After over 20 years managing TAIWANfest, how does Canada help Charlie Wu find his Taiwanese identity?  Other than Indigenous peoples, most Canadians can trace their roots to another heritage or culture in the world; for some people, it could be multiple cultures. An event like TAIWANfest has evolved over the years and the lessons learned have contributed to the publishing of this book recently published in Taiwan. 

Reflecting on the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics experience, Charlie Wu felt that this was such a game-changing experience for the TAIWANfest team.  What did the team discover that has so much impact on the vision and direction of the organization and the event?  

In Canada, there are more than 200 languages spoken and each language can be attached to a culture or heritage.  While this is an important asset to Canada, how do Canadians move forward together?  The state of multiculturalism must be advanced beyond respect and acceptance; Canada needs a bolder approach to bring people together for future generations.  Seeing and being seen are not enough to cultivate changes in perspectives; touring artists is not about taking a trip to a new place for the first time; purpose and meaningfulness need to be clearly identified to allow sustainable dialogues. 

For Charlie Wu, Making Taiwan Relevant in Canada is the beginning of “Taiwan Can Help!”