Taiwan Today

An international project will help Taiwan’s indigenous Paiwan gain remote access to museum collections, document intangible aspects of their culture and disseminate information about their heritage to a broader public, including indigenous groups abroad. The collaborative “iShare: Connecting Museums and Communities East and West” project, proposed by the National Taiwan Museum and supported by the U.S.-based University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, was selected for the American Association of Museums’ Museums and Community Collaborations Abroad grant program. A U.S. delegation comprising representatives of the indigenous Navajo Nation and UCMNH researchers arrived in Taiwan Dec. 12 for a nine-day visit to facilitate mutual understanding and establish closer ties. The delegation visited Paiwan tribal villages in Laiyi Township in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County, accompanied by NTM officials. According to NTM representative Wei Chen-yu, the museum established a sound working relationship with the Paiwan community after organizing the one-year exhibition “Myth and Legends of the Paiwan People” in 2009. “We received very positive responses and hope to share more of the unique cultures of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples with the world,” she said. Museums and Community Collaborations Abroad is a partnership in cultural diplomacy between the AAM and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, designed to foster museum-based international exchanges and help people of the world understand themselves and one another through direct community engagement. (THN)