University of Helsinki
This conference is the first-ever Taiwan-focused conference in Finland, organized by the Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki. This conference brings internationally known scholars and practitioners to elaborate on topical issues on Taiwan, covering cultural conservation, digital communication, business cultures, museum exhibitions, and cross-strait relations.
Participation in the conference is for free. Please sign up before 15 August. Afterwards, we will email you the information of the conference programme with venue information. The venue will be in the city campus of the University of Helsinki, which is literally the center of the Helsinki city! (There is no online/hybrid session in the conference. All meetings are in rooms in the University of Helsinki.)
Conference schedule
| Day 1 Thursday 5 September 2024 | |
| 10:15-10:25 | Opening by Pär Stenbäck, Former Minister of Education and Foreign Minister.
Pär Stenbäck (born 12 August 1941 in Porvoo) is a Finnish politician and debater. Stenbäck was elected to the Finnish parliament at the age of 28 and functioned as the party chairman for the Swedish People’s Party 1977–1985. He was Minister of Education and then Foreign Minister in two governments, 1979–1983. This was followed by significant roles within the International Red Cross, International Youth Foundation, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland and several other organisations. |
| 10:25-
10:50 |
Announcement from the Helsinki University Library about a new cooperation project with National Central Library of Taiwan
Presenters: Eeva-Maija Henriksson and Juha Leppämäki Format: 15-min presentation and 10-min Q&A |
| 10:50-11:25
|
Session 1: Cultural Preservation
Cultural Preservation and Local Development in Taiwan (Tse-Kang Leng, Professor, Academia Sinica and National Chengchi University, Taiwan)
Discussant: Andrew Logie, Associate Professor of Korean Studies, University of Helsinki Format of all sessions is the same: 15-min presentation, 10-min dialogue with discussant, 10-min Q&A |
| 11:25-12:00 | Session 2: Museum and Migration
The Activist Museum in Taiwan: Cultural Initiatives for Engaging ASEAN Migrant Communities (Morakot Meyer, Professor, Mahidol University, Thailand)
Discussant: Minna Valjakka, Associate Professor of Art History and Asian Studies, University of Helsinki |
| 12:00-12:35
|
Session 3: Digital Communication and Disinformation
Reality Decoupling in Digital Asia: Toxicity, Conspiracies, and Taiwan’s Experience with the Politics of Truth (Florian Schneider, Chair Professor, Leiden University, the Netherlands)
Discussant: Sean King, Senior Vice President, Park Strategies, USA |
| Day 2 Friday 6 September 2024 | |
| 10:15-10:50 | Session 4: International Relations
The Taiwan Debate (Gene Park, Professor, Loyola Marymount University, USA)
Discussant: Sari Arho Havrén, Associate Fellow (China’s foreign policy) Royal United Services Institute, UK &Visiting Researcher, University of Helsinki, Finland |
| 10:50-11:25 | Session 5: Business and Market Culture
Taiwan’s Political Economy and Market Culture, Opportunities and Obstacles (Sean King, Senior Vice President, Park Strategies, USA)
Discussant: Monique Taylor, Senior Researcher, University of Helsinki, Finland & Research Affiliate, Lau China Institute, King’s College London, UK |
| 11:30-12:30 | ROUNDTABLE: “Culture, Politics and Peace in Taiwan: Views from Outside”
Moderator: Julie Yu-Wen Chen (University of Helsinki)
Japanese & South Korean Perspectives (Gene Park, Loyola Marymount University) Southeast Asian/Thai Perspectives (Morakot Meyer, Mahidol University) European/Dutch Perspectives (Florian Schneider, Leiden University) American Perspectives (Sean King, Park Strategies) Australian Perspectives (Monique Taylor, University of Helsinki) Taiwanese Perspectives (Tse-Kang Leng, Academia Sinica and National Chengchi University) |
Sponsor: Taiwan’s Ministry of Cultures “Spotlight Taiwan Programme”
Organizer: Department of Cultures, University of Helsinki