The “2025 Taiwanese Culture & Folk Art Teacher Training Program” held by the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) successfully concluded on the afternoon of July 29 at the Dream Hall, Wen-Ying Building, National Taiwan University of Sport (NTUS). This year’s program brought together 54 cultural seed teachers from 17 countries, all dedicated to overseas compatriot education. Over 2 weeks of intensive training totaling 70 hours, participants achieved rich learning outcomes, displayed in the results exhibition. The goal of nurturing overseas teaching talent for the promotion of Taiwanese culture was fully achieved.
The graduation ceremony was co-hosted by Chi-Jung Lin, Director General the OCAC’s Department of Overseas Compatriot Education Affairs and Vice President Yi-Li Shen of NTUS. It began with a guided tea culture tour titled “A Toast of Tea, A Seat for Culture,” symbolizing friendship through tea and the passing on of cultural heritage. Lin praised the dedication of all seed teachers for their diligence over the 14-day program. On behalf of the OCAC, she presented graduation certificates and encouraged the participants to extend what they had learned to overseas compatriot education and community cultural promotion. Just like the collaborative performance by the folk sports and dance groups “A Mighty Celebration” featuring the lion dance and Techno Prince, which is a metaphor for Taiwan’s culture advancing across borders through cooperative innovation. Through Taiwan Centers for Mandarin Learning (TCML) established with OCAC support abroad, and overseas compatriot schools in various regions, the participants are now equipped to apply the skills and knowledge to Mandarin classes, cultural education, and various promotional events. This will help plant the seeds of Taiwan’s rich and diverse traditional culture in their local communities, showing Taiwan’s value and charm to the world.
This training program was structured into three groups—Folk Arts, Folk Sports, and Folk Dance, along with a shared core course on Taiwanese tea culture, which included teaching methods, tour guide training, and designing exhibitions. During the graduation ceremony, both static art displays and dynamic performances in sports and dance fully displayed the students’ cultural learning journeys and creative achievements. The Folk Arts Group presented traditional crafts such as dough figurine art, glove puppet making, pandan weaving, paper cutting, and string art. They also created a themed puppet theater performance titled “Stories in the Palm,” creatively addressing contemporary issues such as anti-bullying, environmental protection, food safety, gender autonomy, and building a happy society through Journey to the West characters—highlighting the creative energy that comes from combining curation with hands-on production. The Folk Sports Group demonstrated their potential in cultural promotion through lion dance basics demonstration teaching, Baduanjin towel exercises, and drumming practice. The Folk Dance Group delivered a rich and diverse performance that blended parade dance, martial dance, indigenous Taiwanese element dance, and teaching design. The event concluded with a powerful performance of “The Prince and the Lion – A Mighty Celebration,” encouraging every student to carry the mission of preserving and promoting Taiwanese culture, letting it shine in every corner of the world.
