Innovation in Language Education and Research in the Digital Intelligence Era," calling on member universities to jointly plan new approaches for digitally empowered education and teaching, explore new global pathways for language education, create new global hubs for knowledge innovation, and build a new ecosystem with diverse stakeholder participation.

The GAFSU was initiated in 2015 by BFSU and is currently composed of 39 universities from 20 countries, all distinguished in foreign language teaching and area studies.

 

 

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BFSU at CIEP

Beijing Foreign Studies University held a Series of Talent Exchange Activities for the 23rd Conference on International Exchange of Professionals

The 23rd Conference on International Exchange of Professionals was held at the Shanghai World Expo Center from October 21st to 22nd. During the conference, Beijing Foreign Studies University held two talent exchange activities with the themes of " Interdisciplinarity and Innovation in Country and Area Studies " and "Artificial Intelligence and International Education". Jia Wenjian, president of Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Zhao Gang, vice president, attended the event.

Interdisciplinarity and Innovation in Country and Area Studies attracts Global Scholars to discuss the Development Path of the Discipline

The talent exchange event on " Interdisciplinarity and Innovation in Country and Area Studies" is hosted by the Country and Area Studies Academy. The event brought together over 50 experts and scholars from UNESCO, the Australian Academy of Humanities, and dozens of top universities and research institutions around the world. The opening ceremony was presided over by Zhao Gang.


The Unveiling of International Collaborative Platform for Cross-Disciplinary and Innovative Country and Area Studies was held at the event. Jia Wenjian, Irina Bokova, the former Director-General of UNESCO, Marakkale Manage Pathmalal, the president of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and Barnabas Nawangwe, the president of Makerere University in Uganda, delivered speeches and jointly unveiled the plaque for the "International Collaborative Platform for Cross-Disciplinary and Innovative Country and Area Studies" of Beijing Foreign Studies University. They stated that against the backdrop of profound changes in the current world order, deepening interdisciplinary and cross-cultural regional and country studies holds irreplaceable strategic value for promoting global governance and enhancing mutual learning among civilizations.

The event focused on in-depth discussions on the theoretical frontiers and practical exploration of regional and country studies. David Carter, an academician of the Australian Academy of Humanities, expounded on the significant role of regional studies as a cross-disciplinary platform. Chih-Ping Chou, a retired professor from Princeton University, analyzed the development trends of global Chinese education. Professor Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim from the University of Abuja explored the academic connotations of China-Africa cooperation from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Professor Ren Xiao from the Institute of Regional and Global Governance, BFSU summarized the latest progress in China's regional and country studies. Scholars from countries such as Algeria, Germany, France, Argentina, and Ethiopia respectively shared their research findings on topics such as China-Africa relations, African language standardization, multilingual learning, and global public health, fully demonstrating the diverse and cross-disciplinary characteristics of regional and country studies. In the "At the Crossroads of Regional Studies" roundtable discussion, dozens of guests conducted a heated discussion on how to transcend traditional research paradigms and build a more equal and inclusive global knowledge system, providing insightful ideas for future disciplinary development.

Artificial Intelligence and International Education Jointly Explore a New Chapter in the Future of Education

The "Artificial Intelligence and International Education" talent exchange event was organized by the School of Education, the BFSU Artificial Intelligence and Human Language Lab, and the Institute of Online Education of Beijing Foreign Studies University. The event brought together over 50 high-level experts and scholars from nearly 30 countries and regions, as well as more than 10 heads of overseas universities and research institutions. The opening ceremony of the event was presided over by Zhao Gang.

Meanwhile, a roadshow and exhibition of "Artificial Intelligence + Foreign Language Education Products and Periodicals" was held on the event. Li Zuowen, director of the BFSU Artificial Intelligence and Human Language Lab, and Tang Jinlan, dean of the Institute of Online Education, respectively introduced two academic journals, "Language and Intelligence" and "Journal of China Computer-Assisted Language Learning". Dr. Li Lingxiao from the Artificial Intelligence and Human Language Lab demonstrated the innovative applications of artificial intelligence in areas such as language learning, teaching evaluation, and course resource development, presenting the latest achievements and research progress in this field.

