文/Carma Elliot (艾琳)

譯/李梁

播撒英中長(zhǎng)期關(guān)系的種子

Planting the Seeds of a Long-term Relationship Between Britain and China

文/Carma Elliot (艾琳)

譯/李梁

當(dāng)我在寫(xiě)這篇文章的時(shí)候，我擔(dān)任英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)中國(guó)區(qū)主任已滿(mǎn)四個(gè)年頭，距離我作為復(fù)旦大學(xué)的學(xué)生首次來(lái)到中國(guó)已經(jīng)有33個(gè)年頭了。在此期間我見(jiàn)證了中國(guó)真正令人驚嘆的轉(zhuǎn)變，而與此同時(shí)，英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)也積極與中方合作伙伴攜手促進(jìn)交流，推動(dòng)中國(guó)在自身發(fā)展規(guī)劃的重點(diǎn)領(lǐng)域內(nèi)實(shí)現(xiàn)可持續(xù)而互惠的轉(zhuǎn)變。

本文作者英國(guó)大使館文化教育公使、英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)中國(guó)區(qū)主任艾琳（Carma Elliot, the Minister of Culture and Education, British Embassy; Country Director, British Council China）

人文交流創(chuàng)造和平、寬容和安全

英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)經(jīng)英國(guó)皇家特許成立于1947年，與110多個(gè)國(guó)家開(kāi)展合作，是英國(guó)促進(jìn)文化交流與提供教育機(jī)會(huì)的國(guó)際組織。我們幫助英國(guó)以及其他國(guó)家的人們?cè)鲞M(jìn)友誼和了解，并借此建立信任，攜手打造共同的未來(lái)。每年，我們通過(guò)英語(yǔ)教學(xué)、藝術(shù)分享以及各類(lèi)教育和技能項(xiàng)目與數(shù)千名專(zhuān)業(yè)人士、決策者以及數(shù)百萬(wàn)青年人開(kāi)展合作。我們相信，無(wú)論是在中國(guó)還是在其他地方，人文交流都會(huì)為創(chuàng)造更加和平、寬容和安全的世界作出有力而持久的貢獻(xiàn)。簡(jiǎn)言之，我們將盡全力管理、宣傳、推廣和堅(jiān)持中英人文交流，無(wú)論是在高層還是在基層，我們建立的廣泛關(guān)系均將支持并推動(dòng)此項(xiàng)工作。

2013年12月率英國(guó)貿(mào)易代表團(tuán)訪(fǎng)華期間，時(shí)任首相戴維·卡梅倫（David Cameron）表示希望“播撒長(zhǎng)期關(guān)系的種子，使中國(guó)、英國(guó)和世界各國(guó)未來(lái)的幾代人受益”。自從2016年6月“脫歐”公投以來(lái)，加強(qiáng)英國(guó)的全球影響力和聯(lián)系的重要性與日俱增，而中國(guó)在其中將繼續(xù)發(fā)揮關(guān)鍵性的作用。我熱切地感受到，我們只有通過(guò)在包括貿(mào)易在內(nèi)的所有與我們息息相關(guān)的問(wèn)題上都開(kāi)展密切合作才能建立這種關(guān)系。

作為三大戰(zhàn)略雙邊對(duì)話(huà)之一的中英高級(jí)別人文交流機(jī)制所產(chǎn)生的影響，將是推動(dòng)這一議程的關(guān)鍵。英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)所發(fā)揮的作用是有益而重要的：該對(duì)話(huà)涵蓋了英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)的三大核心領(lǐng)域（教育、文化和體育），而英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)的首席執(zhí)行官同時(shí)也是對(duì)話(huà)的聯(lián)合秘書(shū)長(zhǎng)。該對(duì)話(huà)是雙邊總體接觸的基石之一——而當(dāng)國(guó)際舞臺(tái)處于動(dòng)蕩和緊張的時(shí)刻，該對(duì)話(huà)因其真正意義上的包容性而越發(fā)具有重大的意義。

As I write this article, I am marking my 4th anniversary as Director of the British Council in China and a total of 33 years since I first came to China, as a student at Fudan University in Shanghai. In that time, I have witnessed the truly amazing transformation of China, and over the same period, the British Council has also actively worked alongside our Chinese partners on exchanges which have been catalysts for sustainable, mutually benef i cial change in key areas of China’s own development plans.

people to people contacts: for a more peaceful, tolerant and secure world

Established by Royal Charter in 1947, and working in over 110 countries, the British Council is the UK’s international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries, and in turn –this generates the trust to build on for a shared future.We work with thousands of professionals, policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and skills programmes. We believe that people to people contacts－whether in China or elsewhere －make a powerful and lasting contribution to a more peaceful, tolerant and secure world. In short, we do all we can to harness, publicise, promote and pursue UK/China people to people initiatives, and we have a wide range of relationships, from the top down, which support and drive this work.

