Youth POP! Grand Open of 2019 Global Youth Trends Forum - Youths from 26 Countries Talks about the Future

The 2019 Global Youth Trends Forum was officially launched today (Nov. 9) at Hilton Taipei Sinban Hotel. This year, we have 350 youth delegates from 26 countries, both at record-high, spanning across five continents participating in this event. Owing to this Forum, Taiwanese youth can communicate and exchange with foreign youth without going abroad. At the opening ceremony, Vice President Chen Chien-jen expected that the youth should exert their influence to jointly make this world to a better place.

Vice President Chen Chien-jen also introduced our main three focuses of this forum to the world--Educational Creativity, Regional Revitalization, and Smart Living--which are also the directions that our Government has been focusing on and committed to in recent years, hoping to draw more people's attention and to drive them to take actions by different countries sharing their local experiences. He also mentioned Taiwan government's continuous emphasis on broadening the youth's global vision. The government encourages young people to study or undertake internships overseas, and welcomes outstanding students from neighboring friendly countries, such as South Asia, New Zealand and Australia, to come to Taiwan for studies or internships, expecting to strengthen Taiwan's educational, trade, economic, technological and cultural ties with these countries, to share resources, talents, and markets. In additions, Vice Presidents Chen Chien-Jen took Malala Yousafzai, who fights for female education, and Greta Thunberg, who calls for awareness on climate change, as examples, stressing that young people's courage, innovation, and humanistic care are exactly what our society needs at the moment, and encouraged young people to stay young, take challenges, and co-create a better world based on the ideas of the "value of life" and "what I can contribute to society". In the end of the address, Vice President Chen Chien-Jen hope all the participants come up with brilliant Action Plans for the future, and find beliefs and values worth pursuing in the future after the two-day forum.

This year, a total of 350 youth delegates from 26 countries on five continents are invited to participate in this Forum, including Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Canada, Germany, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vietnam and of course Taiwan.

The Youth Development Administration of the Ministry of Education has held the Global Youth Trends Forum for seven consecutive years. Every year, the Forum will set up main topics regarding international trends and important youth issues, providing opportunities for local youth to connect with the international community, and bringing the world into Taiwan while introducing Taiwan to the world.

Many distinguished guests also participated in this Forum. The most expected panel discussion, hosted by Audrey Tang, Minister without Portfolio of Executive Yuan, was joined by three other special guests: Ms. Chebet Lesan, founder of Brightgreen Renewable Energy, Toshiki Abe, founder and CEO of Ridilover, and Justin Yu, co-founder of Plan b. In her opening remarks, Ms. Audrey Tang addressed the current situation and fruitful achievements in Taiwan, including the concept of "Taiwan Can Help", "Taiwan AI Action Plan", and "Artificial Intelligence in Medical Image Program", which is promoted by Ministry of Science and Technology. The three guests also shared their valuable practical experiences, such as the current situation and problems of their own countries, and how to break through the dilemma. Ms. Chebet found solutions for local households issues in Kenya, turning biomass waste into fuel, creating fuel for locals which is both affordable and eco-friendly. Mr. Toshiki Abe built a bridge between people and social issues through tourism and journalism, raising citizen's awareness to social issues. Mr. Justin Yu put sustainability into practice by redesigning the use of different places around cities, having communities engaged, which brought huge changes to the cities and the residents. The three speakers all show as great models of both putting SDGs into practice and promoting social enterprise in their youth.

The three main topics of this year's Forum are: Educational Creativity, Regional Revitalization, and Smart Living. Led by the the Youth Pilot Group formed by seven young Taiwanese leaders who are committed to promoting international youth exchanges, the youth delegates will engage in active and productive discussions. It is excited to see how those young people with totally different backgrounds from all over the world will come up with creative and enlightening ideas through brainstorming sessions and international exchanges. It is also a great opportunity for Taiwan's young people to connect to the world but also show their cultural soft power.

In addition to the Forum exchanges on main topics, the National Culture Exhibition is held through the joint efforts of all youth delegations. Each booth shows unique cultural characteristics of all countries, including food tasting, featured items, to custom experience, which makes visitors feel like experiencing a grand cultural carnival of all countries without going abroad, an easy way to achieve the dream of traveling around the world! Displayed on Taiwan's cultural booth, clothes with Taiwan characteristics, such as blue-white slippers and farmer's bamboo hats, are prepared for foreign youth to take photos and check in. The children’s game of shuttlecock kicking is also shown to present the traditional cultural customs of Taiwan. And of course, there are Taiwan's unique traditional cuisines for tasting! With the careful preparation of the youth delegates from all over the world, the venue is full of excitement, energy, and surprises. Feel like to know more about the sparks inspired by the youth? For more information regarding the event, please visit the official website of Youth Development Administration of the Ministry of Education (http://www.yda.gov.tw) and the iYouth Platform for Making Youth's International Dream Happen (https://iyouth.youthhub.tw/main.php).