Hawaii 2016 Cultural Sustainability Educational Tour to Hawaii – Planting Taitung as a New Spotlight on the world map
As part of its 2016 Educational Tour, ACF supports 14 influencers of Taiwan’s indigenous community to Hawaii for inspirational learning. From government representatives responsible for indigenous matters to native artists, musicians, architects, through observation of Hawaii’s success in tribal tourism and development, the tour aims to expand horizons, and inspire ideas. As the origin of the Austronesian peoples, Taiwan has 16 officially recognized indigenous tribes; with Hawaii being part of the Austronesian community, its indigenous development models in cultural preservation, livelihood and socioeconomic aspects serve as good reference for Taiwan’s indigenous communities.
The team of 14 members of the Taitung community traveled to Hawaii for 10 days. The team, comprising Atayal, Puyuma, Amis, Bunun, Paiwan and Han members, visited the Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYUH) and the Polynesian Cultural Centre (PCC) for a 10-day study tour, soaking in the unique natural and multicultural environment of the Hawaiian Islands, gaining inspiration and vision for the future of Taitung.
"Everyone wants to travel, but no one wants to be a tourist," explained Professor David Preece who gave the team its first lecture at the BYUH. The team spent the first four days on the island of Oahu where the BYUH and the PCC is located. Lectures included “Trends in Tourism and Rural Travel — Toward Diversification and Growth” and Professor Jeffrey Caneen’s “Tourism, Culture and Identity”. The team also visited the Haleakala “House of the Sun” National Park, Volcanoes National Park, Kona Coffee House, Waikiki beach and Pearl Harbor.
The combination of classroom and experiential learning allows the team to develop a broad knowledge base of tourism, observing world tourism trends, destination and tourist type analysis and tourism marketing, while seeing the long tail effect, sense of place and sustainable tourism in practice. The unique educational and business collaboration between the BYUH and PCC is aimed at supporting and empowering BYUH students and the local community. The PCC is Hawaii’s most successful paid-admission visitor attraction, seeing 2,600 visitors per day. Each of the major Polynesian cultures is represented at the PCC, featuring the traditional village architectural displays, performances and cultural learning experiences.
The team was reminded that in the sharing of cultures, cultural recipients look for different levels of engagement, ranging from mere recipients, connoisseurs and those with educational needs. Hence there is a need to consider the recipient’s level of acceptance to ensure that the cultural exchange is "mutually beneficial". Each culture is different but a sense of respect lies across the board, as with trust and the persistence on self-identity. In this aspect, Hawaii has achieved an admirable balance in its development between human needs and the natural environment.
As part of ACF’s mission to help young indigenous Taiwanese realize their potentials, nurturing their worldviews is an important factor. From shorter termed initiatives – supporting native youths to join 1,600 other Asian young creatives at the forum of the Make a Difference Institute in Hong Kong, to longer termed leadership training in the United States – the Asian Executive Management Program (AEM) where three selected indigenous youths have completed since 2013 studying at the BYUH and interning at the PCC.
In addition, ACF Chairman Stanley Yen has accompanied Taitung Mayor Huang Jian-ting and the Dean of Taitung University on a study tour to Hawaii earlier and hoped to empower outstanding indigenous youths and other members in the Taitung community with opportunities for learning and collaboration. Exposure to overseas projects and regular dialogue between officials and the community are being promoted to build a community of learners to ideate the future of Taitung.
Yen hopes that such cultural sustainability study are conducted annually to cultivate talents and shape visions for Taitung’s future, growing this community of learners with each participant recommending a candidate for the next trip and regularly staying in touch. This could be the beginning of change in Taitung as participants gain inspiration to innovate for the sustainable development of the Huatung area and deepen the presence of Austronesian cultures in Taitung.
The 2016 Educational Tour is in special appreciation to Ms. Sun Wei-wei & Mr. Bruce Wu from the Wish Communication Co. as well as Mr. Wu Yi-gui, who without their support wouldn’t be possible.
The 2016 Educational Tour is in special appreciation to Ms. Sun Wei-wei & Mr. Bruce Wu from the Wish Communication Co. as well as Mr. Wu Yi-gui, who without their support wouldn’t be possible.