2016年“永恒的莎士比亞”項(xiàng)目在中國(guó)舉辦了超過(guò)100場(chǎng)活動(dòng)，圖為伊恩·麥凱倫爵士在上海出席活動(dòng)，他在舞臺(tái)劇和電影中詮釋過(guò)眾多莎士比亞的作品

那么，我們實(shí)際上都從事哪些工作呢？

英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)作為英國(guó)大使館文化教育處于1979年成立，其前身是由著名漢學(xué)家李約瑟博士（Dr. Joseph Needham）于1943年創(chuàng)辦的中英科技合作辦公室。我們?cè)?個(gè)中國(guó)城市設(shè)有辦事處，并活躍在35個(gè)二三線(xiàn)城市。我們與英國(guó)大使館保持緊密合作，并主導(dǎo)雙邊教育與文化交流項(xiàng)目。我們還在圍繞其他軟實(shí)力問(wèn)題與英國(guó)利益相關(guān)方召開(kāi)會(huì)議，目的是與合作伙伴建立關(guān)系，并為參與兩國(guó)關(guān)鍵經(jīng)濟(jì)部門(mén)事務(wù)的英方合作伙伴提供更廣泛的經(jīng)濟(jì)機(jī)會(huì)。英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)與中國(guó)文化 部共同簽署了1979年雙邊文化交流協(xié)定以及英中兩國(guó)在教育、文化、語(yǔ)言評(píng)估和體育等領(lǐng)域內(nèi)達(dá)成的許多其他諒解備忘錄。

2015年以來(lái)，英中兩國(guó)共同致力于在雙邊關(guān)系的“黃金時(shí)代”中構(gòu)建“面向21世紀(jì)的全球全面戰(zhàn)略伙伴關(guān)系”。為此，英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)通過(guò)在語(yǔ)言教學(xué)和評(píng)估、教育交流、文化創(chuàng)意以及體育等方面開(kāi)展工作，在性別平等、多元化和包容（EDI）方面開(kāi)展的工作也越來(lái)越多，在建立并維持雙邊關(guān)系方面發(fā)揮了重要的作用。我們將與英中兩國(guó)的合作伙伴共同在這些行業(yè)的專(zhuān)業(yè)人士、個(gè)人和機(jī)構(gòu)之間建立聯(lián)系，不斷夯實(shí)雙方經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)的基礎(chǔ)。

On a UK trade mission to China in December 2013, then Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped to “plant the seeds of a long-term relationship which will benef i t China, Britain and the world for generations to come”. Since the EU referendum in June 2016, the importance of strengthening the UK’s global influence and connections has grown, and China continues to be a key priority for the UK. I feel passionately that such a relationship will only come about by also working together on issues – beyond trade - that affect us all.

Key to driving this agenda is the impact of the UK/China High-Level People to People Dialogue, one of three strategic bilateral dialogues. The British Council’s role is instrumental and central: leading on three of its strands (education, culture and sport) and with our Chief Executive as the Dialogue’s joint Secretary-General. The dialogue is one of the cornerstones of overall bilateral engagement – and at a time of fl ux and tension on the international stage, this Dialogue assumes an even greater importance as it is genuinely inclusive.

So, what do we actually do?

The British Council was established in China in 1979 as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy, building on the work of the Sino-British Science Cooperation Office established by the noted sinologist Dr. Joseph Needham in 1943. We have off i ces in fi ve cities across China and are active in an additional 35 tier two and tier three cities. We work closely with the British Embassy, and lead on bilateral education programmes and cultural links. We also convene across UK stakeholders on other soft power issues with the aim of building relationships with partners, and of building wider economic opportunities for UK partners engaged in these key economic sectors for our two countries. The British Council is cosignatory with the Chinese Ministry of Culture to the bilateral 1979 Cultural Exchange Agreement; as well as a number of other Memoranda of Understanding between the UK and China on education, culture, language assessment and sport.