During the event, experts and scholars from all over the world delivered 18 specialized academic reports on the theme of "Artificial Intelligence and International Education". The research areas covered educational technology, artificial intelligence and language learning, language teaching, and other fields, fully demonstrating an international perspective of interdisciplinary cooperation. The keynote speeches on the first day were hosted by Li Zuowen, with key topics including LingTutor and inquiry-based learning, key issues of AI as high-quality educational resources, the definition of AI literacy and the application of AI in English teaching, and the challenges of generative AI and higher education. The keynote speeches on the second day were hosted by Tang Jinlan, mainly focusing on ethical guidelines for the application of AI in education, the future transformation of language education with AI, the challenges of AI in the cultivation of translation talents, the digital transformation of global education with AI, and the challenges of cooperation and collusion with generative AI.

The event featured two roundtable discussions, themed "Opportunities and Challenges in the Digital Transformation of International Education " and "Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Multilingual Teaching". These discussions were hosted by Professor Kong Lei from the Artificial Intelligence and Human Language Lab and Dr. Tu Xiliang from the Institute of Online Education. Experts and scholars from universities such as Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Makerere University, Sofia University, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Universidad Bolivariana del Ecuador, University of Nairobi and Australian National University participated in the discussions. They engaged in lively exchanges on topics such as the path of digital education transformation and the practical application of AI technology in cross-cultural language teaching, providing valuable and diverse perspectives for the development of international education.

This event effectively promoted academic dialogue and knowledge sharing in the field of artificial intelligence and international education research through keynote speeches, roundtable discussions, and achievement displays. It provided an important platform for promoting the digital transformation of international education and facilitating interdisciplinary innovation research. This event not only showcased the latest research achievements in this field but also offered a valuable opportunity for global educators to learn from each other and develop together. The experts attending the event unanimously agreed that artificial intelligence technology is profoundly changing the global education ecosystem, and international cooperation and cross-cultural exchanges are crucial in this process.

The Conference on International Exchange of Professionals is the largest and most prestigious international talent platform in China. Based on this platform, Beijing Foreign Studies University has gathered top experts and scholars from around the world to hold a series of activities such as academic discussions, project signing, cooperation negotiations, and roadshow exhibitions, aiming to deepen international understanding, promote global dialogue, actively build a new pattern of international academic cooperation and talent exchange, and actively contribute the wisdom of Beijing Foreign Studies University to strengthening international cooperation and mutual learning among civilizations, as well as promoting the common development of global talents.

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CELEA – China English Language Education Association – Annual Conference

The 2025 Annual Conference of China English Language Education Association was held in Chongqing on October 17-19, 2025. It was hosted by Southwest University. The theme of the conference is English Teaching in the New Era: New Approaches for Intercultural Communication and Mutual Learning. Prof. Prof. Peter I. De Costa from Michigan State University, Prof. Cheng Xiaotang from Beijing Normal University, Prof. Yin Yungong from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Prof. Dong Hongchuan from Sichuan International Studies University and Prof. Wen Xu from Southwest University gave plenary speeches at the conference. During the conference, 17 symposia, 1 editor-in-chief forum were held and 15 groups of individual papers were presented. About 300 EFL scholars and teachers attended the conference on site and 32,000 people watched the plenary sessions on-line.   

The next Conference of CELEA, the 11th International Conference on ELT in China will be held jointly with the 24th AsiaTEFL International Conference (AsiaTEFL 2026) in Xi’an city on May 28-31, 2026.  

Prof. Sun Youzhong, the CELEA president and Prof. Gao Yang from Xi’an Jiaotong University attended the 23nd AsiaTEFL International Conference held in Hong Kong, China on July 10-13, 2025. Prof. Gao Yang spoke as the representative of the host organization of the next AsiaTEFL Conference.

Prof. Kyria Finardi had a meeting with the representatives of CELEA, Prof. Sun Youzhong, Prof. Jin Limin, Prof. Zhang Hong, Ms Duan Changcheng and Ms Hou Hui on October 28, 2025 to discuss possibilities of academic exchanges and a global talents nurturing program.

During her visit to Beijing, professor Kyria Finardi also met Prof. Xu Jiajin https://corpus.bfsu.edu.cn/info/1067/1988.htm  from the National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education, BFSU. Professor Xu is also involved in a recently approved project focused on the role of AI in the geopolitics of knowledge production coordinated by Professor Kyria Finardi in Brazil. The project involves various AILA members from 12 other countries besides China and has recently received approval and support from the Brazilian Research Foundation FAPES.

