In October 2023 a distinguished OCSEAN secondee - Dr George van Driem, Prof Emeritus from the University of Bern, gave a series of lectures in Taiwan, both in the OCSEAN partner organizations and also visiting several other academic institutions. Dr van Driem's captivating lectures on ethnolinguistic prehistory, language evolution, and also the history of tea were popular and attracted the audiences. This exchange of knowledge by Prof van Driem synthesizes the knowledge and gives a wider perspective to lay the foundation for the furthers studies on these topics, but most of all sparks the interest in the young.
East Asian ethnolinguistic prehistory and the Austronesian language family in relation to the East Asian linguistic phylum, invited lecture at l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient, Taipei, 27 October 2023.
Language evolution and the symbiotic theory of language, invited lecture at National Chengchi University, Taipei, 18 October 2023.
Formosa and Tea: How Formosa became Taiwan, the Portuguese and the Spanish, the Dutch East India Company, the Tea Trade and the Transformation of Tea, invited lecture at National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, 17 October 2023.
Historiography of the cultigen Camellia sinensis – Research methodology and selected findings, invited lecture at National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan, 11 October 2023.
The History of Tea: Selected highlights from a long and enthralling tale, invited lecture at the National Museum of Prehistory, Taitung, Taiwan, 6 October 2023.
Language evolution and the symbiotic theory of language, invited lecture at the Institute of Linguistics of the Academia Sinica, Taipei, 5 October 2023.
East Asian ethnolinguistic prehistory and the Austronesian language family in relation to the East Asian linguistic phylum, invited lecture at National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 3 October 2023.
East Asian ethnolinguistic prehistory and the Austronesian language family in relation to the East Asian linguistic phylum, invited lecture at the Academia Sinica, Taipei, 2 October 2023.
In addition to the active lecture series, Dr van Driem joined colleagues in attending the Amis Music Festival at Dulan village, attended by members of the Amis, Pinuyumuyan, Rukai, Paiwan, Bunun, Tsou, Atayal, Siraya and other aboriginal tribes from 7 to 10 October 2023. In addtion during the secondment Dr van Driem could also attend the five-day Maljeveq, a Paiwan festival held at Tuban only ever five years, and held this five-year cycle from 20–25 October 2023. The Maljeveq is first mentioned in a written source in 1722 and was first observed by Japanese researchers in 1913.
