Dr. Meera Rajeev Kumar, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Public Administration from Madras Christian College sent a gratitude letter to thank Director-General Charles Li of TECC Chennai. The letter is as follows:
Ilha Formosa- An Experiential Journey
International Workshop on the “Promotion of Women’s Agri- Food Education”- A very appealing title indeed for two reasons; One, it focuses on Women Empowerment and two; it is on Agriculture, the primary sector of India. Being a faculty of Public Administration, this created a curiosity on how these two concepts could be integrated. Next thing, the workshop is held in Republic of China. That actually attracted me to attend the same.
The day I landed in Taiwan on March 14th, 2018 after a quick transit in Hong Kong Airport, I was welcomed by an ICDF staff and drove me down to Monarch Plaza Hotel. After a good rest, next day morning, I could see different people from various nationalities and got introduced to representatives from Vietnam, El Salvador, and few more. We were taken to Mellow Fields Hotel for a wonderful Opening ceremony organised by ICDF, represented by Mr. Jeff. It is through this ceremony I got acquainted to new friends and each one of us introduced ourselves formally. There were 24 participants in total from 13 countries. The workshop began with the Presentation of our Country’s Report and, through this each one of us was enlightened about the potentialities of each country. The Taiwan ICDF arranged not just lectures but also many field trips. Agri- food education was just not theoretical workshop but also practically effective, and, I learnt some good healthy cooking through “Farm to Table” by Ms. Fendi and her team. I was in fact surprised on how young children could learn cooking at the age of 7. Next appealing visit was to the Farmers’ Association where I strategically understood how wastage can be avoided. I never knew that mangoes could be utilised to this full until I visited this place.
Impressive trip was to National Nei Cheng Junior High School where I observed that the children were taught about agricultural practices too. This is a wonderful concept to involve children so that any kind of diversions can be avoided and this helps them to stay focussed. Preparation of rice wine and knowing the insights of farming seemed quite fascinating. Ms. Lai’s talk on Women’s Empowerment and Dr. Yen’s on the Promotion Project was too good. The former highlighted the importance stressed on women in agriculture and the latter explained about the beautiful Taiwan and also I could get the opportunity of getting my name written in Mandarin.
Finally, with an intermixture of participants from different countries we were asked to present a report on what we had learnt from Taiwan and its implications in our countries before highly informative and experienced panel members. I narrated about Kudumbashree of Kerala and how women empowerment is active with micro financing systems. Moreover, I had also highlighted about my very own college, Madras Christian College, which also has a good farm and also a school in the campus. I also expressed my interest to encourage the school children into farming practices and also induct in their curriculum. I have also initiated this to my higher authorities who have advised me to work on a project.
Moreover, with a background of Public Administration, I could focus on many kinds of policies that are necessary to promote the well being of farmers in India. Taiwan is a beautiful nation where people follow good culture and are quite systematic and organised. The cleanliness and their helping nature are much to be appreciated. The system of using the Government transports is simply marvellous and so are the card systems. I had learnt one aspect from their diet –“Less salt and sugar, keeps us healthy and fit”.
If not for the Taipei Embassy in Chennai, the team of ICDF recruited event managers in Taiwan; this 15 day workshop would not have been successful for me. The amicable nature of the authorities and their prompt support at every stage were simply amazing. I also owe my gratitude towards my institution, Madras Christian College, for their continuous and immense support and encouragement.
I wish to end with the note from the title song – “Ilha Formosa – Taiwan will touch your heart” and yes, it did!
Dr. Meera Rajeev Kumar
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Public Administration
Madras Christian College,
Tambaram, Chennai- 59
