Forty Taiwanese students were due to leave their country for Saint Lucia on Saturday to participate in a ten-day International Youth Ambassador Exchange Programme.
A three-part selection process chose thirty-six members of the group from among 200 hopefuls.
Taipei Times, quoting Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry, said 18 students stood out for their English public speaking skills while 18 exhibited cultural talent.
The Ministry of Labour joined the programme for the first time this year, selecting four past winners of the National Culinary Skills Competition to join the group of youth ambassadors.
After two weeks of training, the group gave a preview of the performance they would take to Saint Lucia.
Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Wu, said he believed the young ambassadors could bring his country and Saint Lucia closer through their performances and conversations.
In Saint Lucia, the young people are to meet with senior government officials, visit schools, interact with local youths, and engage in cultural activities.
Group members also plan to practise ‘food diplomacy’ by displaying their culinary skills using local ingredients cultivated with Taiwan’s agricultural technologies and hosting a tasting session.
The Taiwan Youth Ambassador Programme began in 2009 with cultural promotion and exchange at its core.
According to the Taipei Times, Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to Taiwan, Dr. Robert Lewis, thanked the programme for enhancing the people-to-people relationship between Taiwan and Saint Lucia.
Lewis added that the youth ambassadors would receive a warm welcome in Saint Lucia.
Headline photo courtesy Taiwan Central News Agency.
