In coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tamkang University promotes the International Youth Ambassador Exchange Program, and in recent days Professor Chen Hsiao-chuan, director of the Graduate Institute of the Americas, led the 2013 International Youth Ambassadors Mission to Mexico for a 14-day cultural exchange. The mission members began writing the project proposal in March for this exchange activity in order to draw up their lesson plans. After the selections were determined, preparations were launched for the various courses at the end of April and practiced repeatedly in the hope that the richest aspects of Chinese culture would be presented to Mexico, and that the goals for this exchange task and mission would be reached.

The opening ceremonies for the Mexico Exchange Mission were held at Universidad Iberoamericana on August 8th, during which the youth ambassadors performed a tea ceremony and a traditional sleeve dance to enthusiastically favorable criticism. In addition to the school’s principal and Taiwan’s representative to Mexico Lee Sing-ying, guests from other schools also joined the festivities. Head of the delegation, Director Chen Hsiao-chuan, said that the TKU delegates studied the tea ceremony at the Yun Fong Tea Shop in Tamshui prior to departure for Mexico, and that Yun Fong donated the much-loved tea used in the ceremony, which came in handy making tea in Mexico, and supported the mission’s performance. Five of the delegates are students in the Institute for Latin American Studies: Zhou Houyu, Li Yizhen, Wei Yijia, Wang Wanru and Huang Ruihong. One student, Li Xiangyu, is from the Institute of European Studies. All of the delegates can speak Spanish, so their exchanges with local students were very lively.

The mission visited the following schools during the fourteen-day trip: Universidad Iberoamericana, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (UAEH), TecMonterrey, La Voz, Colegio de México, Universidad de Valle de México (UVM). UAEM is a sister school with TKU, and the TKU delegates received an exceptionally warm welcome on this campus. TKU President Flora Chia-I Chang asked Director Chen to present a letter to UAEM President Jorge Olvera García so as to promote friendship between the two schools. President García held a banquet for the Youth Ambassadors as an expression of the esteem which UAEM has for TKU.

The youth ambassadors prepared several courses on Chinese culture at the exchange of universities in Mexico, such as, the tea ceremony, tea and refreshments, paper-cutting, Chinese knot-tying, traditional festivals, impressions of Taiwanese, et cetera. In addition, they designed group activities and children’s toys in order to quickly interact with local students. Each university in Mexico welcomed their guests at the opening with folk dances, inviting the youth ambassadors from Taiwan to join in and thereby fully achieving a mutual cultural exchange. American studies student Zhou Houyu said that it was the goal of the mission to help local people become familiar with Taiwan culture. “Originally, we thought of a few things that were already past their prime that might be a new experience in the eyes of local people, but during the process of giving directions, we rediscovered the beauty of Taiwan’s culture.” She said that she was quite moved by the importance local people attached to these types of cultural activities.

Under arrangements made by the Mexico Representative Office, the Youth Cultural Ambassadors Mission also accepted interviews from mainstream media like Mexican national television station ABC and Hidalgo TV, among others, and they paid a visit to the Mexican House of Representatives. Director Chen Hsiao-chuan expressed how happy she was to have this opportunity to take the mission abroad on a cultural exchange, which allowed her to personally experience so many cultural exchange activities on such a deep level. These activities not only promote recognition of Taiwanese culture among young Mexicans but draw both sides closer together as well. Taiwan soft power diplomacy can also make incursions in the global arena through the spread of culture.

SDGs

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