To create more opportunities for people to use their mother tongues in daily life, the National Hsinchu Living Arts Center held an advocacy event during this Christmas season, "Mother Tongues New Life", for parents and children and led them to walk into mother tongues' lives to reflect the value of multiculturalism on December 14-15 at the Youth Hall of Beida Park.
Themed with "Daily life Mother Tongues", the event was included Taiwanese, Hakka, the Indigenous languages, and new residents' languages. Teacher Cai Mingsa of Langlang study room was invited to share picture books of mother tongues that her active teaching also accompanied and read with children. Additionally, the "Life fair" was also provided for the participants to experience mother tongues of daily situations. The challenges games were included with Minnan and Hakka that people could learn languages from playing with the games, and there were also many brilliant performances of Zhen Yun Lin Ge Puppetry Company, the Happy Hanlin( a singing and telling art troupe), JK music, Quan ho folk songs, New Century Culture Arts Group, JAndes Group, and A.F.A.C.E Philippine arts group for the participants to learn mother tongues. The exhibition of new residents' picture books provided for the people to experience ethnic cultures and different languages and enrich the mother tongues' diversity in daily life.
The outstanding new residents' picture books were awarded that the award-winners were from France, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and China. They illustrated that they came to Taiwan from knowing little to breaking the disparity of languages and cultures. They embraced the new life and confirm Taiwan as another hometown for them; hence, they conveyed how much they have missed their homes through the picture books of mother tongues. It was touching that the participants felt the importance of passing down their cultures and identifying with their communities.
