By Confucius Institute at the University of Geneva

On the evening of October 8, 2019, the Confucius Institute at the University of Geneva hosted the fifth meeting of the Swiss French-speaking alumni in China.

Gérald Béroud, President of the French-speaking section of the Swiss-Chinese Association, Béatrice Ferrari, Head of Bilateral Relations at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, and swissnex China representative, Jeyanthy Geymeier, representative of the Alumni Association of Lausanne University, as well as Basile Zimmermann, Director of the Confucius Institute, welcomed the thirty participants to this event.

After Basile Zimmermann welcomed everyone at the Confucius Institute, Ms Ferrari, Ms Geymeier, and Mr Beroud each said a few words of introduction.

Afterwards, the sinologists Estelle Niklès van Osselt of the Fondation Baur in Geneva gave a presentation. She explained how she studied in China from 1993 until 2004, attending courses in Chinese universities and doing research in the fields of history of art and archeology. She shared her memories of fieldwork and first-hand research experience at the famous pottery center Jingdezhen. Ms Niklès also described how much China changed over these years, including how Chinese people think about themselves, but also how their technical environment changed. For instance, WeChat software is now used everywhere in the country, and Ms Niklès relies on it to keep in touch with her former classmates.

Switzerland is one of the first country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and in 2020 we will celebrate its 70 anniversary. Over the last 69 years, exchanges between the two countries with regard to education, technology, exchanges and collaborations, have resulted in many successes. In this process, the contribution of alumni have proved extraordinarily fruitful.

This event received the support of the Education Section at the Chinese Embassy, swissnex China, the French-speaking section of the Swiss-Chinese Association, the Alumni Association at Lausanne University, as well as the Department of East-Asian studies and the Confucius Institute in the University of Geneva.

日内瓦大学孔子学院举办瑞士法语区留华校友联谊活动

当地时间10月8日晚，瑞士日内瓦大学孔子学院举办第五届瑞士法语区留华校友联谊活动。

瑞中协会法语区分会会长白鹄（Gérald Béroud）先生、瑞士联邦政府科技文化中心代表彼阿特丽丝.法拉利（Béatrice Ferrari）女士、洛桑大学校友会代表泽燕西.歌梅尔（Jeyanthy Geymeier）女士、孔院外方院长金亦然（Basile Zimmermann）先生以及30多位曾在中国留学的瑞士友人参加了活动。

活动开始，金亦然院长首先致欢迎词。法拉利女士、歌梅尔女士和白鹄先生分别代表各自的组织发表了讲话。

随后，瑞士鲍氏东方艺术馆（Fondation Baur Musée des Arts d'Extrême-Orient）策展人、汉学家李秋星（Estelle Niklès van Osselt）向各位留华校友分享了自己从1993至2004年间在中国进行的艺术和考古方面的访问、交流和研究工作及其心得体会。其中，她所展示的景德镇历代瓷器装烧图以及自己所做的相关的笔记引起了在场听众极大的兴趣。李秋星还跟大家谈到了中国这些年的发展和变化，包括人们的思想观念和技术文化的变迁。她觉得，微信群是一个非常方便而且有用的交流平台，在微信群里，她可以跟中国的同行分享各自的工作成果和共同感兴趣的东西，这让她感到非常高兴。

作为和中国最早建交的国家之一，中瑞在2020年将迎来两国建交70周年。在过去的69年间，中瑞两国在教育、科技和文化领域积极互联沟通、精诚合作，取得了丰硕的成果，这其中，曾经在中国留学的瑞士各界友人发挥了重大的作用，做出了不可磨灭的贡献。

此次活动获得了中国驻瑞士大使馆文教科处、瑞士联邦政府科技文化中心、瑞中协会法语区分会、日内瓦大学东亚学系、日内瓦大学校友会以及洛桑大学校友会的大力支持。