By KHT Staff. Images via Pingtung County Govt.
PINGTUNG — Fifteen young Taiwanese have wrapped up a 19-day program in Okinawa examining how interviews, oral histories, photographs and field research can be turned into publications that preserve and explain local culture.
The “Okinawa Editorial Skills” program (沖繩編輯力) ran from Sept. 1 to 19 and was organized by the Pingtung County Government (屏東縣政府) and Pingtung independent bookstore Xi Bookshop (繫。本屋).
Supported through the Ministry of Education’s Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative, this four-year program is intended to provide overseas training and exchange opportunities for Taiwanese aged 15 to 30.
Participants worked in three groups concentrating on war memories and historic spaces, Kuroshio Current culture and maritime life, and local revitalization and sustainable tourism.
Their assignments included visits to communities, fishing harbors, islands, and cultural institutions. Team members conducted interviews, collected images, and practiced presenting local experiences through writing, photography and design.
The final portion of the program focused on the publishing process and the similarities between Taiwan and Okinawa.
On Sept. 16, the group attended a lecture at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts that brought together Taiwanese and Okinawan academics, publishers and cultural workers.
Discussions covered oral traditions, island culture, folk religion, language preservation and Hakka and Hoklo cultural experiences. Speakers included university associate professor Kouta Suzuki, Xi Bookshop representative Hsu Hsiao-ching (徐孝晴) and Pingtung County Labor and Youth Development Department Director Lee Yu-chen (李雨蓁).
Lee said Pingtung and Okinawa share experiences shaped by the sea, migration, multiple cultural groups and the challenges facing communities outside major metropolitan areas.
She said participants needed to do more than collect information, paying attention to the meaning that residents attach to oral memories, traditional skills and everyday customs.
The group visited the Okinawa Prefectural Library on Sept. 17 for discussions with the Okinawa Publishing Association and local publishing professionals.
The session examined how a local publication moves from research and interviews through editing, visual design, printing and distribution. Participants also discussed how independent publications can preserve knowledge, respond to community concerns and build lasting relationships with readers.
Pingtung County said it hopes participants will apply those methods after returning to Taiwan, using their Okinawa experience to examine Pingtung communities from new perspectives. The county has not yet announced a publication schedule or details of the work that will result from the exchange.
