Be Better: Dr. Red Nose Participate in the 2022 World Medical Clown Conference
The 2022 World Medical Clown Conference was held in The Hague, the Netherlands, from April 20 to 22, 2022. Representatives of Medical Clown organizations from around the world participated, including those from the United States, Canada, Spain, Israel, Austria, and Australia. Taiwan’s Red Nose Care Association (Dr. Red Nose) was the only representative from Asia. Four Dr. Red Nose from Taiwan exchanged ideas with more than 300 professional Medical Clown performers, researchers from different fields, and medical and counseling professionals from around the world. The three-day journey was filled with exchanges of information and perspectives, exploring topics such as Medical Clown performances, accompanying different groups (including people with dementia, older adults, and children with autism), friendly healthcare policies, and the application of new media to Medical Clown performances. It also deepened the international connections of Dr. Red Nose and infused us with powerful energy. We hope that Dr. Red Nose can create more laughter. Be better.
🔴Founder of Dr. Red Nose / Ma Chao-Chi & Dr. Red Nose Ding-Dong
A three-day journey filled with love, joy, and gratitude!
The four of us clowns from Taiwan’s Dr. Red Nose Association truly felt the support coming from all over the world!
Knowing that “we are not alone” is truly a wonderful thing.
Reuniting with old friends, meeting new friends, and learning about the latest developments and knowledge from clown brothers and sisters around the world… all of this made us feel incredibly happy!
Thank you, my dear Medical Clown partners
We truly felt the love everyone conveyed to us. Because of you, we have the courage to keep moving forward!
🔴Dr. Red Nose Tiantian (Tseng Ching-Wen)
“It turns out that there are all kinds of possibilities ahead. We have to give them a try to know whether they suit us here in Taiwan. We look forward to continuing to build steadily, working hard together with the clown family, and growing into our own form.”
🔴Dr. Red Nose Mimi (Cho Chia-An)
While the people of Taiwan are only gradually becoming familiar with “medical clowning” or “Medical Clown,” many hospitals in Europe and the Americas have already come to regard Medical Clown as an indispensable part of “friendly healthcare,” even developing various specialties: working with children receiving early intervention, people with dementia, mothers and infants, and more… Clown performances can fully adapt to different situations, and through their poetic and humorous presence, cultivate the unique healing beauty of human encounters and companionship—it turns out that clown performances can go so far and reach so wide.
On this trip, sharing Taiwan’s experience with medical experts and artists from various countries, we discovered that we have far more in common than we have differences.
We are similarly challenged by fundraising, exploring the place of art in an aging society, and finding ways to avoid clown burnout
As a result, we also made many mutually understanding allies. The support from all directions filled us in Taiwan with overflowing positive energy. Recharged, we can keep moving forward: )
🔴Dr. Red Nose Ho-Hey (Liang Ching-Min）
“You are a night of protector of innocence”
This was part of a beautiful passage I heard at this year’s International Medical Clown Conference.
This April, I traveled with Ma-Ma and two fellow Medical Clown, A-Shui and Chia-An, making the long journey to the Netherlands to attend the triennial International Medical Clown Conference. Despite our unease about the pandemic and the language barrier, we did our best to prepare for disease prevention before traveling to the other side of the world,
listening to sessions on various topics during the three-day conference,
approaching them from different fields,
from the people served to the use of technology,
from professional training to cross-organizational cooperation and beyond,
meeting experts from various professional fields,
with every Medical Clown having more than a decade of experience,
and every Medical Clown organization having decades of accumulated experience,
Just as we were beginning to adjust to the time difference and enjoy the Netherlands’ wonderful climate, we returned to Taiwan like a whirlwind,
during this period of quarantine,
we each busily organized the course materials,
opening the recordings to listen carefully to each speaker’s session,
In “The Psychological Resilience of Medical Clown,” speaker Caroline Simonds used many metaphors to describe Medical Clown. Here, I quote what Caroline shared,
“The appearance of a Medical Clown is like giving a child a beautifully wrapped piece of candy. When the Medical Clown is no longer nearby, the child can take the candy from beneath the pillow, eat a few bites, and put it back when they feel it is enough.”
When these words streamed through my earphones into my ears once again,
an overwhelming wave of emotion suddenly welled up,
as if releasing all the complicated, undigested emotions of this period,
In difficult times, whether for those who are ill, their families, or medical and caregiving personnel,
a Medical Clown can be a companion, a presence in the moment, and a beautiful piece of candy
Just like the beautiful words in the first line of the article,
“You are a night of protector of innocence”—you are the protector of innocence in the night”
*A Brief Guide to the HCIM World Medical Clown Conference
HCIM stands for Healthcare Clowning International Meeting, an international conference for healthcare clowns
Its main goal is to bring together organizations and individuals around the world who develop “Medical Clown” within healthcare systems, so that they can jointly focus on and discuss the profession or practice’s impact on and role in healthcare and society, and connect clown performance with social culture, health, and science.
The conference covers various professional perspectives and research projects. Participants include representatives of Medical Clown organizations from around the world, professional Medical Clown performers, researchers from different fields, and medical and counseling professionals. The conference is hosted by CliniClowns, a Dutch Medical Clown organization recognized by the European Union.
**The four Dr. Red Nose representatives
Dr. Red Nose Ding-Dong (Ma Chao-Chi）
Dr. Red Nose Tiantian (Tseng Ching-Wen）
Dr. Red Nose Mimi (Cho Chia-An）
Dr. Red Nose Ho-Hey (Liang Ching-Min）
Professional Medical Clown from around the world exchanged ideas, sparking thoughts across different fields and specialties, while Dr. Red Nose drew on international experience to grow
Sponsors of this exchange program
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