The song of Fo Guang Shan opened the 4 day Youth Art Camp, which was held from 12 to15 July 2010. More than 50 young adults from Johannesburg,Pretoria,Bloemfontein, Durban and Newcastle attended. In the opening ceremony, Mr Hu,(the representative of the Taiwanese Government here in SA), expressed his good wishes for the success of the camp. The participants were encouraged to be grateful and to make the most of this opportunity, as they were fortunate enough to have 2 teachers from Taiwan, who would be sharing their knowledge of Chinese folk customs and skills.
The teachers who had been around the world on a teaching circuit, were now visiting South Africa. They would be instructing their students in the arts of Taiwanese folk dancing and traditional skills, including the beautiful Fan Dance and the vigorous Spear Dance. They would also show them how to sculpt noodles in human form and the art of paper folding and curving, all of which would allow these young people to obtain some understanding, experience and appreciation of Taiwan’s deep cultural heritage.
There were also 2 teachers from the Nan Hua University, who shared their knowledge of sports with the students. As they were specialists in Social Sciences, they also provided a supportive environment whereby the students could nurture their own sense of accomplishment and joy in their experiences of life.
On the final day of the camp, a closing ceremony was held, where the young people exhibited on stage and in a display, the results of their learning. The students had all stayed up late the night before, putting the finishing touches to their noodle sculptures and folded paper decorations. These were most beautiful and attracted great admiration from the audience. One student had filmed all the activities at the camp and he, too, had stayed up late the night before in order to complete his edited version of the film, which was greatly enjoyed by all.
Despite all this activity, another late night awaited them, as they had to immediately start preparations for the Children’s Talent Camp, which was due to start on the 17th. In this camp the former participants would now become teachers in their turn, passing on the knowledge they had recently acquired in their own camp.
There were also 2 teachers from the Nan Hua University, who shared their knowledge of sports with the students. As they were specialists in Social Sciences, they also provided a supportive environment whereby the students could nurture their own sense of accomplishment and joy in their experiences of life.
On the final day of the camp, a closing ceremony was held, where the young people exhibited on stage and in a display, the results of their learning. The students had all stayed up late the night before, putting the finishing touches to their noodle sculptures and folded paper decorations. These were most beautiful and attracted great admiration from the audience. One student had filmed all the activities at the camp and he, too, had stayed up late the night before in order to complete his edited version of the film, which was greatly enjoyed by all.
Despite all this activity, another late night awaited them, as they had to immediately start preparations for the Children’s Talent Camp, which was due to start on the 17th. In this camp the former participants would now become teachers in their turn, passing on the knowledge they had recently acquired in their own camp.
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