Second prize for the Online Confucius Institute in Global Short Video Competition

On September 25, 2025, the 5th "CI Moments Global Short Video Collection Event" Global Short Video Competition took place. Among 616 entries submitted by 143 Confucius Institutes from 84 countries around the world, the entry from The Open University's Online Confucius Institute stood out, winning second prize for the short film Blossoming Toward the Sun.

This marks another significant achievement for the Open University Confucius Institute in the field of international Chinese communication and Sino-foreign cultural exchange. The film features Daisy Main, a student at the Open University, recounting her deep connection with the Chinese language and culture. During her high school years, Daisy was forced to drop out due to a serious illness, plunging her into a low point in life. However, the two Chinese characters for "hello" (你好) she learnt in hospital reignited her passion for life. Daisy’s grandfather had lived and worked in China for many years, which sparked her fascination with the distant Eastern country. Through self-study, Daisy entered the world of Chinese, and with the help of the Open University’s Chinese credit-bearing modules, she further immersed herself in the language and culture of China. Her dream is to go to Beijing Foreign Studies University, our partner for the Online CI, to do further postgraduate studies after gaining her Open Degree at the Open University. A big thank you to Daisy for her willing participation co-creating this now award-winning short film.

Below you can watch the winning entry Blossoming Toward the Sun  (10 minutes).