User:Adyter23/Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation

The Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation (Chinese: 龍應台文化基金會) was founded in July 2005 by a group of entrepreneurs and intellectuals committed to civic engagement. Support for the Foundation comes from a volunteer Board of dedicated individuals representing different aspects of Taiwan’s cultural circle as well as generous individual donors.

The Foundation provides a platform for the exchange of ideas and views by listening to and engaging diverse voices. The Foundation seeks to nurture critical thinking and help promote global vision among young people, in Taiwan and in Chinese communities worldwide, on their journey to become caring global citizens. Current projects include Thinker Salon, Taipei Salon, Scholarship Programs, Thinker School and Cinematic Afternoon.

History
With a mission to "enhance the international outlook of Taiwanese youth," the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation promotes scholarly lectures and documentary screenings in the form of salons, discussing crucial political, economic and social issues internationally, to offer in-depth materials on the subject for the general public. The initial format of activities was the "Thinker Salon," and a year later, the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation began organizing English lectures called the "Taipei Salon”.

Starting in 2008, the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation began collaborating with various Taiwanese universities, offering civic engagement events or establishing thought salon clubs within university campuses. This made communication between scholars, experts, the general public, and students more prevalent in Taiwan. The engagement model also resonated in mainland China, where similar panel discussions were held with local student groups.

After Lung Yingtai became the inaugural Minister of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of China in 2012, due to the requirement for government officials to uphold administrative neutrality, Lung Yingtai refrained from intervening in the operation of the foundation during her tenure at the Ministry of Culture. The oversight of the board of directors was passed on to other impartial third parties, leading to a significant reduction in the foundation's functions due to decreased funding. Some of the activities and functions were transferred to the "International Masters Humanities Lecture" under the Ministry of Culture. Nonetheless, the foundation still employed two full-time colleagues to manage its day-to-day operations. Presently, there are over 800 volunteers supporting the progress of various projects.

In March 2023, the Foundation moved to its current location- Dihua Street, lying in a vibrant historical area in Taipei, Dadaocheng.

The reason for the relocation, as explained by Lung Yingtai, was because when the Taipei City Government's Department of Culture was established in 1999, she served as the director. One of her primary responsibilities  was to promote the protection of historical sites.he even engaged in legal battles with entities involved in demolishing these sites. During that period, she approached Chen Guo-ci to "adopt" Taipei's historical sites, among them, the Taipei Story House.

Lung also jokingly mentioned, "20 years ago, I was asking her, now she's asking me," because Chen Guo-ci, while returning to Hong Kong, reached out one day about this privately cherished building. She hoped that Long Yingtai's foundation would take over.

Lung Yingtai also mentioned Barry Lam, the Founder and Chairman of Quanta Computer, was one of the founding members of the foundation. After relocating to the current location, Barry  proactively contacted her on effectively planning the space, using technology to turn the space into a "metaverse of thoughts." and proposed bringing top-notch equipment into the current old building.

Projects

 * Thinker Salon
 * Taipei Salon
 * Scholarship Programs
 * Thinker School
 * Cinematic Afternoon

Thinker Salon (思沙龍)
Originated in Europe, the term “salon” traditionally referred to a gathering held in a café, studio, or home for the purpose of intellectual and literary discussion from the 1500s to early 1900s.

Famously, politically dissatisfied artists gathered in the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich in the early 1900s, eventually making it the birthplace of Dadaism. Similarly, the debates between Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in the renowned Café de Flore in Paris spawned the development of existentialism and feminism.

Today’s youth also possess a similar passion to bring about important social changes reminiscent of those cultivated in the salons in Europe or the tea houses in Hong Kong and Taiwan throughout history. The Thinker Salon of the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation relies on the participation and enthusiasm of Taiwan’s youth to create a new platform for independent thinking. Our hope is to empower the latest generation of Taiwan’s young adults to develop their own informed, diverse perspectives, participate in these critical debates, and to confront today’s most pressing global challenges.

2021

 * The Complexity Behind Singing—the Pop Music Industry’s Rise and Fall Over the Past Four Decades (Speaker: ITe Shao (邵懿德), Moderator: Kay Huang (黃韻玲))


 * What Went Wrong for the U.S.? A Look at the Changes in the World’s Economic and Trade Environment Over the Past 20 Years Speaker: Cyrus C.Y. Chu (朱敬一), Moderator: Chen Yi-Shan (陳一姍)

2022

 * The Complexity Behind Singing—the Pop Music Industry’s Rise and Fall Over the Past Four Decades (Speaker: ITe Shao (邵懿德), Moderator: Kay Huang (黃韻玲))
 * My “Expedition Westward”—A Techie’s Journey in Mainland China (Speaker: Colley Hwang (黃欽勇), Moderator: Wu Ling-hsiang (烏凌翔))
 * Does the Concept of “Community” Exist in an Authoritarian Society? — The Winding Path of China’s Community Renovation (Speaker: Lu Szu-yueh (盧思岳), Moderator: Chung Yung-feng (鍾永豐))
 * A Closer Look at Xi Jinping: Analyzing the Post-20th Party Congress Era Through Xi’s Personality Traits (Speaker: Kou Chien-wen (寇健文), Moderator: Shin Chuei-ling (辛翠玲))
 * Gazing at the Starry Sky: From the Black Hole to China and Taiwan’s Scientific Endowment (Speaker: Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂), Moderator: Yao Chingyu (饒慶鈺))
 * Parallel Universes and Timeline Jumping—The Mindset and Decision-Making of Chinese Youths of Different Generations (Speaker: Annie Jieping Zhang (張潔平), Moderator: Ho Hsin-chieh (何欣潔))

