NTM joins book drive for SE Asian immigrants

2015-04-08

National Taiwan Museum launched a book collection campaign April 2, the first facility of its kind to participate in a related islandwide initiative aimed at improving the lives of immigrants from Southeast Asia.

“With its prime location near Taipei Main Station, the museum is seeking to become a center of acclimation and learning for the country’s new arrivals,” NTM Director Chen Chi-ming said.

“The books collected through the campaign will be made available for loan at NTM,” he added. “It is expected to benefit over 550,000 migrant workers and 700,000 foreign spouses and their children living in Taiwan, many of whom cannot find anything to read in their mother tongues in the local libraries.”

The undertaking was launched in February by ROC national Chang Cheng, former editor in chief of Southeast Asian migrant monthly magazine 4-Way Voice. Utilizing 100-plus collection points around Taiwan proper and the outlying islands of Matsu and Penghu, the program loans books at no cost through such outlets as mobile libraries.

“I urge Taiwan tourists visiting Southeast Asian countries to bring home a book and leave them at a collection point,” Chang said. “All of these titles play a small yet invaluable role in comforting the souls of our Southeast Asian friends while strengthening community ties.”

In addition to joining the book drive, NTM launched a tour guide training program for volunteers proficient in Southeast Asian languages. A total of 12 new immigrants signed up for the program, and they are expected to soon start conducting museum tours in Burmese, Indonesian and Vietnamese.

“These volunteers serve as a flesh-and-blood bridge between NTM and Taiwan’s immigrants,” Chen said, adding that they are expected to make the museum a friendlier place and expand access to resources.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=229020&CtNode=413)