The Ministry of Culture has invited the Ministry of Education, the Hakka Affairs Council, and the Council of Indigenous Peoples to jointly organize the "2021 National Languages Development Convention (國家語言發展會議)." Eight forums are slated to be held online and the official conference is expected to be held in mid-September.
The first convention themed around "The sense of honor of national languages," kicked off on July 31. More than hundreds of scholars, the public, and representatives of ministries, counties, and cities joined hands to discuss ways for the promotion of the national language revitalization policy.
Lee Ching-hwi (李靜慧), Deputy Minister of the MOC, was present at this convention and took the lead in delivering speeches in her mother tongue. Other participants also expressed their opinions in their native languages, showing their pride and confidence. The convention highlighted an atmosphere of diversity and inclusiveness towards various languages.
The convention was hosted by National Taichung University of Education (NTCU) professor Fang Yaw-chien (方耀乾), and five representatives of different languages were invited as panelists including NTCU professor Tibusungu 'e Vayayana (汪明輝), National Dong Hwa University professor Masegesege Zengror Gadu (童春發), National Taiwan Normal University professor Liu Cheng-hsien (劉承賢), PTS Sign Language News anchor Niu Hsuan-wen (牛暄文), and Hakka voice actress Mienli Qi (徐敏莉).
Participants actively put forward suggestions on course, textbook collection, the use of language teaching, friendly environment. They believed everyone should use and be proud of their native languages.
MOC expressed hope that through this convention, a platform for mutual exchange and communication, public participation, and sharing, people from all walks of life can reach a consensus on the implementation of Taiwan’s multi-national languages in daily life.
For more information, please visit 2021 National Languages Development Convention's official website, Youtube, Facebook.