2023 - An Uncommon Dialogue

 * Does AI Need Humanistic Qualities? (Dialogue Participants: Li Fei Fei (李飛飛)and Lung Yingtai (龍應台))
 * Animal “Liberation” and Human Obligations (Dialogue Participants: Chien Yeong-shyang (錢永祥) and Lung Yingtai (龍應台))

Taipei Salon
The Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation is devoted to promoting and cultivating global citizens in Taiwan. We hope that Taiwanese youth will become engaged participants in discussions about global issues, and develop the experience needed to represent their own perspectives cogently and persuasively. As part of the effort to achieve this goal, the Foundation provides a platform called the “Taipei Salon,” which aims to bring together Taiwanese and the international community through interactive discussions about the challenges facing the current generation. We invite the public, individual representatives of foreign governments, non-profit organizations, academics, and policymakers in Taiwan to participate in an active dialogue. Highlights of these activities are listed below.

2023

 * “Rose, Rose, I Love You”& Others —on Transnational Asian Popular Songs (Speaker: Eric Scheihagen, Moderator: Noah Buchan)

Past Salons

 * Nurturing Changemakers: Peace Education in a Globalized Era (Speaker: Akira Kawasaki, Moderator: May-Yi Shaw)
 * Decarbonizing the World Is a Must to Save Agriculture and Fishery (Speaker: Franz Fischler, Moderator: Lung Yingtai)
 * No Babies – What Went Wrong? (Speaker: Stuart Gietel-Basten, Moderator: Helen Liu)
 * Liberalism and Democracy in Myanmar (Speaker: Ian Holiday, Moderator: Lung Yingtai)
 * Dragon Among the Lions: What Does China Really Want From Africa? (Speaker: Keith B. Richburg, Moderator: Kuo Chen Lung)
 * Indian Woman: A Truth Tale (Speaker: Urvashi Butalia, Moderator: Shefong Chung)
 * Is This the Era of Illiberal Democracy? (Speaker: Pierre Haski, Moderator: Kuo Chen Lung)
 * Xi Jinping and the Reinvention of the Chinese Communist Party (Speaker: John P. Burns, Moderator: William A. Stanton)
 * Not Enough Food? What You Need to Know About Global Hunger—Observations From a WFP Frontline Practitioner (Speaker: Kenro Oshidari, Moderator: Charlotte Ackert)
 * Crisis of Democracy —How and Why? (Speaker: Zoher Abdoolcarim, Moderator: Kuo Chen Lung)
 * An Aging Foreigner Speaks About Taiwan’s Future (Speaker: Richard Bush, Moderator: Lung Yingtai)

Scholarship Programs
In 2017, the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation expanded its global collaboration and educational mission with Peace Boat and the European Forum Alpbach Foundation in the hope of providing more opportunities for Taiwan’s youths. In 2022, the Foundation started a Taiwan-based academy called the "Thinker School", providing local curriculum tackling specific themes.

Peace Boat Global University Program
Peace Boat is a cruise featuring the on-board Global University Program, which consists of a range of intensive, advanced educational activities that center on peace and sustainability. The program challenges participants to confront regional and global issues through workshops, seminars, and in-port exposure activities. Using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its basis, classes are structured in thematic units that vary according to the itinerary of the ship and voyage.

In 2017, the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation began its collaboration with Peace Boat’s Special Global University Program, providing scholarships to five Taiwanese young adults every year.

European Forum Alpbach
The European Forum Alpbach Foundation is an Austrian non-profit organization. Renowned for its annual forum of the same name, the foundation awards scholarships on a yearly basis to over 650 students that represent approximately 100 nationalities, supporting them to participate in the interdisciplinary conference for science, politics, business, and culture. The European Forum Alpbach is an effort to connect international decision-makers from all sectors of society with an interested audience and committed young people.

In 2017, the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation became the European Forum Alpbach’s first partner in Asia, sending five Taiwanese young adults to participate in the forum each year.

Thinker School (思學堂)
The “Thinker School” serves as a platform for introspective and critical thinking. With the primary objective of fostering critical thinking in young adults, the Thinker School empowers young minds to learn from and to engage in in-depth dialogues with opinion leaders and decision-makers. Together, they think about global issues facing the 21st Century. Through Thinker School, a cross-generational, cross-disciplinary “knowledge community,” students are able to build life-long friendships with other brilliant minds.

2022
Theme: Preparing for 2030

In a world of unrest and strife, how do we decide, analyze, form opinions, and solve problems?

Courses: Critical Thinking, Sustainability, Democracy, Technology, Into the Future

Location: Taitung

2023
Theme:  Systems Change Incubator (Collaborating with SIMFO)

Courses: This year, Thinker School and SIMFO Academy collaboratively organized a two-month “Systems Change Incubator,” where they employ MIT’s “System Dynamics” methodology to train young individuals in addressing complex issues using systems thinking.

Focus on the themes of “Systems Change” and “Careers with Influence,” the Thinker School sent participants to governmental agencies, businesses, and NPOs to tackle the world’s pressing challenges, including education, social issues, sustainable cities, climate change, and the circular economy. This experience equips participants with systematic problem-solving skills.

Location: Lung YingTai Cultural Foundation, Taipei

Cinematic Afternoon
A cup of coffee, a movie, and a time for cogitation.

Afternoon of Light and Shadow is a documentary curation activity launched by the Foundation after it moved to Dihua Street, a historical area in Taipei,  in March 2023. It hopes to invite the public to think about different themes through watching documentaries on Saturday afternoon.