Global Pathfinder Initiative Promotes Exchanges between Young People in Taiwan and Austria
The Ministry of Education’s Global Pathfinder Initiative was launched to enhance the international mobility of young people from Taiwan. As part of this, three young Taiwanese are spending five months as interns at youth centers in different cities in Austria, from November, 2025 until the end of March, 2026. As well as receiving practical knowledge and understanding of local youth work and developing youth work competencies, the program they’re participating in enables them to improve their German-language skills and build networks with young people from other places who have a diverse range of backgrounds.
One of the young people from Taiwan has been placed as an intern in Vienna, at the headquarters of the National Network of Youth Information Centres in Austria (Bundesnetzwerk Österreichische Jugendinfos, BÖJI). Another is currently completing a placement in a youth center in Graz, and the third is splitting their time evenly between youth centers in Eisenstadt and in Mattersburg. BÖJI, founded in 2004, is the national umbrella organization for youth information services and centers throughout Austria. The youth centers prepare and disseminate youth-friendly, non-commercial information. They offer free, up-to-date, relevant, and accessible guidance to support young people’s personal development and transition to adulthood, and a wide range of activities and services to foster youth empowerment.
Personnel from the Education Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Austria visited the headquarters of BÖJI on January 30, 2026. They met with the intern from Taiwan, together with Mr. Aleksandar Prvulovic, the CEO of BÖJI, Ms. Alena Brunner—a project coordinator at BÖJI and the intern’s mentor, two other BÖJI mentors, and Birgit Klausser, Deputy Head of Department at the Austrian Federal Chancellery. Ms. Klausser is the designated contact person at the section of the Austrian Federal Chancellery in charge of international family and youth policy affairs.
Their discussions focused on the intern’s experiences in Austria and future cooperation within the framework of the Global Pathfinder Initiative. The intern described his experience acquiring new professional skills at BÖJI headquarters, and having opportunities to work creatively, as particularly rewarding aspects of being abroad and becoming familiar with life in a new country. A second group of Taiwanese participants is expected to arrive in the autumn of this year to take part in the program and gain professional experience at Austrian youth centers.
The Education Division looks forward to continuing to facilitate collaborative projects supported by Taiwan’s Global Pathfinder Initiative and local partner organizations, to further expand youth exchanges and international cooperation between Taiwan and Austria, and strengthen people-to-people ties.
