In Mid March, we (Terence, Education Team & Kami, Conservation Team) received an opportunity to participate in “UNINGO IN TAIWAN – International Conference on Environmental Sustainability”. This sudden trip to Taichung was made because of the invitation from Taiwan Philanthropic Study Institution, to take up the role of panelists(it’s a surprise!). Knowing the theme was Global Sustainability and the fact that members from different Asian countries would attend together with Taiwan local ones, we were curious to take this chance in order to understand about this organization and the event.
To both of us, Taichung was a new place. It’s a very down-to-the-earth city though initially we thought it resembled Kaohsiung: residential houses and 4 to 5-storey blocks were very common; the city centre had a commercial part with high rises but it’s never as busy as our Causeway Bay; buses were not overcrowded; there was almost zero nightlife, with very few shops opened in the evening; and what we saw were just people rushing home or buying their late night food but no more. Eventually, we (had to) spent more than an hour in a stationery shop (the only non-food supply store we encountered) on the first night! To be frank, without the busy atmosphere like HK, it’s a good chance for the mind to take a break.
The conference took place on the 2nd day of our trip. The opening ceremony location was a big surprise as it’s in the centre of the rice field! The area was named Daya and farmlands were a feature in the countryside of this area. They were beside houses (which were not high rises), along streets and even just on the roadsides! Crops there included various vegetables, rice and wheat ... etc. Opening speeches, keynote speeches, certificate signing and media interview were all conducted with the beautiful golden and cloudless background! The keynote speech by Ms. Yasmin Rasyid, Malaysian was very impressive, as she shared her family fight against the local air pollution problem. The fields made these messages more powerful.
Panelists sharing sessions were started soon after the lunch, in the Heng Shan Toy Museum (not the official name). This was an interesting place, possessing a huge historical collection of children toys/games, from the past 40 -50 years. Most were inexpensive (in those years) and showed good creations by local people. They were valuable in the eras whereas electronic games did not exist. They were all playable! We found our childhood here too!
Sharing sessions were quite packed because of the interactive arrangement and a higher number of attendants from local NGOs (many of them came from Taipei and Taitung). All 6 panelist from different Asian regions let us know their frontline projects. For example, we had a project providing farmers with an app to systemize their agricultural work records; there was an organization doing public education work to fight illegal animal trades; we also had a representative doing refugee community work at the Thailand-Myanmar border. For CA, Kami and I had our sustainable development project from Long Valley as the topic, sharing our rice field conservation achievements and the experience of the corresponding outreach Drama in Education program! We encountered responsive audience, with up-to-the-point questions and feedback. Experiencing a good atmosphere, we also felt good about the straightforwardness and the generosity of Taiwanese!
And, we received sincere and detail-minded hospitality from the organizer (we learnt a lot from their good PR skills, indeed!). Throughout the trip, we met new people and got to know NGO challenges from Asia. CA does look forward to more future meet-ups with Taiwan Philanthropic Study Institution!
