Women have been active in creating and leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Asia, Peggy Blumenthal, vice president of education services at the New York-based Institute of International Education (IIE), said in Taipei this week.
"Similarly to the US, in some ways, the non-governmental sector has been a way for [Asian women] to evolve in leadership positions," said Blumenthal, who joined IIE in 1984 as assistant director of program development and became a vice president in 1987.
Invited to speak about the laws governing NGOs in the US and her experiences in the management of NGOs at the annual meeting of the Elisabeth Luce Moore Leadership Program for Chinese Women (ELM) in Keelung City this weekend, Blumenthal told the Taipei Times that the ELM program targeted women partly because traditionally women have not been encouraged to study aboard or to participate in international exchanges.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
"The ELM program brings women together from Asia for one month to study and work in the US [at NGOs] and return home and continue to work together informally ..."
"[These women] work in different social contexts but they all work on the same problems. As soon as they meet each other, they realize there is much they can do to help each other and learn from each other," Blumenthal said.
Sponsored by the Henry Luce Foundation and administered by the IIE since 1995, the ELM program has each year selected eight women from NGOs in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong to visit the US and learn about the the operations of NGOs in the US.
Founded in 1919, the IIE is one of the oldest and largest NPOs in the US that promotes international exchanges. Last year, it managed 250 programs involving more than 18,000 students, scholars and professionals. Since 1946, the IIE has been responsible for administering the US government's Fulbright Program, which aids the exchange of students and faculty members between countries.
The meeting held this weekend in Keelung, hosted by the Tsuei Ma Ma Foundation for Housing and Community Service and sponsored by the Elisabeth Luce Moore Foundation and its counterpart in Taiwan, the Himalaya Foundation, marks the first time the ELM program has held its meeting in Taiwan.
Blumenthal said that one of the main purposes of her visit is to explain the importance of the kind of training offered by the ELM program for women leaders in NPOs, and to seek support from other foundations and companies for the ELM program.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS