Junyi School of Innovation:
Paying tribute to Venerable Master Hsing Yun

To promote the vision of cultural education and change the unequal distribution of education resources in rural areas, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan, established the Junyi School of Innovation in Taitung, Taiwan in 2008. In 2011, The Alliance Cultural Founation’s Chair Stanley Yen shared his education philosophy with the Master and was officially appointed as the Chair of the school.

On February 5th, Venerable Master Hsing Yun passed away. Chair Yen went to Fo Guang Shan to pay his respects and express his gratitude for the trust that the Master had given him. On the 10th, he led over 40 faculty members to Fo Guang Shan's Taitung Ri Guang Temple, to pay tribute to the Master.

On the first day of school at Junyi, Chair Yen spoke to the students and faculty about how Venerable Master Hsing Yun's greatest expectation, aside from promoting Buddhism, was to bring education to those in need. With the establishment of Junyi’s primary and secondary school, and with the support of many angel supporters, Chair Yen expressed that without Venerable Master Hsing Yun's promise back then, Junyi would not have the excellent environment it has today. This was a time to remember one's roots. Finally, Principal Huang Hsiu-Yun led the whole school in standing up, taking a minute to remember the Master, and bowing three times to express their gratitude.

The Alliance Cultural Foundation:
Hawaii Cultural Sustainability Educational Tour’s visit to the Bulaubulau Aboriginal Village

The 4th Hawaii Cultural Sustainability Educational Tour members visited the Bulaubulau Aboriginal Village in Yilan for training on February 17th and 18th. Led by Mr. Patrick Su, who previously served at the National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, the members were guided to engage their senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch in addition to their vision for a deeper learning experience. Upon arriving at the village, Executive Director Kwali introduced a one-day experiential program that combines the culture of the Atayal tribe, environmental sustainability, and tourism economics. Kwali also shared the establishment of The Root Vocational School in the village in 2015, which enables students to learn and work as a group while inheriting indigenous culture and obtaining a high school diploma.

Members shared their observations, stating, "Every detail from welcoming to farewell touches people's hearts. Everything we saw was created by the villagers themselves. The five senses left an indelible impression in our minds, presenting a perfect brand image!" Before concluding their visit, members from the Paiwan, Amis, and Bunun tribes expressed their gratitude with song and dance.

Junyi School of Innovation:
Elementary School Student’s Farming Experience

In the concept of Waldorf education, when children reach the age of nine or ten and their bodies have grown, the core curriculum is connected to farming, architecture, animals, and the local community. In the new semester, Ms. Wu Pei-chi, a teacher at the Junyi School of Innovation, led third-grade students to cultivate a small paddy field on campus through the process of transplanting rice seedlings, planting rice, and working with their hands, enabling students to understand their connection with the world and strengthening their sense of self-identity.

The children dug and leveled the soil, picked up stones, and used their feet to make the soil soft and create a water-retaining layer in the flooded field. Under the guidance of the farmer, they carefully bent down and inserted rice seedlings into the soil until the paddy field was covered with green rice seedlings.

The children also regularly inspected the paddy field, cared for the small seedlings, and observed the process of rice gradually blooming and forming ears, experiencing the beauty of farming and harvesting.