GOOD archiving of historical records helps preserve cultures and traditions of countries.
Director of the Center for Indigenous Studies at the National Taiwan University, Associate Professor Yuan-Chao Tung highlighted this when speaking to a group of International Journalists visiting Taiwan last week.
Whilst taking the group on a tour of the University’s Museum and Archives, Ms Tung said, that it is important that Pacific Island countries maintain their national archives facilities in order to safe guard their indigenous identities.
“Our mission here at the University is to stir public awareness and improve contemporary conditions of indigenous peoples on the basis of intensive researches for archiving purposes.
“We have a wide range of archived materials ranging from literature to audio and visual materials that can give you a good and better understanding of Taiwan and its indigenous people, their cultures and traditions.
“Our digital archiving system helps our students have access to whatever information they would want to know with regard to their various tribes.
“We believe that it is important to have these things in order to help our students learn how we came about as a nation and also the roots and identity of our beloved country.
“We also believe that by maintaining our archives, we can be able to give our visitors good and fair insights of the diverse cultures and traditions of our indigenous peoples,” Ms Tung said.
Ms Tung also highlighted the need to build and maintain better relations with national archives of various countries throughout the Asia Pacific.
“It is important that we have good relationships with various archives so that information and historical collections can be shared and learnt between countries,” she said.
By JEREMY P. INIFIRI
