Awarding Ceremony of the 16th UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy and the Launching Ceremony of the Confucius Cultural Week for Chinese and Foreign Students was held on the evening of September 27th. Li Ganjie, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and Governor of the People’s Government of Shandong Province attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. 

On behalf of the CPC Provincial Committee and Provincial Government, Li Ganjie extended congratulations to the holding of the Awarding Ceremony of the 16th UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy and the Launching Ceremony of the Confucius Cultural Week for Chinese and Foreign Students. He said that Shandong is one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization, the birthplace of Confucian culture, and the world-famous "Hmetown of Confucius and Mencius, and a Land of Etiquette." We will keep in mind the expectations of General Secretary Xi Jinping, be the guardian and inheritor of fine traditional Chinese culture, and promote its creative transformation and innovative development.

Stephania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education of UNESCO, delivered a video speech. Director Xia Zehan of the UNESCO Representative Office in China delivered a speech and announced the winners. Bai Yugang, Member of the Standing Committee and Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, Qin Changwei, Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the National Commission for UNESCO, and Xia Zehan presented the awards via video link. The event was chaired by Vice Governor Wang Xinfu.

Three projects, namely the Construction and Growth Project of the Mexico Construction and Growth Organization, the Rural Online Literacy Class Project of the Ain Shams University in Egypt, the Information Technology Literacy Teachers Association's use of ICT to provide Abidjan operators with functional literacy, won the 16th UNESCO Confucius Literacy Award.