On the evening of October 11th, 2007, the awards ceremony for  "The First New Zealand Chinese Essay Competition (for non native speakers only)" was held at The University of Auckland. The contest was organised in cooperation by the Confucius Institute of Auckland and the Chinese Language Writers Association. The goals of the competition are to introduce and spread Chinese culture to all sectors in New Zealand, encourage the enthusiasm expressed for studying Chinese amongst students in New Zealand and improve their ability to apply their Chinese language skills in a real life setting.

The Mayor of Auckland Dick Hubert, Chair of the Auckland Regional Council Mike Lee, the President of the University of Auckland’s College of Asian studies Richard Phillips and the Education Consul for the People’s Republic of China Consulate General Gao Yu Hang, along with other esteemed guests all attended the ceremony. The guests gave riveting speeches encouraging students who choose to study Chinese, while acknowledging the hosts’ efforts in promoting Chinese language and culture.

The writing contest was divided into two groups, one for high school students and one for university students. All contestants are from the cities of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and are of non native Chinese backgrounds. Prizes and certificates were given to 40 students by the guests of honour.  The hosts of the competition will have parts of the wining essays published in the Chinese media and will publish a collection of the  essays in order to further encourage the enthusiasm New Zealanders have expressed for learning Chinese.

新西兰奥克兰孔子学院成功举办新西兰第一届中文写作比赛（非华语类）

　　2007年10月11日晚，新西兰第一届“外国人写中文”作文比赛在奥克兰大学举行颁奖仪式。本届赛事由奥克兰孔子学院和新西兰华文作家协会共同主办，旨在向新西兰各界介绍和宣传中国文化，推动并鼓励新西兰学生学习汉语的热情，提高他们实际运用汉语的能力。

　　奥克兰市长迪克·哈伯德、奥克兰地区议会议长迈克·李、奥克兰大学亚洲学院院长理查德·菲利普斯、中国驻总领馆教育领事高宇航等嘉宾将出席颁奖仪式并发表了热情洋溢的讲话，对选择学习汉语的新西兰学生给予了积极的鼓励，同时也对主办方致力于推广汉语和中国文化的努力予以了肯定。

　　本次写作比赛共分中学和大学两个组别，共有40名学生的作文获奖，参赛者来自新西兰全国各地，包括奥克兰、惠灵顿、基督城等城市，并且全部出自非华语背景的家庭，到场嘉宾为获奖学生颁发获奖证书和奖品。主办单位为进一步鼓励新西兰人学习汉语的热情，还将在华文媒体上刊载部分获奖作文，并结集出版。