The Nan Ying International Folklore Festival, part of the 2005 Formosa Arts Festival will be held in Tainan County from Oct. 1 to 16, the Council for Cultural Affairs and the Tainan County Government said yesterday.
Groups from 10 countries, including Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, Nepal, Russia and Senegal have been invited to join their Taiwanese counterparts in the folklore festival.
The Tainan County Government sponsored the first Nan Ying festival in 1996 -- the first time such a big festival was organized by a local-level government.
Council for Cultural Affairs Minister Chen Chi-nan (陳其南) said the Nan Ying festival was "bringing globalization to Tainan" and promoting cultural exchange.
This year, 50 families have volunteered to be "friendship families" and host foreign participants. Forty schools will be "friendship schools," allowing the young foreign performers to observe classes. Students from Fu Jen Catholic University will be "friendship ambassadors," serving as guides for the performers.
"The friendship families, schools and ambassadors are all volunteers," Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) said. "But they are willing to participate because they hope that these groups will take what they learned about Taiwanese culture back to their home countries."
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