Leadership program for Southeast, South Asia youth kicks off

2016/11/07

The 10-day “2016 Ni-Hao Taiwan Study Camp for Future Leaders: Southeast Asia and South Asia” started Nov. 2, providing an opportunity for participants to observe current developments in Taiwan.

“I hope through this camp young elites from these regions can know Taiwan better and have in-depth and diverse exchanges with their local counterparts,” Foreign Minister David Tawei Lee said during the opening ceremony taking place Nov. 3 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei City.

Averaging 31 years of age, the 26 individuals taking part in the event include officials of foreign affairs bodies and political parties, assistants to lawmakers, think tank researchers, journalists and entrepreneurs from Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In addition to attending a series of lectures on the Taiwan experience in various aspects, visits for program participants have been scheduled to Taiwan’s Legislature and the headquarters of Democratic Progressive Party and Kuomintang, which are currently Taiwan’s ruling party and largest opposition party, respectively. Tours will also head to places of interest in northern Taiwan such as National Palace Museum, Pingxi Old Street and Yehliu Geopark.

To promote exchanges between prospective opinion leaders in Taiwan and other countries, the MOFA has organized similar camps twice this year, first involving 26 youths from South Korea, Australia and New Zealand in July, and then 30 from Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Taiwan’s six diplomatic allies in the Pacific region in September.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=249249&ctNode=2194&mp=9)