Penghu County Magistrate Attends US-Taiwan Marine Sustainable Development International Conference and Launches Collaboration on International Education

The first USA-Taiwan Marine Sustainable Development International Conference took place on 7 May, where Penghu County Magistrate Fong-Wei Lai graced the gathering with his presence and spoke about marine revitalization, which is Penghu’s central policy. Among the attendees were experts and scholars of various marine issues, all aiming to connect Taiwan’s next generation to the world in the areas of sustainable marine development, marine education, bilingual education, and global outreach.

On 7 May, the USA-Taiwan Marine Sustainable Development International Conference was held at the Sheraton Penghu. The event saw the gathering of approximately 150 key figures that included: Mason Yu, Chief of the Kaohsiung Branch of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT); the Ambassador of Palau, H.E. Dilmei L. Olkeriil; Dr. Randall Nadeau, Executive Director of the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange (Fulbright Taiwan); Dr. Hsiang-Wen Huang, Director-General of the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), of the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA); Director Hui-Chuen Chang of the National Development Council (NDC) Department of Overall Planning; Dr. Hazel Habito Javier, Director of the Department of Tourism (Taiwan Office) of the Philippines; and Director Yi-Hong Tang of the National Alliance of Parents Association.

Participants engaged in intense discussions around the themes of the conference, which were: diverse marine development, place locality and identity, demographic change and aging societies, international education and promotion of bilingualism, and marine education.

It was decided that the Penghu County Government will work with the AIT, hiring top foreign teachers for Penghu. Magistrate Lai and Dr. Nadeau signed an MOU on International Education and English Teaching Assistants, which will provide an immersive English learning environment and opportunities for cultural exchange for school children.

Magistrate Lai noted that Penghu has always actively protected the marine environment while curbing illegal fishing activities, cutting down the use of plastics, and establishing wastewater treatment plants. In 2019, a total of 96 local villages and neighborhoods participated in 300 beach clean-ups and gathered 300 metric tons of marine garbage. Such outstanding results earned the county first place in “Actions and Achievements for Response to Climate Change” under the category of non-municipality county/city, as well as recognition for being one of the top performers in “Marine Education Achievements.”

Magistrate Lai further mentioned that Penghu is endowed with beautiful nature and rich marine resources, which tourists can experience in Penghu Geopark and the coral garden. With zero COVID infections in 2020, the County Government will continue its efforts to keep the virus at bay and build a sustainable environment for marine tourism.

At the end of the conference, both Dr. Nadeau and Kelly Chang, Program Director of Fulbright Taiwan, received an award from Magistrate Lai as a token of appreciation for helping Penghu develop more internationalized education and facilitating English teaching programs between the US and Taiwan.

Sources: Penghu County Government