On March 24, 2026, the Confucius Institute at Oxford Brookes University (CIOBU), jointly established by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP) and Oxford Brookes University (OBU), held its 2026 Annual Board Meeting online. Attending the meeting were three Chinese Board members: Wang Fang, Party Secretary and Chairman of the FLTRP Group (FLTRP), and President of FLTRP; Peng Donglin, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of FLTRP; and Shao Lei, Director of the Division for International Cooperation of FLTRP. Three UK Board members were also present: Professor Helen Laville, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University; Professor Lindsay Williams, Interim co Pro Vice-Chancellor for Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at OBU; and Michael Henderson, Head of AHSS Finance at OBU. Also attending were Angus Phillips, Director of CIOBU; Chen Xi, Co-director of CIOBU; Zhang Xiaochen, Deputy Director of CIOBU; Zhang Wen, Deputy Director of the Division for International Cooperation of FLTRP; and Luo Fan, Senior Rights Manager at FLTRP.

    The meeting was chaired by Vice-Chancellor Helen Laville, marking her first time presiding over the meeting since assuming her roles as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and Chair of the UK Board of CIOBU. In her opening remarks, Vice-Chancellor Laville fully acknowledged the achievements of CIOBU over the past decade, highly praised its distinctive and vibrant integrated development model combining publishing and education, and expressed gratitude for FLTRP's long-standing steadfast support for the Institute's development. She stated that Oxford Brookes University would continue to support CI's deep development locally in Oxford and across the UK, promoting Sino-UK cultural and educational cooperation to a new level.

    President Wang Fang congratulated Helen Laville on her appointment as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and Chair of the UK Board, and briefed the board on FLTRP's latest progress in digital-intelligent transformation and international development. She noted that 2026 marks the beginning of China's 15th Five-Year Plan period. FLTRP, guided by the development philosophy of "digital intelligence-driven, digital-print integration," is continuously advancing the digital-intelligent transformation and upgrading of its publishing business. In terms of international development, adhering to the principle of "bridging China and the world, empowered by digital intelligence," FLTRP prioritizes exploring international markets through initiatives like International Chinese Education and vocational education "going global," empowering its international layout with digital intelligence to comprehensively build an international publishing and education service ecosystem. President Wang emphasized that CIOBU, as a crucial overseas platform for FLTRP's international strategy, will play a pivotal bridging role in the new round of international cooperation. 2026 coincides with the 10th anniversary of CIBOU's formal operation and is a crucial year following the renewal of the cooperation agreement between the two parties. She expressed hope that the Institute would continue leveraging its unique strength in integrating publishing and education to build a model platform for International Chinese Education and publishing-cultural exchange.

    During the meeting, Angus Phillips, Director of CIOBU, presented a detailed report to the board on the Institute's operational development in 2025. Throughout the year, CIOBU deepened its work in Chinese language teaching, HSK testing, cultural activities, and publishing projects, achieving solid results: 1,624 new students registered for Chinese courses, maintaining steady growth in student numbers; 82 diverse activities were planned and held, attracting 5,424 participants; the Institute's official TikTok account surpassed 4,300 followers and accumulated over 80,000 likes. Furthermore, CIOBU was honored with the global title of "Outstanding Communications Confucius Institute" by the Chinese International Education Foundation. Its self-developed courses, the Chinese Teaching Short Videos and Calligraphy Teaching series, were successfully selected as part of the "Confucius Institute (First Batch) Premium Digital Resources." The Institute also won the "Best Team" award in the "Learning Chinese Through Songs" themed season activity, receiving high recognition for its comprehensive operational strength and innovative achievements.

    UK board member Michael Henderson reported on the Institute's annual financial performance. Following deliberation, the Council unanimously approved the Annual Report 2025 and the Annual Budget 2026.

    The successful convening of this Council meeting comprehensively summarized the development achievements and experiences of CIOBU over the past year, clarifying the direction and building consensus for embarking on a new decade of high-quality development. In the future, CIOBU will continue to deepen Sino-UK educational and cultural exchanges and cooperation, contributing tangibly to the steady and enduring progress of people-to-people ties between China and the UK.