By Dr. Prem
The UKZN’s International Relations team together with Corporate Relations hosted post graduates students on a Project of Youth Ambassadors from the National Defence University of Taiwan during the week of July 30 – August 3. The purpose of the visit was to share and encourage inter-cultural exchange between Taiwan and UKZN. The success of the visit now opens opportunities for potential collaborations and academic partnerships, research, staff and student exchanges and imminent visitations to Taiwan and UKZN.
The Taiwanese team led by Professor Terry Hsieh YiH Shiwn which included, Altus Du, Chang-Ching; Lawrence Lin, Chih-Lung; Edison An,Yung-Tang; David Lee, Hao-Wei; Geoff Cheng, Ting-Mou and Lynn Yeh, Li-Hsuan.. They visited all UKZN campuses throughout the week teaching staff and students about different events in their culture. A theme was set aside for each day on each campus.
Starting in the Pietermaritzburg campus, the visitors were welcomed by Dr Nicola Jones – Academic Leader of Media and Cultural Studies. The two themes for the day were “Taking a stroll in Taiwan” and “I Can Speak Chinese” which gave the audience an introduction to speaking Chinese. They also took them through the tour of their country in pictures and song. UKZN’s Marie-Anna Marais, Head: International Relations - PMB said, the “I can speak Chinese” session was amusing and thoroughly enjoyed by the students. The highlight was the “Taking a stroll in Taiwan” where the geographic diversity of their country was astoundingly beautiful. The terrain ranged from lakes and mountains that looked like Switzerland and eastern rugged coast reminiscent of the wild Irish coast, golden beaches, as well as colourful flora and fauna. Their architecture and suburbs are a mixture of traditional and modern Chinese.’
The visitors were welcomed by Prof Gregory Kamwendo – Dean of Education. The excited crowd at Edgewood Campus enjoyed learning about “Chinese Calligraphy” and the Chinese “Happy New Year”. The audience were told about the culture, showed how to do paper cutting and learnt to write in Chinese. For most of the staff it was like going back to school as it was so different from the day to day activities. They thoroughly enjoyed their day and hoped that there were more cultural initiatives similar to this. One said it was a great time to bond with staff at all levels.
