To promote education collaboration and talent development across the Asia-Pacific region, the Ministry of Education (MOE) is hosting the 2025 APEC Forum on Women and Youth Empowerment: Enhancing Digital Competitiveness and Inclusive Economic Growth through Innovative Enterprise Education from November 5 to 7 in Taipei. This forum invites around 70 participants, including representatives from 19 APEC member economies and youth delegates from the Republic of China (R.O.C., Taiwan), to engage in diverse exchanges. This forum focuses on education and innovation issues for women and youth in the digital era, aiming to cultivate inclusive and creative talent by fostering cross-economy collaborations, in line with APEC's sustainable development goals.

At the opening ceremony, Dr. Kao-Hsien Liao, Director of the Department of Higher Education at the MOE, emphasized that innovative enterprise education and talent development are key drivers of inclusive growth in the era of global digital transformation. He noted that the forum not only provides a platform for cross-economy dialogue, but also serves as an important opportunity to promote educational innovation and strengthen industry collaboration.

Organized by the MOE and hosted by National Taipei University of Technology, the forum features sessions that combine in-depth policy discussions and practical sharing. On the morning of the opening day, two keynote speeches were delivered by Ms. Sarah Tong, Co-founder of Big Bang Academy, and Ms. Takara Small, a Canadian technology columnist at CBC Radio and TV, focusing respectively on Women and Youth Empowerment and Enhancing Digital Competitiveness, and Inclusive Growth through Innovative Enterprise Education, and both speakers shared practical experiences in promoting education and gender equality. In the afternoon, policy-sharing sessions featured National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and Chung Yuan Christian University which introduced the STEM Fields and Women Researcher Cultivation Subsidy Program, and the University Social Responsibility(USR) Program. This was followed by industry sharing, where representatives from FinTech, AI Wellness, and 5G mm Wave discussed innovative and inclusive models for business development.

On the second day, this forum continued with a panel discussion focused on Female Entrepreneurs in the Digital Age: Integrative Training in STEM and Leadership Growth, featuring experts from the fields of technology and business who explored how women can demonstrate leadership in the digital era. This discussion was followed by a session on female entrepreneurship experience sharing, and representatives from Korea, Mexico, and New Zealand introduced their economies’ policies and achievements in empowering women and youth.

On the final day, participants visited Impact Hub Taipei to gain firsthand insights into the R.O.C., Taiwan’s achievements in social innovation and sustainable education. The forum concluded with a wrap-up session and group discussions, during which participants summarized key outcomes and policy recommendations, bringing the event to a successful close.

The MOE stated that since its inception, the APEC Forum on Women and Youth Empowerment has continually served as an important platform for fostering cross-economy dialogue and collaboration among women and youth in the Asia-Pacific region. Through this year’s forum, the MOE hoped to further strengthen educational and industrial collaborations among APEC economies and to nurture innovative, inclusive, and globally minded talent, injecting new momentum into the region’s sustainable growth.