Breaking through the epidemic restrictions, National Sun Yat-sen University Si Wan college and the University Social Responsibility (USR) project teams went to Japan to participate in the city exchange exhibitions, visit academic institutions, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Himi City Office of Toyama Prefecture. The two sides will regularly share community building experience, promote city exchanges between Kaohsiung City and Himi City, jointly develop Taiwan-Japan cross-domain practical courses, and cultivate global localized talents. The Himi city officials presented the mascots designed by the well-known cartoonist Fujiko Fujio A, and NSYSU gave back the dolls of “Tiger-striped Squid” and “Worker and Fisherwoman” to show the value of Kaohsiung’s industry and labor, and to continue their good friendship. Both sides look forward to richer cooperation practices in international or local collaborative affairs in the future.
NSYSU cooperates with Himi City, Japan to launch cross-domain practical courses to jointly cultivate global localized talents.
The MOU was signed by Virginia Shen, associate dean of the Si Wan College of NSYSU, and Masayuki Hayashi, mayor of Himi City, Japan. Yu-Jou, Lin, Director of Cultural and Educational Affairs of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka, Mineto Hagiyama, Chairman of Himi City Council, Tetsuya Kamanaka, Superintendent of Himi City Board of Education, Keizo Nobata, President of International Exchange Association, Hironobu Morikawa, Minister of Industry Promotion, Motomu Ohno, Director of Himi City Museum, and Takeshi Yamazaki, one of the important promoters of the exchange between Kaohsiung and Himi, also witnessed the event together. The participants of NSYSU included Shi-Chi Yang, assistant professor of the Institute of Social Innovation, Kayo Ito, assistant professor of Si Wan College, and Min-Hsun Kao, member of USR project team.
The mayor of Himi City, Masayuki Hayashi, presented the mascots designed by the well-known cartoonist Fujiko Fujio A, and NSYSU Si Wan College gave back the dolls of "Tiger-striped Squid" and "Worker and Fisherwoman" to show the value of Kaohsiung's industry and labor.
Virginia Shen said that NSYSU is located in the Hamasen area of Gushan District, Kaohsiung, which is closely related to the construction of Kaohsiung Harbor a hundred years ago. Soichiro Asano, the main promoter of Kaohsiung Harbor, was born in Himi City, Japan. This historical connection prompted Gushan District Office to sign a friendly city exchange agreement with Himi City by video two years ago. This year, Si Wan College of NSYSU further signed a MOU with Himi City as an academic institution. Since 2020, NSYSU Si Wan College has been implementing the USR program “Localization of Educational Knowledge and Globalization of Engagement Venues – Starting with Kaohsiung Old Port and New Bay Communities”, opening up the opportunity to cooperate with Himi City to jointly promote online courses. From regional revitalization policies, sharing of life stories of craftsman, to comparison of Japanese festivals and lion dance culture in Taiwan, curriculum design based on the district that facing the port, Cianjhen, as the practice field, and support for local festivals such as “Ciancao Try Try Festival”, etc., fully demonstrate the efforts and possibilities of cooperation between the government and academia to cultivate talents with an international perspective. The new model of NSYSU’s direct cooperation with Japanese local governments has also attracted the attention of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association and other Japanese local governments.
NSYSU signed MOU with Himi City Office, Toyama Prefecture. The official document was signed by Virginia Shen, associate dean of the Si Wan College of NSYSU, and Masayuki Hayashi, mayor of Himi City, Japan.
Masayuki Hayashi, mayor of Himi city, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, reviewed the details of the cooperation with NSYSU. In 2020, he was invited to give the first video teaching in NSYSU’s “Introduction to Japanese Culture” course with the topic of “People, Harbors and Festivals”. At that time, he introduced Himi City and related measures to revitalize the area. After the speech, he exchanged ideas with many students, and the interaction has been maintained for more than 2 years. The signing of this MOU will further strengthen the connection between the two sides. In the future, they will continue to jointly develop cross-domain practical courses between Taiwan and Japan, aiming to utilize international cooperation such as local culture and community building, and promote the exchange between Kaohsiung City and Himi City. From the aspects of academic, educational, cultural and international exchanges, they will also continue to deepen the friendly cooperation between the two sides.
NSYSU team visited the city exchange exhibition in Himi City, Japan.
During the visit of the NSYSU team to Japan, Himi City also held a city exchange exhibition. NSYSU displayed a number of publications, including the results and publications of the USR project, “Tiger-striped Squid” dolls, and mullet models, etc., to promote the local fishing industry in Cianjhen, Kaohsiung. The NSYSU team visited the local characteristic districts, fishery cultural center, and fish market in Himi City, and also went to Himi High School to plan future Taiwan-Japan international teaching activities.