The NPUST International College and the Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation held a “Caribbean Festival” activity in front of the Yun Hall at 6 pm on May 6th (Monday), bringing NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines H.E. Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman, Saint Lucia H.E. Ambassador Robert Kennedy Lewis, Saint Kitts and Nevis H.E. Ambassador Donya Lynex Francis, NPUST Office of International Affairs Dean Ru-Chu Shih and Vice-Dean President Yu Tzean, International College Dean Jik-Chang Leong, Department of Tropical Agriculture Director Rebecca H. Chung, and many students from the university together for a lively event.
NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said “we would like to thank the Department of Tropical Agriculture Student Association for organizing this Caribbean Festival activity and welcoming the three ambassadors to our school. This event provides students with the opportunity to learn from each other and deepen their understanding and appreciation for different countries and cultures. So let’s enjoy tonight’s performances, food, and friendship together as we celebrate the spirit of the Caribbean.”
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines H.E. Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman said: “First of all, I would like to thank the executive committee of the Caribbean Festival and the teachers and students of NPUST for organizing this event to celebrate the cultural history and heritage of the Caribbean, so that more people can get to know how unique the Caribbean region is. NPUST has a deep connection with St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). Already eleven St. Vincentians have graduated from NPUST and five more are currently studying there. Rohan Mc Donald, the first SVG student to study in Taiwan, studied a master’s degree in Tropical Agriculture at NPUST and currently works as an Agricultural Diversification Officer at the SVG Ministry of Agriculture. We are grateful to NPUST for sharing its professional knowledge and care with the Caribbean region over the years, and we look forward to the long-term prosperity that will come from Taiwan’s people-oriented soft power approach and the sincere friendships it is fostering by its diplomacy.
The Caribbean region includes such archipelago countries and coastal countries as Belize, Suriname, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and others. Each of the island and costal countries has its own unique cultural landscape, so the event designed to use food, games, music, and dance performances to showcase the diverse and rich culture of the Caribbean. At the same time the event allowed for mutual exchanges and interactions between the schools’ international and local students. Activities included the sharing and singing of poems and songs by St. Lucia students, cello performances, traditional garifuna dance performances, Caribbean song performances, a “dance hall”, Bollywood, Latin and other styles of dance performances, parades and an assortment of exotic foods and delicacies which, all together, created a scene of cultural diversity under a starlit sky on the NPUST campus, and crossed the boundaries of space and time to bring the Caribbean all the way to Southern Taiwan.
