A Taiwanese was elected a board director of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) yesterday from among candidates from 57 countries.
Huang Shu-fen (黃淑芬), secretary-general of the IAVE Taiwan chapter, was elected during the 19th IAVE world conference held in New Delhi, which commenced on Friday and ends tomorrow.
Huang was recommended by delegates from Panama and Australia and received votes from more than two-thirds of the national delegates to the conference from five continents.
Huang will succeed Tim Wu (
Wu, who has been a volunteer for the development of civil society for many years, is the only delegate from Taiwan who is a member of the IAVE Board of Directors. He established the Asia-Pacific Public Affairs Forum (APPAF) in 1996 to promote his vision of citizen's participation at an international level.
According to Huang, Taiwan has helped build IAVE's global Internet communication platform, named IAVE.org, which offers an exchange platform for volunteers worldwide in five languages.
IAVE Taiwan is also connected electronically with counterparts from 40 countries, she said. IAVE Taiwan is now the largest volunteer cyber portal in the world, she added.
Huang said the Taipei-based IAVE International Resources Center -- jointly established by IAVE Taiwan and the National Youth Commission -- has been in contact with 80 IAVE national chapters on a daily basis.
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