From July 6 to 27, 2024, Kaian Lam (Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Department of Government and Public Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau) conducted fieldwork and visited the National University of Timor-Leste, the University of Dili, and various public institutions in Timor-Leste.
The trip was part of her research on environmental politics in Global South contexts and was funded by a start-up grant from the University of Macau.
Timor-Leste became a democratic country in 2002. Timorese acknowledge their economic interconnectivity with nearby countries, and they anticipate being a full member of ASEAN.
On the ground, Kaian Lam investigated how the Timorese natural and built environment is marked by presences and interventions of the UN, the EU, American, South Korean, and other NGOs from the Global North, as well as ChinaAid and Chinese businesses.
She then juxtaposed her field observations with archives and everyday urban discourses of colonization, occupation, and resistance.
During the three weeks, she attended faculty meetings and graduation ceremonies, observed classes, and gave guest lectures. At the National University of Timor-Leste and the University of Dili, she engaged students of International Relations and of Public Policy in collaborative ethnography.
She also witnessed traditional rituals at the Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum in the heart of Dili, the capital city, and on the Aileu township community ground.
The official perspective was carefully compared with published and unpublished local scholarship, the views of young environmental activists and Timor-based NGOs, student ideas, artistic critique, as well as street knowledge.
With great gentility, she was given access to Timorese public administration to discuss environmental subjects. She interviewed representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry, Ministry of Tourism and Environment, among others.
It is hoped that this trip continues a long tradition of university exchanges across Portuguese-speaking countries and regions.
2024年7月6日至27日，澳門大學社會科學學院政府與行政學系國際關係助理教授林嘉欣前往東帝汶進行田野調查，並拜訪東帝汶國立大學、帝力大學和多所公共機構。
此次研究圍繞全球南方環境政治，獲澳門大學啓動基金資助。
東帝汶於2002年組成民主國家，與周邊有著緊密經濟往來，東帝汶人民熱切期待成為東盟正式成員。
田野觀察針東帝汶的自然和建築環境，查找聯合國、歐盟、來自美國、南韓及全球北方的組織，中國援助和華人生意等的蹤影。
綜合田野資料、歷史文檔和日常城市話語分析，研究者試圖描繪東帝汶環境政治的社會畫面。
在東帝汶國立大學和帝力大學，研究者參與學術會議，出席畢業典禮，觀課和講課，更好認識學校情況，並通過設置多場工作坊，分別與國際關係和公共政策課程的學生共同思考環境議題。
在東帝汶抗爭歷史檔案館及博物館，還有在首都以外的地方，研究者見證了不同的傳統慶典。
研究者把官方話語和其他材料比較，例如東帝汶本土論文、環保人士的倡議、年輕人和有關非牟利組織的意見、學生的觀點、藝術家的評論，以及平民百姓的感受等。
研究者很榮幸能接近東帝汶公共行政，訪問外交部、石油部、農業部、旅游及環境部等代表。
我們將迎來更多葡語國家及地區之間的大學交流。
