From Campus to African Homes: UNIZIK Confucius Institute named China –Africa Cultural Exchange Model, Featured on Three Major Satellite TV Channels Across Africa

From Campus to African Homes: UNIZIK Confucius Institute named China –Africa Cultural Exchange Model, Featured on Three Major Satellite TV Channels Across Africa

From Campus to African Homes: UNIZIK Confucius Institute  named China –Africa Cultural Exchange Model, Featured on Three Major Satellite TV Channels Across Africa

AWKA, Nigeria —As 2026 marks the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, the Confucius Institute at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) has gained wider visibility across Africa through a special documentary series showcasing its achievements in Chinese language education and China-Africa cultural exchange.

In recognition of the Institute’s many outstanding achievements in international Chinese language education and people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), an agency of China’s Ministry of Education, selected the Confucius Institute at Nnamdi Azikiwe University as an epitomic embodiment of China-Africa educational and cultural cooperation.

CLEC subsequently commissioned StarTimes to produce a documentary series entitled "My Story with Chinese — Africa Edition", featuring the Institute’s development, achievements, teachers and students.

The production team conducted extensive interviews and on-site filming at the Confucius Institute, resulting in three documentary episodes. Two episodes, "Stories of the Confucius Institute" (Parts I & II), highlight the Institute’s achievements in Chinese language teaching, talent development, and international Chinese language competitions.

The third episode, "The Director’s Story", features Prof. Yu Zhangbao, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute (2018-), and chronicles his efforts to advance Chinese language education and support the growth of the Department of Chinese Studies at Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

Through his story and those of teachers and students, the documentary illustrates how Chinese language education has taken root and flourished at UNIZIK, with Chinese Studies gradually developing into an increasingly popular academic programme among Nigerian students.

Built around authentic educational achievements and personal stories, the documentaries follow students and educators whose lives have become connected with the Chinese language. Their experiences in learning, teaching and personal growth vividly demonstrate the important role of international Chinese language education in promoting mutual learning among civilizations and strengthening people-to-people relationships between China and Africa.

The series also highlights the unique role of the Chinese language as a bridge for cultural exchange, providing young people in China and Nigeria with new opportunities for communication, mutual understanding and friendship.

The three documentaries premiered simultaneously on three StarTimes satellite television channels — ST Guide E, ST Sino Drama and ST Zone — and were also aired on the StarTimes ON platform.

With an extensive broadcasting network across sub-Saharan Africa, StarTimes provides more than 630 affiliate channels and over 40 independent channels, offering programmes in English, French, Portuguese and a variety of African indigenous languages.

Through this far-reaching media network, the achievements and personal stories of the Confucius Institute at Nnamdi Azikiwe University have travelled beyond the university campus and reached many homes across Africa.

The broadcasts provide African audiences with a closer look at the development of Chinese language education in Nigeria and the opportunities and transformations that learning Chinese has brought to Nigerian youths.

At the same time, the documentary series has further enhanced the social visibility of the Confucius Institute and bolstered the international profile of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, opening a new window through which the story of China-Nigeria educational and cultural cooperation can be shared with a wider audience.

As an important platform for educational and cultural exchanges between China and Nigeria, the Confucius Institute at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, with the strong support of its host university, will continue to leverage its strengths in international Chinese language education.

The Chinese Director, Confucius Institute at UNIZIK, Prof Yu Zhangbao while reflecting on the recent milestones recorded noted that with language as a bridge and culture as a bond, the Institute will continue to share compelling stories of China and China-Nigeria friendship, encourage more Nigerian young people to understand China, learn Chinese and experience Chinese culture, and make greater contribution to deepening China-Africa people-to-people exchanges and promoting mutual learning among civilizations.

Prof Yu while appreciating the support of the Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof. Ugochukwu Bond Stanley Anyaehie, he said the Confucius Institute will continue to serve as a platform for International Chinese Language Education and Cultural Exchange using Chinese as a bridge and culture as a bond.