French academic Samia Ferhat and the EU Center at National Sun Yat-sen University in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City are the winners of the prestigious Taiwan-France Cultural Award presented Nov. 28 in Paris by Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun.
“We would like to thank these two well-deserved recipients, as well as all previous winners, for their support of the country and contributions to promoting Taiwan culture in Europe,” Cheng said during the presentation ceremony at the historic Institut de France.
On her first overseas visit in an official capacity, Cheng said France is a “dear friend” that listens to, understands and responds to Taiwan. “Paris is the city of light and an important portal for the rest of the world to access Taiwan culture.”
Ferhat, a scholar at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and lecturer at the Universite Paris Ouest, was recognized for dedicating more than 20 years of her life to the study of Taiwan’s domestic politics, according to the Ministry of Culture.
She holds a doctorate specializing in Taiwan’s nonparty political movement from 1949 to 1986 awarded by the Universite Paris-Sud, a master’s from the Graduate Institute of National Development at National Taiwan University in Taipei City and co-authored “Taiwan: Island of Memories,” a book published in 2011 on the country’s history and political and social developments over the past two centuries.
The EU Center was recognized for promoting understanding between Taiwan and the EU through organizing activities in such areas as academics, art and culture, business, education and community service. Established by the European Commission in 2009, the center is at the forefront of EU efforts to raise awareness of the region among the youth of southern Taiwan.
According to the MOC, the award is expected to encourage more Taiwan institutions to follow the center’s lead and initiate collaboration programs with their counterparts in the EU.
Established in 1996 by the MOC and Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, the Taiwan-France Cultural Award honors distinguished individuals or groups that have helped advance understanding of Taiwan in Europe or facilitated cultural exchanges between the two sides. (SFC-E)
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