Since 2015, the UK and China have made a joint commitment to build “a global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century”, in a “golden era” in the bilateral relationship. The British Council plays an important role here in building and maintaining the ties which really bind our two peoples –through our work in language teaching, assessment, education exchange, culture and creative engagement and sport, and increasingly our work in gender parity and EDI. We work with partners across the UK and across China, and build links between professionals, individuals and institutions in these sectors which increasingly underpin mutual economic growth.

讓英國(guó)年輕人通過(guò)對(duì)中國(guó)的認(rèn)識(shí)參與全球經(jīng)濟(jì)

英中兩國(guó)都有著悠久的教育傳統(tǒng)，分別采取了截然不同但同樣成功的方法。英國(guó)處于創(chuàng)造力和教學(xué)創(chuàng)新的最前沿，而中國(guó)則在學(xué)術(shù)嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)性和技術(shù)創(chuàng)新領(lǐng)域處于主導(dǎo)地位。我們致力于培養(yǎng)兩國(guó)青年人、學(xué)術(shù)界和機(jī)構(gòu)之間的終身聯(lián)系。我們還通過(guò)執(zhí)行相關(guān)方案鼓勵(lì)更多英國(guó)年輕人來(lái)中國(guó)讀書(shū)；我們的工作也有助于中國(guó)實(shí)現(xiàn)高等教育體系的國(guó)際化。

英國(guó)的高等教育體系憑借自身的國(guó)際戰(zhàn)略力求更上一層樓，并因此在中國(guó)享有很高的聲譽(yù)。許多選擇前往英國(guó)留學(xué)的學(xué)生都是自費(fèi)的，而2012年以來(lái)中國(guó)政府已經(jīng)提供了11000筆獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，目前在英國(guó)有15萬(wàn)名中國(guó)學(xué)生。海外學(xué)生能夠直接通過(guò)在英國(guó)大學(xué)的學(xué)習(xí)終身受益，提高專(zhuān)業(yè)能力和社會(huì)流動(dòng)性并獲得信任。英國(guó)也率先推出了跨國(guó)教育模式，并在中國(guó)提供聯(lián)合學(xué)位課程，其中包括了大學(xué)聯(lián)合項(xiàng)目，例如寧波諾丁漢大學(xué)和西安交通利物浦大學(xué)等。目前有57000名中國(guó)年輕人正在中國(guó)攻讀英國(guó)學(xué)位。英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)在為英國(guó)大學(xué)就設(shè)立此類(lèi)聯(lián)合項(xiàng)目提供咨詢(xún)和支持方面，發(fā)揮著關(guān)鍵性的作用。

在赴英國(guó)留學(xué)人數(shù)保持?jǐn)?shù)十年增長(zhǎng)后，英國(guó)高校現(xiàn)有約60萬(wàn)中國(guó)校友。這個(gè)群體的大部分成員在中國(guó)生活和工作。這一群體（以及曾經(jīng)來(lái)華留學(xué)的英國(guó)國(guó)民）對(duì)培育英中兩國(guó)間的可持續(xù)的長(zhǎng)期關(guān)系有著潛在的顯著影響。

英國(guó)政府已經(jīng)認(rèn)識(shí)到讓英國(guó)年輕人為參與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)性的全球經(jīng)濟(jì)做好準(zhǔn)備的重要性，特別是通過(guò)對(duì)中國(guó)的認(rèn)識(shí)。自2012年設(shè)立以來(lái)，英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)的“英國(guó)未來(lái)計(jì)劃”在中國(guó)政府和大學(xué)的慷慨支持下累計(jì)已幫助3.5萬(wàn)名英國(guó)年輕人在中國(guó)留學(xué)和實(shí)習(xí)。該計(jì)劃也大大增加了英國(guó)年輕人在中國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)和實(shí)習(xí)的機(jī)會(huì)（針對(duì)那些如果沒(méi)有該計(jì)劃就不能獲得此類(lèi)機(jī)會(huì)的英國(guó)人而言）。這些計(jì)劃使更多人熟悉了中國(guó)的語(yǔ)言和文化，是增進(jìn)兩國(guó)之間的主流理解以及更廣泛的文化和經(jīng)濟(jì)交往的關(guān)鍵，同時(shí)也有助于實(shí)現(xiàn)英中文化關(guān)系“黃金時(shí)代”的相關(guān)愿景。

UK young generation: engagement in the global economy through awareness of China

Both Britain and China have rich traditions in education, each characterised by two distinct but equally successful approaches. Britain is at the cutting edge of creativity and pedagogic innovation, while China leads on academic rigour and increasingly, technological innovation.We nurture lifelong links between young people, and between academics and institutions in both our countries. We also run programmes to encourage more young British people to study in China; and our work contributes to China's ambitions to internationalise its higher education system.

