“Young people represent the future of our countries,” MOFA Minister David Tawei Lee said during the launch ceremony. “Open dialogue between the youth leaders of Taiwan and North America plays a crucial role in enhancing the development of respective societies and deepening bilateral relations.”
According to Lee, Mosaic Taiwan is also expected to stimulate and inspire the youth leaders to think deeply and reflect on the situation in their own countries. “This will definitely prove to be the formative experience of a lifetime for all the participants, so please study, immerse and enjoy yourselves during your stay in Taiwan,” he said.
Running through June 24, the Mosaic Taiwan schedule includes seminars, workshops and visits with representatives of the academic, private and public sectors, as well as trips to offshore Kinmen County, central Taiwan’s Nantou County and historic Tainan City in southern Taiwan.
Mohammad Awais, a Mosaic Taiwan team leader and Columbia Law School applicant, said he was inspired to become a U.S. diplomat after gaining admission to the international youth exchange program. This sentiment was shared by Amid Lalani, a student from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and president of the Western Canadian tertiary institution’s Young Liberals—the political party of Canada’s popular Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“It is an honor to be accepted by the program,” Lalani said. “I have learned so much already about Taiwan’s culture and hospitality, and I am looking forward to using this as my starting point for further Taiwan studies.”
Other participants include Richard Bobo, former assistant program officer in the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, and Tyler Brent, a media liaison at Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S., the Washington-headquartered organization responsible for representing Taiwan’s official interests in the U.S., and an Under-25 Rising Star in U.S.-China Relations as named by Yale University’s China Hands magazine.
According to the MOFA, based on the shared values of democracy, freedom, peace and human rights, Taiwan’s ties with Canada and the U.S. have flourished over the years, paving the way for enhanced partnerships such as Taiwan’s admission to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in 2012 and cooperation on providing disaster relief and humanitarian aid worldwide.
First launched in 2014, Mosaic Taiwan is a fellowship exchange program for promising U.S. and Canadian citizens aged 20 to 35 who have never visited Taiwan. The three-week program accepts 30 participants each year, providing them with firsthand experience on Taiwan-related issues as well as team-building and leadership development exercises. (YHC-E)
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