Dear Friends,The Climate Change Talks in Accra (Ghana, August 21-27) have shown an accrued international mobilization against global warming. These talks are to be continued and finalized in December during the United Nations conference on Climate Change in Poznan. In between, Renlai and the Taipei Ricci Institute organize an international colloquium focusing on “culture and climate” (Taipei, October 4), featuring Dominique Baudis, President of the Institute for the Arab World in Paris as the European keynote speaker. The program and the registration form are on the eRenlai conference page.
Ying-chun Hsieh, an architect in Taiwan and China, introduces his concept of a sustainable construction in community which is why he got one of our 2008 Life Sustainability Awards. One of our contributors, Shufan Yang, shares her experience as an apprentice in the Atelier 3 founded by Ying-chun Hsieh.
A video and a short text also give example of how Taiwan tackles global warming.
In our editorial section, the Sichuanese photographer Liang Zhun presents pictures taken one hundred days after the earthquake in China during a ceremony for the dead. Less mournful is my short movie about an ominous oracle in Kyoto. Benoit Bouquin rails against stereotypes in some Hollywood movies: Movies and cultural diversity. Bob, inspired by the previous article, reflects on another kind of stereotype: An American Perk.
On the occasion of the publication of a book by Christian Cochini, Guide des Temples Bouddhistes de Chine, Benoit Vermander provides us with an overview of Buddhism revival in China. The Taipei Ricci Institute is also celebrating the launching of a new book published by Jean Lefeuvre: Collections of Oracular Bones Inscriptions which is an analytical catalogue of 412 collections of oracular inscriptions. This volume will be presented on September 19, at the Tien Educational center in Taipei, at 6pm (for more information, contact Alexandre Chen)We hope that this month’s releases will give you lots of new energy for September!
