- Chinese Name: 望見書間
- Located At: Taoyuan City (Northern Taiwan)
- Did You Know That … ?
- The independent bookstore's tagline is: "The Creative Cultural Studio for SEA Migrants in Taiwan.” It currently offers books and publications in several languages, including Cambodian, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese, and English.
- English Address: No. 7 Yanping Rd. Lane 44, Taoyuan District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Opening Hours:
- Fridays - Sundays, 12:30pm to 8pm
- Mondays - Tuesdays, 2pm to 8pm
- Wednesdays - Thursdays, closed
- Contact: hi.seami@gmail.com
- Site: www.seami.com.tw
SEAMi (SouthEast Asian Migrant Inspired) is an independent bookstore aimed at creating an open social space for the public. It encourages new residents and migrant workers from Southeast Asia as well as local Taiwanese residents to participate in its management and empower vulnerable groups.
SEAMi has created a brand consisting of 3 concepts - sharing, mutual understanding, and diversity of aesthetics. Following such brand concepts, SEAMi offers an immigrant-friendly space for book sharing, social networking, and personal marketing services.
The book-sharing service has built a database of Southeast Asian books, and provides new residents and migrant workers with a free exchange platform for books in their native languages.
SEAMi has also launched a "Books Carrier” campaign, encouraging those who travel between Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries to bring back various kinds of books for sharing in Taiwan. Though it is not easy for new residents or migrant workers to make a living in Taiwan, their existence is validated through the enjoyment of reading a book, having a cup of coffee, or singing a native song at the bookstore.
SEAMi also serves as a social network in the hopes of helping international travelers pass down their stories in an interesting way. The bookstore is equipped with electronic devices for recording or interviewing travelers, and volunteers upload videos and post articles to its official site and social media.
There's also a promotional service for creative individuals who paint, sculpt, or weave. SEAMi provides a marketplace for creative products, aiming to create a small-scale creative market that will allow everyone from Southeast Asia in Taiwan to be creative and develop handicrafts infused with Taiwanese and Southeast Asian elements.
The concept of SEAMi as a diverse and friendly cultural platform for Taiwan-SEA collaboration was first developed in June 2014. That following September, the proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Culture and received the support of the Ministry's "Youth GO! Village Cultural Development Project” in December.
SEAMi founder Lin Zhou-xi (林周熙) hopes the bookstore will help connect migrant workers with local youths, saying that it is the first step in cultivating a friendly society that will empower communities, respect ethnic roots, and nurture vulnerable groups.