人間通訊社

To encourage Taiwanese schools of all levels to develop life education programs and related staff training, the Ministry of Education held the “106th Annual Award Ceremony for Prominent Educators and Specialized Schools” at the Taipei Branch of National Academy for Educational Research on November 17. 24 educators and 20 schools received awards in promoting life education, the ceremony represents a symbol of recognition for everyone’s effort in promoting life education. This is also expected to continuously improve life education programs in Taiwan and to share the achievement of all practicing individuals and schools.

The minister of education, Dr. Pan Wen-chung, provided guidance and encouragement in his speech to the attendees. Together with deputy director of student affairs and special education, Cao Cuiying, and the president of Nanhua University, Lin Tsong-Ming, and executive deputy president, Lin Chen-Chang, the minister participated in the symbolic watering ceremony on the 20th anniversary of the life education initiative, the ceremony represents the passing of the spirit in life education into the future.

The event host, Nanhua University, won the award for Specialized Life Education School for three consecutive years. In addition, professor Lin Yiyun of the Department of Life-and-Death Studies won the only “Special Contributor on Life Education” award. The professor’s in-depth contribution to the study on Life education has been greatly appreciated, and this symbolizes the emphasis and the practices of life education at Nanhua. The ceremony began with a performance by the faculty and students of the Department of Ethnomusicology. The performance proves Nanhua as a high ranking university in both humanities and the arts.

Minister of Education, Dr. Pan Wen-chung, indicated that life education is the foundation of education in general. It covers moral education, positive discipline, human rights and character development. It allows each and every student to find out their own values. In Taiwan, the development of "life education” has been established for the past 20 years since its inception in 1997. People from all walks of life worked hard toward resource integration. "Life Education Center of Ministry of Education" was formally set up at Chiayi’s Nanhua University in March, 2015 to promote life education. As a full-time organization for Life Education, the center aims to promote life education and to carry out related implementation plans. Minister Pan extended his best wishes to the award-winning schools and educators at the ceremony. He thanked everyone for their efforts in promoting life education. He hoped that through this event, all schools can continue to develop their own styles in promoting life education.

In addition, Minister Pan praised Nanhua University for implementing life education using the theme of Three Acts of Goodness, which are "to do good deeds, to speak good words and to think good thoughts", which students are able to apply in their daily lives. At the same time, he also thanked the University for making full use of the Life Education Center. Lin Tsong-Ming, president of Nanhua University, pointed out that the school has been devoted to promoting the "Three Acts of Goodness" campaign and to implement life education since the university’s early days. Not only has the university integrated various life education resources of major colleges and universities but it has also extended life education to schools of all levels and in all counties and cities; on the other hand, the University expanded and shared its experiences with different non-governmental organizations. In 2017, the program has extended into the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao and gradually into Southeast Asia with the goal of covering the entire region in the future while becoming the benchmark for promoting life education in Asia. In September, 2017, with the support of the Ministry of Education, the University set up an office of the Life Education Center at Fo Guang Shan Educational and Cultural Centre in New Delhi, India. This is the first Life Education Center in India with hopes to promote culture and education exchanges between Taiwan and India leading to the development of life education in Asia.

Principal Qiu Bingzhang of Wenshan Elementary School, the winner of the special school award, and Professor Lin Qiyun of Nanhua University, the winner of the Special Contribution Award, were invited to share their experiences on promoting and teaching life education. Twenty award winning schools of all levels and 24 prominent educators participated in the Exhibition of the Life Education Achievement to showcase their work. A discussion forum on "20 Years of Life Education: Promotion and Review" was also held. Through both the exhibition and forum discussion, the participants were able to learn from each other’s experiences. The lists of award-winning life education staff and the schools for 2017, please visit website at http://life.cpshs.hcc.edu.tw/files/14-1003-3716,r11-1.php?Lang=zh-tw

(Translated by Anna Liu, Zhongping Zeng)