The UK’s higher education system enjoys a strong reputation in China as it seeks to move forward with its own international strategy. While many choosing to study in the UK are selfpaying, the Chinese government has supported 11,000 scholarships since 2012; and there are overall currently 150,000 Chinese students in the UK. The direct experience of overseas students studying at our universities has been shown to be life-long, boosting professional capacity, social mobility and building trust.The UK has also pioneered models of transnational education with joint degree programmes offered in China, with various delivery models, including joint university campuses such as the University of Nottingham Ningbo China and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. Currently 57,000 Chinese young people are studying for a UK degree in China. The British Council has a key role in advising and supporting UK universities to set up such joint programmes.

Following several decades of increased student mobility from China, there are now an estimated 600,000 Chinese alumni of UK HE institutions the vast majority of whom are living and working in China. The inf l uence of this group (and those British nationals who have studied in China) is potentially signif i cant, in nurturing a sustainable, long-term relationship between the UK and China.

The UK Government recognises the importance of preparing the next generation of UK young people for engagement in a competitive global economy, in particular through awareness of China. Since its inception in 2012, the British Council’s Generation UK programme has seen a cumulative total of 35,000 British young people study and intern in China, with the very generous support of the Chinese government and universities. The programme has also greatly increased access for young British people, targeted at those who might not otherwise be able to access such opportunities, to study and intern in China. Such programmes, which enable more people to be conversant with the language and the culture of China, are key to building greater mainstream understanding, wider cultural and economic engagement between our two nations, and help to bring about aspirations of the “golden age” of UKChina cultural relations.

英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)多年來(lái)一直為小學(xué)生和教師提供廣泛的學(xué)校合作和教育機(jī)會(huì)。漢語(yǔ)被確定為在英國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)的最重要的語(yǔ)言之一。目前直接由英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)支持的主要倡議包括旨在支持5000名英國(guó)小學(xué)生達(dá)到漢語(yǔ)熟練水平的漢語(yǔ)推廣計(jì)劃（一項(xiàng)我們與倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院教育研究所聯(lián)合實(shí)施的計(jì)劃），以及上海英格蘭數(shù)學(xué)交流計(jì)劃。

英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)在語(yǔ)言以及其他科目的考試方面開(kāi)展了大規(guī)模的工作。我們提供一系列廣受認(rèn)可的英國(guó)資格考試，特別是在英語(yǔ)和金融方面，其中最受歡迎的考試當(dāng)數(shù)IELTS考試和ACCA考試。我們?cè)凇癋utureLearn”平臺(tái)上開(kāi)設(shè)的IELTS備考課程是全世界最受歡迎的大型開(kāi)放式網(wǎng)絡(luò)課程之一，其中很大一部分要?dú)w功于IELTS考試在中國(guó)的普及，中國(guó)IELTS考生的人數(shù)占全球考生總數(shù)的四分之一。

據(jù)估計(jì)，中國(guó)有3億英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者和200萬(wàn)名英語(yǔ)教師，對(duì)語(yǔ)言培訓(xùn)有需求。英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)目前在中國(guó)并未設(shè)立英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)言教學(xué)中心，但我們提供可免費(fèi)獲取的內(nèi)容和資料。我們還與中方教育機(jī)構(gòu)合作伙伴共同提高英語(yǔ)教學(xué)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)——我們?cè)谶^(guò)去的35年多里一直是這樣做的。我們也樂(lè)于支持英國(guó)學(xué)校漢語(yǔ)教學(xué)的發(fā)展。

