On 17 September 2014, as part of a series of events to celebrate the Confucius Institutes’ Tenth Anniversary, the Confucius Institute for Business London, CIBL, and Finchley College successfully held a China Day. Over one hundred Finchley teachers and students joined the event. CIBL UK director, Nick Byrne, gave a talk on the importance of understanding Chinese language and Chinese culture and its relevance to global communication. Finchley teachers and students were enthusiastic about the Chinese taster class and the range of traditional Chinese culture activities specifically designed for them by CIBL staff. Within a short period of time, they were given a wonderful introduction to Chinese language, architecture, painting, calligraphy, technology and other aspects of Chinese culture.
Based on the positive response to the event, a Finchley college official said that there is a current trend amongst many British students to learn about the new China and that this event was a good means of giving the students a taste of China. Teachers at Finchley have seen the students’ great interest in oriental culture, and they hope that the cooperation between CIBL and Finchley could be further enhanced so as to offer more opportunities for their students to experience Chinese culture and get a better understanding of China and the world. This event has led directly to CIBL Chinese classes being introduced at Christs’ College Finchley with the first class to begin there on 23 September.
2014年9月17日，由伦敦商务孔子学院（CIBL）与Finchley学院合作举办的 “走进Finchley”中国文化体验日，在Finchley学院的三大展厅中隆重展开，并得到该校师生的普遍关注与热情响应。本次文化日活动作为孔子学院成立十周年系列活动之一，得到Finchley校方的大力支持，通过前期的宣传，当日有百余名师生参与CIBL举办的文化讲座与各类型体验活动。CIBL英方院长Nick先生当日出席活动，并就当前中国经济与社会发展现状向师生们分享了中国语言与文化在当前全球交流往来中的必要性与关键性。而CIBL针对该学院学生特点而设计的文化体验环节，则使学生们在短短两小时内全面生动的亲自体验到中国建筑、绘画、书法、工艺等多方面的文化底蕴与华夏风情。
基于本次活动所收到的积极反响，Finchley校方有关负责人表示，让年轻的学生们更多的了解全新的中国是大势所趋，本次的文化体验活动应当作为一个好的开始，我们看到了学生们对于东方文化所表现出的浓厚兴趣，希望今后双方继续加强合作，以更多丰富精彩的内容让学生们在体验中了解中国，了解世界。由CIBL承担的Finchley学院第一个汉语初级班已于9月23日正式开课。