In their communications with the public, government agencies are turning away from old habits of issuing haughty pronouncements couched in stuffy officialese. Instead they are employing social media editors who are full of whacky ideas and are a match for every conceivable challenge. These editors expose fake news and interpret policies for the general public by making connections with everyday life and topical events.
The Minerva Schools program at California’s Keck Graduate Institute prides itself on being a university of the world. Not confined to any physical campus, Minerva students visit seven cities across the world during their four-year degree programs. They interact with their teachers through webinars that explore specific topics and prioritize mutually engaged discussions. Minerva aims to cultivate not only specialist knowledge but also transferrable critical thinking skills.
Government agencies have been demonstrating a new aptitude for communication in recent years. Their tactics for getting information out to the public now range from creative social media editing to institutional branding to complete revamps of government publications. These methods have given agencies a less conservative look, but is the public buying it?
Tradition has it that if you make a request of the deity Phra Phrom and your wish is granted, you must come and show your gratitude in whatever way you promised at the time of your request. There are many ways to show gratitude. Those with enough money can make offerings of gold or elephants, while ordinary folks can arrange for a dance of gratitude—it all depends on your budget.
With Taiwan’s impending transition to a super-aged society around 2025, whether you are an elderly person yourself or there are elderly people in your family, are we all well prepared? What mindset should we adopt in responding to this new situation? And from what perspectives can we best tackle the issues that arise?
Before Lee Chia-tung, professor emeritus at National Tsing Hua University, founded the rural educational organization Boyo Social Welfare Foundation, he taught at St. Teresa Children’s Center for many years. When asked why he didn’t just donate money instead of teaching at the center, he quotes Mother Teresa of Calcutta in saying, “We ourselves must sow the seeds of love, and we must do so one at a time.”
Every year, more than NT$3 billion in scholarships flows forth from private sources in Taiwan. This invisible force has supported social progress for many years, and though it’s rarely noticed, it’s always there.
“If you aren’t good at school, then go into farming!” This is what older rice farmers used to tell their offspring. But younger people, determined not to be farmers, studied hard and escaped from their rural hometowns.
Young and full of energy, college students are given to out-of-the-box thinking. Those years are a good time to found startups. Take the Yoyusunsun brand of dried squid products, launched by Weiwei Chou and a friend while they were at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. At first, they lacked marketing savvy, and sales were tepid.
February 21 has been designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as International Mother Language Day, in order to highlight the importance of preserving linguistic diversity. Dominant languages have been making inroads into less powerful vernaculars, and efforts are being made throughout the world to save mother tongues from extinction.
