Beacons of hope

The five winners of the 2011 3rd Life Sustainability Awards have now been announced. The Life Sustainability Awards aim to encourage and congratulate those who take action to protect and develop cultural diversity, spiritual empowerment and environmental sustainability. By reporting the stories and contributions of those awarded the Sustainable Life Awards, we hope to encourage more people from Taiwan and the wider Pacific region to come together with innovative solutions to global challenges.

The First Life Sustainability Awards in 2008 produced 11 award winners. Then, in 2009 The Second Life Sustainability Awards produced 9 award winners. The award winners are chosen after carefully considering a host of worthy candidates with contributions to ‘Sustainable life’ and finally choosing a fair cross section with the winners espousing different qualities. In 2011 for the Third Life Sustainability Awards we narrowed down the criterion, choosing the winners based on two main requirements:

- they have contributed to the protection and development of Taiwanese aboriginal/Austronesian culture with continuous actions and an innovative spirit.

and

- have valiantly mobilised community resources to respond to challenges of sustainability.

Each of the award winners will be rewarded with a beautiful stone sculpture made by Wang Xiu-chi, who generously donated all the sculpture trophies for the First Life Sustainability Awards in 2007. To view more of his fabulous works, please click here.

The Award winners

Writer of a uniquely Dawu form of Ocean literature, Syaman Rapongan brings his readers to the ocean shores with him. He lives the life he writes; fishing, shipbuilding and embracing the traditions of his elders - Tao folklore will live on in his work for future generations. His contributions to the Dawu people and other aboriginal groups go beyond the literary sphere; he was also a pioneer in aborigine-related social movements in the 1980’s.

Sakuliu Pavavalung, an earthenware sculptor of the Paiwan minority, devotes himself to the renovation and documentation of the lost craft of earthenware pot making. He has long pushed his concept of a ‘community classroom’ teaching the kids about their cultural history and wisdom and spearheading the community rebuilding of his community following the devastation of Typhoon Morakot.

Dadelavan Ibau is lightning rod of inspiration for marginalised communities. A professional dancer, she also voluntarily teaches drums to prisoners and kids in remote schools. In these encounters and interactions she drums in hope and drumming out their hidden potential.

Documentary filmmaker and scholar Futuru Tsai, was adopted into the Atolan Communty where he has documented local popular culture such as ‘Amis Hip hop’. Later films and research follow Austronesian migration paths in the Pacific and explores the lost history of Taiwan’s aborigines. In his work he both learns from and enriches indigenous culture.

Bo-hua Peng has long spent her own free time visiting disadvantaged schools as a storyteller. The time with these children in eastern Taiwan alerted her to their needs and led her to establish the Wood Pecker Life Association, which trains the young people how to better spend there free time to study and provide service to the community.

The winners have been presented with their awards at the conference Mapping and Unmapping the Pacific: An Island Perception of an Oceanic Continent on February 16-17th. This conference is held by the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Executive Yuan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, Renlai Monthly & eRenlai, Taiwan Society for Pacific Studies, National Central Library and other institutes.

Written by : Nick Coulson Send a message to Nick Coulson

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