The Naturist Century

The heart of the global naturist movement, as you know, the International Naturist Federation, is holding its congress in the Croatian coastal town of Rovinj in August, now just three months away.
The issue at the top of the agenda is nothing less than the future of naturism. That sounds as if there’s a problem, as if naturism is being threatened, and naturists are a dying breed. Is it?
There are problems, one has to be honest enough to admit it. And the main problem in the West is the same as in Western society as large: ageing. Members of naturist groups are getting older. And not enough younger people are joining the naturist clubs. Why is that?
The ageing of the population at large is just one element here. The strange thing is that more open and liberal attitudes toward public nudity are also damaging the naturist movement. Why?
Well, if there are more and more free beaches – beaches where you can sunbathe and swim nude – where you don’t have to pay to go to, why would you still spend money to join a club? In this way, more acceptance of naturism is also threatening the survival of organized naturism. When people want to save money, they just stay away from clubs and organizations and seek a small space on their own to live their version of naturism.
The task of naturist organizations – and you’ll remember I’ll told you in previous postings that the members of the INF are national associations of naturist groups – is to make the organized movement attractive again to the average individuals and families.
I believe the international naturist movement should come up with a programme, a charter, a manifesto that tells the world how it wants naturism to develop in the future, a manifesto that says what kind of naturism it wants to see in what kind of world.
If the international naturist movement can put its aims into a document, that will have a galvanizing effect, it will serve as a concrete plan to realize, and it will also serve as a powerful promotional tool, telling the world what naturism is and what its aims are.
Economists often say the 21st century will be the century of China, or the century of India, I firmly believe we should be able to say that the 21st century will also be the Naturist Century. And an official manifesto would help a long way with that.

The Naturist Century

The heart of the global naturist movement, as you know, the International Naturist Federation, is holding its congress in the Croatian coastal town of Rovinj in August, now just three months away.
The issue at the top of the agenda is nothing less than the future of naturism. That sounds as if there’s a problem, as if naturism is being threatened, and naturists are a dying breed. Is it?
There are problems, one has to be honest enough to admit it. And the main problem in the West is the same as in Western society as large: ageing. Members of naturist groups are getting older. And not enough younger people are joining the naturist clubs. Why is that?
The ageing of the population at large is just one element here. The strange thing is that more open and liberal attitudes toward public nudity are also damaging the naturist movement. Why?
Well, if there are more and more free beaches – beaches where you can sunbathe and swim nude – where you don’t have to pay to go to, why would you still spend money to join a club? In this way, more acceptance of naturism is also threatening the survival of organized naturism. When people want to save money, they just stay away from clubs and organizations and seek a small space on their own to live their version of naturism.
The task of naturist organizations – and you’ll remember I’ll told you in previous postings that the members of the INF are national associations of naturist groups – is to make the organized movement attractive again to the average individuals and families.
I believe the international naturist movement should come up with a programme, a charter, a manifesto that tells the world how it wants naturism to develop in the future, a manifesto that says what kind of naturism it wants to see in what kind of world.
If the international naturist movement can put its aims into a document, that will have a galvanizing effect, it will serve as a concrete plan to realize, and it will also serve as a powerful promotional tool, telling the world what naturism is and what its aims are.
Economists often say the 21st century will be the century of China, or the century of India, I firmly believe we should be able to say that the 21st century will also be the Naturist Century. And an official manifesto would help a long way with that.

Naked in the Air

A new Guinness World Record was set recently: the highest number of people flying naked through the air on a rollercoaster.
The bad news: it didn’t happen in Asia, but in Britain – but then you’re not surprised. The good news: Taiwan’s newspapers and television all reported it.
The cable stations didn’t show any close-up footage, but the newspapers showed the pictures of young men and women just having innocent fun. And without the notorious “mosaic,” the vague shape that traditionally masks any nudity in film, TV and picture.
As a true naturist, one can have doubts about the naturist quality of having a bunch of people take off their clothes and get photographed to make it to the record books. It’s nudity, but is it naturism? With streakers running naked across a soccer field, the answer is clearly no. The British students didn’t do it out of pure sensationalism or exhibitionism, they just wanted to have fun, and they didn’t disrupt anybody else’s day.
In the end, I think I would rate their action the same as I would people who pose nude on calendars to collect money for some good cause, such as protecting gardens or saving an old building. It’s not naturism, but it’s good-natured, it’s clean fun, and it promotes acceptability of nude bodies. Seeing those young people naked in an unusual environment will be helpful to helping people accept social nudity – and isn’t that what naturism is all about?

