A journey in service of Algeria–China dialogue

My teaching career truly began to flourish in September 2007, following the completion of my training at the École Normale Supérieure, from which I graduated with the 2007 cohort. I embarked on my career as a French language teacher at a middle school, an initial experience that proved particularly formative and that, within a very short period of time, further strengthened my professional calling. From the very first months of my career, I adapted with ease to the school environment, responding thoughtfully to the demands inherent in the profession as well as to the various responsibilities associated with the teaching role. My relationship with my students developed naturally, supported by my ability to listen, my patience, my availability, and my capacity to foster an atmosphere of trust and respect within the classroom. I also had the privilege of establishing excellent professional relationships with my colleagues, based on the values of mutual assistance, collaboration, and mutual respect.

My professionalism, dedication, and commitment to my work quickly earned the recognition and respect of those around me. Demonstrating impeccable punctuality, consistent attendance, and a constant commitment to carrying out my responsibilities with the utmost rigor, I did not miss a single day of work during this period. This was a clear reflection of my strong sense of responsibility and my deep commitment to the teaching profession. This highly successful first experience led to my rapid appointment as a tenured teacher on February 8, 2008, in the capacity of a fundamental education teacher. This significant milestone in my professional journey was met with encouragement and congratulations from my inspector, whose highly positive assessment represented a valuable recognition of my efforts and pedagogical abilities.

Alongside my professional career, I have always made it a priority to maintain and further develop my academic and intellectual journey. I therefore undertook university-level research leading to a Magister’s degree in the philosophy of religions, pursuing my professional development and academic training simultaneously, with rigor and determination. This dual vocation, both educational and academic, greatly enriched my understanding of teaching, leading me to view the teacher not merely as a transmitter of knowledge, but also as a guide, an educator, and a fundamental contributor to the intellectual and personal development of students.

With the benefit of hindsight, my first years in teaching stand out as a pivotal period during which I was able to discover and affirm qualities that were naturally at the heart of my personality: attentive listening, patience, availability, kindness, rigor, punctuality, a strong sense of responsibility, and, above all, a profound passion for transmitting knowledge. I very quickly felt that I was truly in the right profession, both in the relationships I established with my students and in the collaborative relationships I developed with my colleagues. This smooth integration, the quality of my professional relationships, and the positive evaluations I received from the very beginning strengthened my conviction that teaching was genuinely my vocation. This initial journey, which began in 2007, thus laid the solid foundations for a career built around the transmission of knowledge, academic excellence, and a steadfast commitment to education.

The year 2015 represented a decisive milestone in my intellectual and academic journey. Following an extended research stay in France, I had the privilege of discovering, in Paris, the depth and richness of the Asian cultural heritage, and more particularly that of Chinese civilization. My stay in the French capital considerably broadened my academic horizons, particularly through the Chinese philosophy courses I attended at Paris-Sorbonne University. It was in this context that I truly became aware, for the first time, of the significance of Confucian thought. This intellectual encounter had a profound impact on my academic journey: it led me to develop a renewed perspective on Confucius, to approach his philosophy from a new angle, and, beyond his thought alone, to discover another way of understanding Asia, its millennia-old civilization, its fundamental values, and its conception of human beings and social relationships.

Nevertheless, this discovery naturally followed on from my previous academic work, as my scholarly background had already been devoted to the study of religions, particularly Christianity and Judaism. Confucian thought therefore gradually revealed itself to me as a new field of intellectual reflection and scholarly exploration. I consequently embarked on the study of Confucianism, paying particular attention to Neo-Confucianism, as well as to the history and development of Chinese civilization. This new direction did not in any way constitute a break with my previous research; rather, it represented a substantial broadening of my field of inquiry. It enabled me to place different philosophical and religious traditions in perspective and to deepen my understanding of the diversity of conceptions of humanity, morality, education, and social organization.

During this period, unfortunately, I was unable to devote as much time as I would have wished to learning the Chinese language. Mastering foreign languages requires, in my case, a considerable investment of time and patience, and I must acknowledge that my progress in this area has been relatively modest. This linguistic limitation, however, did not prevent me from deepening my knowledge of Chinese thought. As I was living in France, I conducted most of my reading on Confucius and Confucianism in French. During this time, I had the opportunity to discover a remarkably rich, rigorous, and relevant body of French-language academic literature devoted to Confucius, Confucianism, and, more broadly, to Chinese history and civilization. These scholarly works provided me with valuable intellectual tools for refining my understanding of Confucian thought and contributed greatly to shaping and nurturing my interest in China.

My stay in France also enabled me to appreciate the influence and cultural reach of Chinese culture within French society. The wealth of institutions and academic spaces devoted to Chinese studies, the vitality of university and cultural exchanges, the activities of Confucius Institutes, as well as the presence of a particularly dynamic Chinese community, gave me the opportunity to observe in tangible terms the reality of a dialogue between French and Chinese civilizations. This experience greatly deepened my interest in Chinese civilization and gradually led me to the conviction that understanding China cannot be reduced to mastering its language or acquiring knowledge of its history alone. It also requires an engagement with its thought, values, philosophy, and conception of education. In this context, my encounter with Confucius in Paris in 2015 came to mean far more to me than a simple intellectual discovery: it marked the starting point of a genuine intellectual journey toward China and toward the deeper study of its civilization.

My participation in the Second Congress of Researchers in Chinese Studies in North Africa, held in Tunis at the Higher Institute of Languages of Tunis, University of Carthage, under the theme “Confucius in Algeria: A Commitment to Openness and Dialogue Between Civilizations,” represented a decisive step in my intellectual journey devoted to Chinese thought. This gathering offered me a valuable opportunity to delve deeper into the world of Confucianism and to engage in fruitful exchanges with researchers and academics who have been working for many years to promote the Chinese language and culture in North Africa. I was particularly privileged to meet pioneering figures in the teaching of Chinese in Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt, whose professional journeys and experiences greatly enriched and deepened my own reflection. This first immersion in an academic setting bringing together specialists in Chinese studies strengthened my interest in Confucian thought and enabled me to gain a clearer understanding of its potential as a space for dialogue, openness, and rapprochement between civilizations.

Institut Supérieur des Langues, Université de Carthage — Tunis

Knowledge transmission has been the guiding thread of my intellectual journey, at the crossroads of teaching, research, and the dissemination of knowledge. Today, this commitment also extends to the study and promotion of Chinese thought, which I aspire to make accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Through teaching, student supervision, academic encounters, conferences, and intercultural exchanges, I seek to shed light on the depth and richness of Chinese philosophy, particularly the legacy of Confucius, its foundational values, and its vision of education, the human being, and society.

This approach goes beyond the simple transmission of knowledge: it aims to awaken curiosity, stimulate critical reflection, and foster a deeper understanding of China and its millennia-old civilization. By sharing and promoting this intellectual heritage among students, researchers, educators, and a broader audience, I hope, in my own way, to contribute to building intellectual and cultural bridges between Algeria and China and, more broadly, between the great traditions of thought that shape our world.