我們?cè)谥袊?guó)執(zhí)行的所有計(jì)劃，都力圖融入對(duì)婦女和女童經(jīng)濟(jì)賦權(quán)的關(guān)注。世界各地的性別平等與經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮息息相關(guān)，同時(shí)也是可持續(xù)發(fā)展目標(biāo)中目標(biāo)5規(guī)定的全球優(yōu)先事項(xiàng)。其中包括2016年12月啟動(dòng)的未來(lái)菁媖中國(guó)行動(dòng)，這是一項(xiàng)旨在消除在校兒童對(duì)于不同性別所從事職業(yè)的刻板印象的計(jì)劃；以及今年8月在北京開(kāi)幕的由英國(guó)南岸藝術(shù)中心發(fā)起并由我們支持的“WOW世界女性藝術(shù)節(jié)”。

文化、教育是英國(guó)推廣價(jià)值觀(guān)的方式

在充滿(mǎn)不確定性的時(shí)代，藝術(shù)保持著良好的關(guān)系和開(kāi)放的溝通渠道。它們提醒我們都有哪些共通之處；它們讓我們感到安全；它們提醒我們終將戰(zhàn)勝一切的是創(chuàng)造力，而不是破壞。我們的藝術(shù)作品把兩國(guó)的專(zhuān)業(yè)人士和觀(guān)眾連接在了一起——英中兩國(guó)不僅將向?qū)Ψ降挠^(guān)眾展示彼此的創(chuàng)意作品，而且還將通過(guò)培訓(xùn)和專(zhuān)業(yè)交流分享創(chuàng)作這些作品時(shí)所采用的技藝。

The British Council has supported a wide range of school partnerships and educational opportunities for pupils and teachers over many years. Chinese has been identified as one of the most important languages to learn in the UK. Current high profileinitiatives supported directly by the British Council include the Mandarin Expansion Programme aimed at supporting 5,000 pupils in English schools to achieve Mandarin fl uency (in a programme in which we partner with the Institute of Education/UCL) – as well as the Shanghai-England maths exchange.

The British Council’s examinations work, in language and other subjects, is on a large scale. We deliver a range of highly valued UK qualifications, particularly in English and Finance, with IELTS and ACCA the most popular. Our IELTS preparation course on the FutureLearn platform is one of the world's most popular MOOCs – in large part because of the popularity of IELTS in China, which accounts for one quarter of all global candidature.

There are an estimated 300 million learners of English and two million English language teachers in China, with demand for more provision of training. The British Council does not currently have English language teaching centres in China, but we offer free to access content and materials. We also work with partners in Chinese education institutions to raise standards in English teaching – something we have been doing for over 35 years. We are also happy to be supporting the growth of Chinese teaching in schools in the UK.

Across all our programmes in China, we seek to embed a focus on the economic empowerment of women and girls. Gender equality throughout the world is linked to economic prosperity and is a global priority as set out in Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes the launch, in December 2016, of Inspiring Women China, a programme designed to address gender stereotyping on careers among school children; and our support for the launch of the Southbank’s Women of the World (WOW!) in Beijing this August.

promoting UK values through culture and education

In uncertain times, the arts maintain good relationships and open channels of communication. They remind us what we have in common; they make us feel secure; and they remind us that creativity, not destruction, will prevail. Our arts work connects professionals and audiences in both countries－not only bringing British creative work to the attention of Chinese audiences, and vice versa, but sharing the skills that make that work possible, through training and professional exchange.

2015年是英中兩國(guó)歷史上第一個(gè)雙邊文化交流年。英國(guó)文化季由英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)策劃，在中國(guó)推出了超過(guò)200場(chǎng)活動(dòng)，為英中兩國(guó)未來(lái)創(chuàng)意和藝術(shù)人才的長(zhǎng)期蓬勃發(fā)展提供了持久的財(cái)富。數(shù)字技術(shù)和為英國(guó)文化季提供支持的眾多合作伙伴發(fā)揮了（并且仍然發(fā)揮著）重要的作用：通過(guò)轉(zhuǎn)播、印刷和數(shù)字媒體，超過(guò)10億名觀(guān)眾收看了威廉王子主持的啟動(dòng)儀式，有7142萬(wàn)人觀(guān)看了本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇參與的環(huán)節(jié)。

