The International Aboriginal Education Conference covering issues regarding Aboriginal education, the revival of indigenous languages and the significance of public institutes opened at National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Muzha, Taipei, yesterday with the participation of 16 academics from around the Pacific Rim.
Highlights
The two-day conference, organized by the NCCU Center for Aboriginal Languages, Cultures and Education, was highlighted by the presentation of a number of research papers authored by anthropologists, historical ling-uists and political sociologists from Fiji, Japan, China, Taiwan and the US.
Presenters of the research papers included Kayano Shigeru, an anthropologist and curator of the Ainu Museum in Japan, and Steven Ratuva, a political sociologist with the Pacific Institute of Advanced Studies in Development and Governance under the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, the sponsors said.
Other prominent presenters included John Mayer, a professor in philology with the University of Hawaii, and Teng Xing, a professor in ethnic studies with China's Central University for Nationalities.
Taiwanese input
A roundtable discussion is scheduled to be held today, with several officials and academics from Taiwan, including chairman of the Council of Indigenous Peoples Walis Pelin (瓦歷斯貝林) and Lee Yung-te (李永得), Chairman of the Council for Hakka Affairs, meeting the foreign academics to exchange views on matters of mutual concern and interest.
The conference attendees are also expected to travel to southern Taiwan after the discussion for field trips to a Rukai tribal village in Maolin Township (茂林) and the Hakka rural township of Meinung (美濃) to gain a better understanding of the development and conservation of native languages and culture in these two areas.
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