On 19 March 2015 the ILF and the Konfuzius-Institut Frankfurt e.V. of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main held a joint event where Dr. Manfred Osten spoke on the topic "Renaissance des Konfuzianismus oder warum die Chinesen weltweit so erfolgreich sind" to an interested crowd of about 60 participants.
Dr. Rolf Friedewald, Managing Director, and Ms. Chongxiang Chen, Admissions and Marketing Manager LL.M. International Finance program, on behalf of the ILF, and Ms. Christina Werum-Wang, Managing Director Konfuzius-Institut, welcomed the numerous attendees by introducing both institutes and the speaker of the evening Dr. Manfred Osten.
Dr. Manfred Osten, a former diplomat of the Federal Foreign Office with stations in France, Cameroon, Hungary, Australia, Japan and Chad and former head of the politics division for Eastern European Affairs at the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, shared his views about the increasing influence of Confucian philosophy in modern-day China and its significant role for China’s economic success in a global and competitive world. According to Dr. Osten, China’s ambitious goal is to become the world’s next technological leader and it has good chances of achieving this goal. The growing impact of Confucianism on the Chinese educational system plays a key role in the pursuit of leadership. The advantage which the Western world still possesses to date is its innovative and creative potential but China will be able to catch up soon enough.
His speech was followed by a lively discussion and a reception at the House of Finance Faculty Lounge where traditional Chinese Dim Sums were served.