2016年，英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)舉辦的“永恒的莎士比亞”項(xiàng)目涵蓋超過(guò)100個(gè)國(guó)家，在長(zhǎng)達(dá)一年的時(shí)間里通過(guò)各種活動(dòng)紀(jì)念這位劇作家。這其中包括與中國(guó)文化部共同舉辦的中國(guó)頂尖劇作家湯顯祖的紀(jì)念活動(dòng)。這一成功的雙邊活動(dòng)通過(guò)藝術(shù)加強(qiáng)了英中友好和文化交流?！坝篮愕纳勘葋啞痹谥袊?guó)舉辦了超過(guò)100場(chǎng)活動(dòng)，現(xiàn)場(chǎng)觀(guān)眾5萬(wàn)人，通過(guò)平面、數(shù)字和廣播媒體覆蓋的受眾（累計(jì)）有20多億?；始疑勘葋唲F(tuán)、莎士比亞環(huán)球劇院以及包括伊恩·麥凱倫爵士和喬納森·普萊斯在內(nèi)的杰出人物的參與，使活動(dòng)自始至終保持了極大的吸引力。

2017年，我們將通過(guò)精心策劃的“靈動(dòng)青春”活動(dòng)進(jìn)一步加強(qiáng)與中國(guó)的合作。更多信息可瀏覽https:// www.britishcouncil.cn/SOY。

我熱愛(ài)我所從事的工作，并對(duì)外界對(duì)我們的工作及其產(chǎn)生的影響給予的積極評(píng)價(jià)和高度關(guān)注感到欣慰。英國(guó)智庫(kù)ResPublica主管菲利普·布朗德最近在談到英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)時(shí)表示：“它是英國(guó)在世界上運(yùn)用軟實(shí)力開(kāi)展的最有效的行動(dòng)”，他說(shuō)：“這就是英國(guó)推廣其價(jià)值觀(guān)的方式,不是強(qiáng)加于人，而是表明我們的信念是什么以及我們的信念為何如此重要。大多數(shù)外國(guó)人都是通過(guò)它初次接觸英國(guó)和英國(guó)文化的?！?/p>

在與中國(guó)的長(zhǎng)期交往過(guò)程中，英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)始終把重點(diǎn)放在建立更加深入和更加廣泛的長(zhǎng)期聯(lián)系上。無(wú)論身處哪個(gè)行業(yè)或從事哪種職業(yè)，年輕人通過(guò)英國(guó)文化教育協(xié)會(huì)獲得的經(jīng)驗(yàn)都將在他們的職業(yè)生涯中得到實(shí)踐——他們個(gè)人往往都有著根深蒂固的英國(guó)情結(jié)。

2015 marked the fi rst ever bilateral Year of Cultural Exchange. The UK season was curated by the British Council and presented over 200 events in China, forming a lasting legacy for future generations of UK and Chinese creative and artistic talent to flourish over the long term. The digital footprint and partnerships which supported the UK season were (and remain) significant: the launch by HRH Duke of Cambridge alone had a total reach of over 1 billion people in China through broadcast, print and digital media. Further highlights included 71.42 million people reached through Benedict Cumberbatch’s involvement in the campaign.

Throughout 2016, the British Council’s Shakespeare Lives programme curated events in over 100 countries, in a yearlong celebration of the playwright’s legacy. These have included joint events with the Chinese Ministry of Culture to mark the shared anniversary with China’s own leading playwright, Tang Xianzu, and thus enabling a highly successful bilateral campaign that strengthened UK – China friendship and cultural exchange through the arts. The programme saw over 100 Shakespeare Lives events in China, reaching 50,000 people faceto-face and more than 2 billion (cumulatively) through print, digital and broadcast media. The Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Globe and leading figures including Sir Ian McKellen and Jonathan Price were among those engaged with the campaign, enabling us to develop aplethora of engaging activity from start to fi nish.

In 2017, we will build upon this impactful engagement with our partners in China through a carefully curated campaign under the theme “Spirit of Youth”. More information can be found https://www.britishcouncil.cn/en/SOY.

I am extremely passionate about the work I do, and welcome the positive and high regard others have for our work, and our impact. Phillip Blond, director of the ResPublica think tank, said recently of the British Council:

“It is the most effective British operation in the world at the use of soft power,” he said. “It is the way this country promotes its values, not imposing them on others but saying that is what we believe and why it is important. It is where most foreign people have their fi rst contact with Britain and its culture”.

The British Council has throughout our long relationship with China focused on building long-term, deeper and broader links. Experiences of the kind supported by the British Council are ones which our young people will take forward into their careers, whichever sector or profession they go into – all of them with a personal and often deeply held connection to the UK.