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The 2nd ALTI International Seminar in Applied Linguistics (ISIALing 2025)

Malang, Indonesia – On 8–10 October 2025, The Asosiasi Linguistik Terapan Indonesia (ALTI) – Indonesian Association of Applied Linguistics (IAAL), conducted  the 2nd International Seminar of Applied Linguistics (ISIALing) in collaboration with the 71st TEFLIN International Conference, hosted by Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Universitas Brawijaya. The conference, also in conjunction with The 5th ICE and The 5th ICOLLEC,  brought together more than 650 scholars, practitioners, and linguistics professionals from Indonesia and 13 other countries. The conference invited very special keynote speaker, Prof. Kyria Rebeca Finardi, President of AILA, among other keynote speakers, namely keynote speech dari Prof. Gary Barkhuizen (University of Auckland, New Zealand) dan Prof. Ju Seong Lee (University of Hong Kong), Assoc. Prof. Dennis Alonzo (University of New South Wales) and Assoc. Prof. Hamamah, who is the coordinator of Cooperation Department of ALTI.

President of ALTI, Dr. Meinarni Susilowati expressed her deep gratitude for continuous support from AILA for ISIALing, which always had the President AILA as the keynote speaker. The former President of AILA, Prof. Dr. Azirah Hashim delivered the keynote speech on the first ISIALing in online platform. The presence of AILA President on the 2nd ISIALing showed greater support for ALTI to be more widely recognized.

ALTI Executive Board Meeting 

Within this international forum, ALTI also conducted Executive ALTI Board Meeting, together with the delegates from different parts of Indonesia. The meeting was very important to equalize perspectives so that each delegate can disseminate the results of the meeting into programs and activities that can provide benefits for their community. President of AILA also attended the meeting and discussed how ALTI might participate on AILA programs both for organizational development and personal growth. This year Executive ALTI Board Meeting signified potential collaborations among applied linguistics association across countries and institutional alignment with AILA’s sustainability-driven global agenda. 

In the collaborative conference, ALTI also carried out a workshop under the theme “Translation and Interpretation Teaching in Indonesia,” which explored the status quo of teaching translation and interpretation in Indonesia. This workshop was done with the collaboration of ALTI and Persatuan Penterjemah Malaysia (Malaysia Translator Association). The theme was purposively selected by considering the fact that translation teachers faced conflicting situation due to vast development translation technology. ALTI invited Dr. Sugeng Hariyanto (Himpunan Penerjemah Indonesia/Indonesia Translator Association) and Dr. Noor Ida Ramli (Malaysia Translator Association) as the resource persons. The activities were conducted through interactive presentations, group discussions on translation. As the outcome of this workshop is a book chapter on teaching translation in Indonesia.

Institutional Significance and Sustainability Orientation

As an affiliate of AILA, ALTI occupies a strategic position in Indonesia’s applied linguistics landscape. AILA describes itself as “a federation of national and regional associations of Applied Linguistics” which aims to promote research and practice in applied linguistics globally. Among AILA’s key policy priorities is linguistic diversity, inclusion, and sustainability, particularly recognising language’s role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

By hosting this workshop and board meeting within an international conference framework, ALTI signals its intention to:

  • Strengthen its internal governance and member services so that it can provide robust platforms for research, publication, professional development, and networking in applied linguistics and translation in Indonesia.
  • Enhance its visibility and connection to international networks via AILA, thereby opening opportunities for collaborative research, global dissemination, and cross‐national partnerships.
  • Embed sustainability thinking into its translation and applied linguistics agenda e.g., how translation practices can support multilingualism, language rights, inclusive education, indigenous/minority languages, and sustainable language communities, in line with AILA’s orientation.
  • Foster translation scholarship not only as an academic endeavour but as a means of sustaining knowledge exchange, linguistic equity, and professional practice, thereby linking the micro (individual translators/researchers) with the macro (institutional and societal sustainability) levels.

Outcomes & Next Steps

The workshop and general board meeting at the TEFLIN International Conference 2025 in conjunction with the 2nd ISIALing in Malang, mark a significant milestone for ALTI in its journey from a national organisation to a globally‐connected affiliate of AILA with a sustainability‐informed institutional strategy. As Professor Kyria underscores, “This is an excellent opportunity for members to participate in research, exchange their best practices, and participate in the national events held by other affiliates in Asia, Europe, Africa, and America.” By aligning translation studies and applied linguistics practice with the broader themes of linguistic diversity, inclusion, and sustainability, ALTI reinforces its institutional capacity and relevance in a changing global research ecosystem. As applied linguistics continues to engage with pressing societal issues, such as multilingualism to environmental communication, and inclusive education ALTI promises to contribute meaningfully to Indonesia’s scholarship and practice in the field.

ALTI JAYA, INDONESIA MAJU

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