Holidays for Asian Naturists - The Business Idea for 2004

Naturist air trips from the United States to Mexico have been catching quite some attention recently. The passengers started their naturist holidays not on arrival at the resort, but after going up in the air, yes, on the airplane.
While this wouldn't work in Asia, because no airline would be willing to cooperate, naturist holidays should become more of a business. Just yesterday, I brainstormed with a friend about all kinds of business ideas that could be applied to Asia.
She's not a naturist, so naturist holidays were not on her list of suggestions. But I figured it out. Since most Asian countries don't have naturist resorts or beaches of their own, why not take Asian naturists there?
Australia would be the obvious prime destination, because of the relatively limited distance. Recruit Asians interested in living a naturist experience - even if only for beginners - book the flight and the places at the resort. Or first whet their appetite by taking them to a textile - that's a non-naturist - hotel, but with a naturist beach nearby. Introduce them to the naturist lifestyle on that beach. And continue the trip by spending the last few days at a real naturist resort. Where they can spend their whole day naked. In the sun or out in the shade. Walking, swimming or just lying around. Doing all kinds of sport in the nude, shopping, eating, enjoying the full experience. Of course it won't be cheap because of the distance. But what a holiday for people who can only dream about naturism at home!
Not a very commercial business idea, I hear you say? Well, the ideas for naturist cruises or naturist flights to Mexico probably also sounded silly to those who first heard of it. But look what a commercial success they have become!
The business idea for the 2000s: naturist holidays for Asian naturists! Who wants to work on making this dream come true?

Streakers

The international media have been paying outsize attention recently to two things: the 30th anniversary of streaking, and an Englishman who broke the record of the most streaking appearances at sports events. The most recent was I believe, at a pool championship.
Streaking is running naked, either at a sports event, or just at random, through the streets. It's nudity, but is it naturism? The simple answer is no. Not any nudity is naturism. Streaking is more like a form of rapid, short, low-risk exhibitionism. Alright, I guess it can be fun. But real naturism is not about shocking people, it's not about making people laugh about how crazy one is, it's not about a shortlived kick.
Naturism is about social nudity and respect for others. When you're naturist, you want to enjoy doing things without wearing clothes. You just want to able to do that because you like it yourself, and with people who have the same attitude. You're not out to shock others, you don't want others to laugh at you, you just want to enjoy social nudity with your friends.
If streakers promote understanding of nudity and respect for the human body, then that's fine with me. But all too often, it's just a thing that will cause others to make fun of nudity. In other words, it could do more damage than good. We need to promote real understanding of and respect for social nudity, not draw derision and snickering laughter.
Forget about streaking, join naturism.

Naturist Reading

One of the perks of being a member of the International Naturist Federation, is receiving its magazine, "Naturist International."
The magazine has gone through several name changes and sometimes irregular publication dates while it is trying to improve. I'm writing about it here because I just received its latest edition. Well, like many Europeans, its German publishers couldn't figure out the difference between Taiwan and Thailand, so the envelope bore the mark "Missent to Bangkok Thailand."
And now the magazine itself: what can you find inside?
First of all, it shows that naturism is not just a Western European or American phenomenon. It introduces naturism in two other countries, South Africa, and Croatia, not coincidentally the host of this year's INF World Congress next August.
South Africa has at least three naturist resorts, one of them a hundred kilometers from Johannesburg airport. The country also has several naturist beaches mentioned in the report. For more information, it refers to the website of the INF member association in South Africa, www.sanfed.co.za.
As I mentioned before, Croatia might not be a country widely known here in Asia, but it has played an important role in the development of naturism. Even when it was still part of the communist state of Yugoslavia, naturists from all over Europe flocked to its numerous beaches and all-inclusive resorts. "Naturist International" magazine mentions the natural beauty of the Croatian coast with all its beaches, hamlets and hundreds of islands. Croatia is a good place for beginning naturists - with its beaches - and for the advanced - because of the resorts where you don't have to wear clothes whatever you do: shopping, eating out, getting a haircut, and of course swimming and playing sports.
Apart from those country reports, this issue of the magazine offers articles about health and travel that maybe can be found elsewhere as well, because they don't involve naturism as such.
Finally, the magazine also includes numerous colorful ads for naturist destinations in France, Mexico, Spain, Greece, the United States, Croatia of course, and even the Caribbean, as well as pictures of the resorts and their visitors.

Destination Croatia (2)

I've finally got it fixed! My trip to the International Naturist Federation congress in Croatia in August that is. Flying from Taiwan to Croatia is not a simple task.
There are no direct flights, so I had to shop around for a less-than-direct connection that would still take me there before the start of the congress - August 27 - and get me out just after the end on August 29 and in time to start working again in Taiwan on September 1.
What I found is not a simple solution, but it works. Out of Taiwan, I take a flight to Bangkok, where Thai International has a flight to Munich, Germany. That's still some way away from Croatia, so what I do is take a Croatian flight from Munich to the capital Zagreb.
Once in Croatia, I know my way around because of previous visits to the country. In the early 1980s, when it was still part of the communist state of Yugoslavia, I traveled around the country a couple of times by train and bus. And that's what I'll do again this time. There's no point in going all the way from Taiwan to Croatia, and only attend a three-day congress and then leave again. So I'll make my way slowly to the picturesque town of Rovinj on the west coast of Istria, that triangular peninsula close to Italy.
Once the congress is over, I'll pop across the border - or across two borders, because Slovenia lies inbetween now - from Croatia to Italy, take a train from Trieste to Venice, a domestic flight to Milan, and then the new Thai flight back to Bangkok. Just saw an ad for that flight on CNN this morning, Thai now sponsor that station's Design 360 show, so they're into plugging Milan as the capital of European design. And from Bangkok, it's back to Taipei again.
All of this means over 20 hours on planes or in airport terminals waiting for connections, not something I'm happy about, but I still think my first international naturist congress is worth it.
As I told you in previous posts, I'm really looking forward to it, and in my next posts I'll write what I hope to achieve and to learn at the congress.