President Lai meets IPF delegation

2024/06/05

President Lai Ching-te received a delegation led by International Peace Foundation Founder and Chair Uwe Morawetz June 3 in Taipei City, expressing his hope of jointly advancing educational exchanges and global peace with the Austria-based institution.
 
Lai first thanked the IPF for working with Taipei-headquartered National Taiwan University to launch the Taiwan Bridges event series running from November 2025 through April 2026. Under the program, six Nobel laureates in chemistry, economics, physics and medicine will visit Taiwan, he said, adding that the exchanges will benefit domestic academia while expanding the country’s global reach.
 
According to Lai, the initiative mirrors the IPF’s Bridges—Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace, under which the foundation has held over 800 events across Southeast Asia since 2003. The series has brought together Nobel laureates and renowned artists, achieving remarkable results in academic cooperation and cultural exchange, he said.
 
The president went on to give an overview of Taiwan’s public welfare organizations, which he described as exemplifying the country’s good will. Entities such as Tzu Chi Charity Foundation and Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps share the IPF’s ideals, he said, adding that he looks forward to seeing more exchanges and cooperation in the future.
 
In response, Morawetz said the forthcoming program aims to help Nobel laureates develop long-term relationships with Taiwan’s institutions and universities via regular visits, research collaboration and student recruitment. It will promote Taiwan as an international hub for innovation, science, technology and sustainability while highlighting its role in peace building and global security, he added.
 
The IPF founder and chair said he will also visit universities in the central and southern Taiwan cities of Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to seek more cooperation opportunities. He added that he hopes to build lasting ties with as many foundations and charitable organizations as possible to ensure the whole country benefits from the events.


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)