August, that much can be said without exaggeration, became a turning point in the history of Universal Education endeavours in Taiwan, and it is equally beyond doubt that this development cannot be separated from Valentino Giacomin's visit and the impact it had.

We were a group of Buddhist educators connected with Rinpoche. Meeting regularly for three years, we tried to find ways and means to integrate dharma into ordinary school life. Workshops had been organized for the last two summer vacations which helped us clarify issues and extend connections thus somehow paving the way for this year's one-month marathon which culminated in Universal Education - Alice Project becoming an official part of FPMT (Taiwan).

For the first two days immediately after Valentino's arrival, the core group met with the honoured guest from Italy (or rather Mother India now!) in one junior high school where everybody got a first taste of what turned out to be an immensely stimulating intellectual-spiritual enterprise. The next two days, the venue shifted to another school, where Valentino talked first to a group of reform minded teachers and then to a mixed audience of parents and educators. As it so happened, one Buddhist TV station came for an interview there.

Then we travelled down south to stay for one week in Puli. Ti-kuan Nunnery which is run by Venerable Tao-ch'an and her student, Ven. Wen-ch'e, both of whom have very close connections to Rinpoche offered unparalleled hospitality while Valentino faced unexpected crowds first in Kshitigarbha Monastery, then in one junior high school where more than a hundred teachers gathered for two days to explore what their Caucasian colleague had to offer. It was a big success indeed. And with talks covering two forenoons at Ti-kuan Nunnery, the visit to Central Taiwan drew to a close.

Back in Taipei, Valentino meet parents at two primary schools, one of them picturesquely located in the mountains surrounding the huge city (it was nighttime, though, which prevented us to some degree from really relishing the scenery), and also gave a lecture at one English language school, arguably one of the more exotic events of the whole visit. What followed was a three day workshop with almost 150 teachers, school principals and administrators -with even an occasional nun interspersed- participating in a lively exchange on ideas about death, projection, perception, and education. Again, the reception was excellent, to say the least. And all this lead to the decision to fill the last week with an even more intense introduction into the practical methods of UE-Alice Project.

Before that, however, Valentino gave two presentations at the FPMT Taipei Centre which were very well attended though only little time had been available for advertising. This provided an interesting contrast to the following Sunday when we made a trip to a mountain resort. One teachers organization held a conference there and extended their invitation to Valentino, but it would be a gross exaggeration to claim that the ensuing meeting was characterized by overwhelming openness and in-depth communication. Such qualities are more appropriately describing the following intensive course which proved to provide the participants exactly with what they needed and wanted. More than fitting then, that Shen Mei-chen, the chairperson of FPMT (Taiwan), officially announced the establishment of UE-Alice Project as part of the foundation during these final days spent again at one junior high school.

Valentino had to go back to India. And we, newly established and complete with a director checked by Rinpoche, cannot but look forward to an ever increasing exchange between Sarnath and Taipei.

It is beyond doubt that this August was a most memorable month for the teachers involved in Universal Education/Alice Project Taiwan. Like last year, we succeeded in inviting Valentino Giacomin, the father of the thriving Alice School in Sarnath. But not only this. One more of the heroic pioneers who worked so hard to put Lama Yeshe's ideas about integrated education in an ordinary classroom into practice -Luigina De Biasi- managed to share two precious weeks with us despite pressing family obligations in Italy. No wonder, fresh enthusiasm is gripping the group of local educators after this two-pronged infusion of creative and thoughtful energy!

The program arranged this time tried to cater to both newcomers as well as teachers with a few years of UE background. The first week of August reflected this attempt quite well in a nutshell. A group of several teachers from Taipei went with Valentino to Puli in Central Taiwan where they, again, enjoyed the hospitality of Ven. Tao-ch'an. The friendly nun's temple actually served as venue for the first public event, two days of talks and discussion addressed mainly to members of UE/Alice Project Taiwan and people who participated in last yearÕs activities.

This warm-up exercise in the scenic environment of a tasteful Buddhist temple was followed by a three-day course for teachers in public schools. This year, about eighty educators decided to join us in Ta-ch'eng Junior High School. Mostly primary school and junior high school teachers, they showed a keen interest in the concepts and methods Valentino introduced. And like last year, our Italian guest was duly impressed by the openness of the audience which happily followed reflections on motivation and ideals, elaborations about the colour of watermelon slices, the explanation of the barriers of communication, and what other subjects, thoughts, and experiences the learned speaker broached.

This generally sympathetic attitude prevailed actually wherever we went. The three day course in Chih-shan Junior High School in Taipei with an attendance of sixty, the three days at the Central University in Chungli where about one hundred participants gathered, the two days in the Fa-kuang Institute of Buddhist Studies with another fifty odd teachers, parents, and nuns -no matter whether there were old faces or new ones, Valentino and later also Luigina were meeting friends who shared the same profound concern about education and quite often were also happy to demonstrate their willingness to support Valentino's impressive research project in Sarnath.

Among all events this month, it was however an activity for parents with their children which turned out to become the most interesting experiment. Designed by Luigina in collaboration with a group of local teachers, it offered so much food for thought that the lion's share of LuiginaÕs time thereafter was spent in intense discussion with this group. They met independently while Valentino continued to talk to other parents and educators, and created a delightful and promising momentum.

Of course, many people have to be thanked for their contribution to this year's UE/Alice Project month. Shelly Wang, chairperson of FPMT Taiwan, provided greatly appreciated financial help; Flora Wu became indispensable as the translator for Luigina while her mother took care of everybody's physical shape by supplying delicious vegetarian health food; Cheng Hui-k'ai who has been in charge of UE/Alice Project Taiwan since Valentino's last visit ran all the errands; the group of teachers which has been meeting monthly for a number of years was never stingy in terms of silent logistic, moral and monetary support. Last not least, without Valentino and Luigina we would never be where we are now.