The Taipei segment of an annual training program for young leaders from the Pacific islands started yesterday.
Over the next four weeks, 27 participants from 10 nations are to engage in classroom and field studies in the second segment of the 10-week program, which is run by the East-West Center, a Hawaii-based think tank, and the Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the opening ceremony for the Pacific Islands Leadership Program With Taiwan, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Maria Liu (劉德立) said he hopes the participants’ time in Taipei would give them a chance to improve their knowledge and expertise in their respective fields.
The training will help the young leaders in their careers, whether in the private or public sector, he said.
Under the program, which was launched in 2013, the participants spent six weeks doing practical learning exercises at the East-West Center in Hawaii and are to undergo four weeks of field study in Taipei at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs.
“We are proud that this fellowship program has empowered 96 young leaders over the past four years,” Liu said.
The ministry will soon sign another memorandum of understanding with the US think tank to continue the program for another five years, he said.
REGIONAL LEADER
Also speaking at the opening ceremony, American Institute in Taiwan Deputy Director Robert Forden said that Taiwan is a regional leader in various fields, including economic and social development.
More importantly, Taiwan is willing to help its regional partners by sharing its expertise, he said.
Forden encouraged the participants to take advantage of the opportunities the program offers to create close and lasting relations with people from Taiwan, the US and the Pacific islands.
The program is open to early and mid-career professionals between 25 and 38 years old, who work in government, media, environmental fields, business, health, agriculture, education and non-governmental organizations.
This year’s participants are from the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
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