Celebrity Naturist of the Year 2008: Rosario Dawson

Hispanic-American actress Rosario Dawson is the Celebrity Naturist of the Year 2008 for her recent admission that she grew up being taken by her mother to a naturist beach in the New York area.
In a magazine interview, the 29-year-old “Seven Pounds” actress said her mother's extrovert nature made her proud of her body. She rejects the thought that people should feel ashamed or weird about something as beautiful and natural as the human body. That is the basic philosophy of all naturists worldwide, and therefore Rosario Dawson is named as the Celebrity Naturist of the Year, an award which does not include a prize or money, but names a famous person who has contributed positively to the image of naturism.
Rosario Dawson worked with numerous directors throughout her career, including Spike Lee on “He Got Game” and Oliver Stone on “Alexander.” She also appeared in a wide variety of genres, from quirky independent productions to action blockbusters like “Eagle Eye” and “The Rundown” to the musical “Rent” to the graphic novel-based “Sin City.” She also appeared in the experimental web-TV series “The Gemini Division.”
In addition to being an experienced actress, Rosario Dawson also devotes time and energy to numerous humanitarian causes, like the fights against domestic violence, poverty and AIDS, showing she is not only a star of the entertainment world, but also a star of the real world.
You can find more information about Rosario Dawson at http://www.rosario-dawson.net/ and at the official sites of her movies, including http://www.geminidivision.com/. You can read the report that brought her naturist experiences to this blog's attention on the link list on the right, by clicking on Rosario Dawson on Naturism.
The first Celebrity Naturist of the Year Award, announced in December 2007, went to Cuban-American actress Eva Mendes, the star of the current movie “The Spirit.”

Real Naturist of the Year 2008: Pan Ying-hua

Taiwanese writer Pan Ying-hua is the Real Naturist of the Year 2008 for publishing the book “Nude: Ten Years of Conversations with my Body” about the naturist lifestyle amid the restrictions of Taiwanese laws and society.
The book features numerous pictures of Pan and her friends enjoying the naturist lifestyle in the natural setting of their home region of Taitung in Southeastern Taiwan, a sparsely populated area known for its quiet and beautiful coastlines and mountains in a polluted and noisy country.
While not widely available in book stores across Taiwan, the book has received uncharacteristically positive media exposure. Even its many pictures are not designed to titillate, but work to show the naturalness of the naturist lifestyle.
More trailblazers like Pan are needed to give the naturist movement stronger roots in Asia, roots from which a healthier attitude toward natural, non-sexual nudity can grow, and a true naturist movement can arise. The publication of a book like Pan's gives hope that Asian countries like Taiwan will also once host naturist beaches, naturist resorts, and movements that can take part in international organizations like the International Naturist Federation.
You can find Pan's writings in Mandarin Chinese at her blog www.wretch.cc/blog/ibubunu.

Naturists of the Year 2008?

Time Magazine just published its new issue, with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on the cover as its Person of the Year.

That reminds me that it's soon time to announce my own choices for Naturist of the Year for the past year, 2008.

Last year, I picked Cuban-American actress Eva Mendes as the Celebrity Naturist of the Year, mainly because of her work on the poster for animal action group PETA and for her known liking for gardening in the nude.

Mark and Samantha Taylor from the United Kingdom were my Real Naturists of the Year 2007, because they realized their dream by leaving behind a comfortable existence in their own country to go and start up a naturist resort on a small Greek island. Sounds like paradise to any naturist, but it must have been hard work.

Over the next few weeks I will be evaluating the likely candidates for this year's "awards," which as you know are merely the honor of being mentioned on this web site. There is no money attached, no work of art, no medal. But if it can start a movement, help spread the word of naturism around the Internet and around the world, why not.

Naturist World Congress 2008

The International Naturist Federation holds its world congress once every two years, and this year it was the rare occasion that the organization ventured outside of Europe, to Brazil, for its 31st gathering.

The event took place in September at Tambaba in Conde, Paraiba State, in Northeastern Brazil, and is reported on in the latest edition of the Italian naturist magazine Info Naturista.

The passage that interests me, and would rejoice naturists all over the world and particularly in Asia, is that the congress was not a very hidden affair. Brazil's Minister of Tourism was present at the opening, there was a huge fireworks display, and a concert with 24 guitarists. Can you imagine that happening at a naturist congress in Asia? Too bad I can't. Yet. The event was apparently also sponsored by the Brazilian government, which no doubt wisely understood that this was a great opportunity to promote tourism. At a time when the global economy is going down, every event counts, and the naturist dollar must be one of the strongest new currencies in world tourism.

The INF congress elected a new chairperson, yes chairperson, because for the first time since its foundation in 1951, the world naturism organization will be led by a woman, Sieglinde Ivo, former INF Youth Department chief and former head of the Austrian naturists. She will lead the INF at least until the next election, in 2012.

Other decisions of the congress, according to Info Naturista, are:

-keeping a closer watch on legal developments relating to naturism in Europe, particularly with the European Union authorities and the European Parliament;

-developing the http://www.inf-fni.org/ website;

-the abolition of direct membership by individuals with the INF and the return to sole membership for national naturist federations;

-holding the next INF World Congress in September 2010 at the naturist camping village of Pizzo Greco in Italy, more specifically in its southwestern region of Calabria.

You can find the next world congress site at http://www.pizzogreco.com/. A Brazilian naturist resort featured in the Italian magazine Info Naturista is http://www.praiadopinho.com.br/. And the Italian magazine, which also has some articles translated into English or French, is at http://www.infonaturista.org/.

Coming Up: Asianaturist will soon select its Naturist of the Year.

The Return - Italy

You might think this blog was expired. I don't blame you for that, it's entirely my fault. My many other occupations and a lack of real naturist news in Asia are the main factors behind my long absence, adding to that a foreign trip.

I'm back now in a late-year rally, or so I hope.

First, thanks as always to the people at www.infonaturista.org who keep sending me their magazine. I am devoting this blog posting to going over the contents of the latest issue.

The magazine opens with an editorial in Italian and English about the poor state of naturism in Italy, in contrast to the neighboring countries of Croatia and France, two of the strongest naturist destinations in the world.

The next article is a report about last September's World Congress of the International Naturist Federation in Brazil, a topic which I hope to discuss in my next blog post. By the way, I wasn't present there, mainly because of time and geographical constraints. Brazil is a long way away from Asia.

Info Naturista uses Italian and French to discuss an international naturist petanque tournament in Italy, and Italian and English for a more philosophical discussion on the essence and basic tenets of naturism.

There are the usual reports from the regional and local Italian associations, and non-naturist reports about the tourist attractions of Ravenna and the Rivoli Castle near Turin.

So much for this short posting, I hope to be back soon with posts about the INF World Congress in Brazil and about our Naturist of the Year Awards.