On Oct. 26, the CIP held the closing ceremony of the“2021 Austronesian Forum: Cultivation Program of Young Talents for International Affairs” (Taiwan Training Class) at the Taipei Garden Hotel. The ceremony, hosted by CIP Minister Icyang Parod, was attended by diplomatic representatives from Palau, Nauru, Tuvalu, Belize, Papua New Guinea, United States, and Hawaii.

    Mr. Icyang stated that to ensure the continuous development of indigenous peoples worldwide and to cultivate young indigenous peoples to participate in international affairs, the CIP introduced the “Cultivation Program of Young Talents for International Affairs” in 2003. Since then, the program has successfully trained nearly 800 outstanding young talents. In 2016, the CIP began inviting foreign students around the globe to enroll in the program. This year, young students from 12 countries including the United States, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, and Australia gathered together to discuss important international indigenous peoples-related issues and facilitate indigenous people’s participation in international affairs.

During the closing ceremony, Mr. Icyang presented the The Origins of the Austronesians: Papers from 2019 International Austronesian Language Revitalization Forum, a book published by the CIP in August of this year, as a gift to the students. The book is the first in Taiwan to explore the origin of Austronesians from the perspectives of linguistics, archaeology, genetics, and botany and also cites crucial studies conducted by American linguist Robert Blust and Australian archaeologist Peter Bellwood that identify Taiwan as the site of origin of the Austronesians. Mr. Icyang used the remarkable migration journey of the Austronesians to encourage all students to embark on their own personal journeys after completing the program and to stay in touch with one another as they work together to ensure the development of indigenous peoples.

The CIP also indicated that in the future it plans to organize the Cultivation Program of Young Talents for International Affairs (Regional Training Class). The Program intends to select outstanding students to undergo training in other countries so as to allow students to familiarize themselves with the local cultures and issues of other countries, which was well-received by the students and diplomatic representatives of various countries in attendance.