We were pleased to participate for the first time this year in the Girls Run the World (GRTW) Melbourne Takeover Program, hosting this year's participants on 9–10 April. Through a series of engagements spanning political exchange, academic networking, and community affairs, we offered participants an in-depth look at Taiwan's public diplomacy work, its diverse society, and the evolving people-to-people connections between Taiwan and Australia.
This year's two participants are current students at the University of Melbourne with backgrounds in politics, international studies, and Chinese language studies. Both expressed strong interest in Taiwan-Australia relations, gender equality, and Taiwan's multicultural society. GRTW is a Melbourne-based non-governmental organisation dedicated to cultivating leadership among young women, with collaborating partners including NGOs, think tanks, and consulates-general from several countries.
Our Director-General Ming-Tse Lu emphasised that at its core, diplomacy is about building mutual understanding and trust between people. Taiwan actively embraces the spirit of "All-Out Diplomacy" championed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, deepening partnerships across Taiwanese and Australian society through political, community, cultural, and civil society connections. Director-General Lu also noted that Taiwan's commitment to gender equality is widely recognised across Asia and beyond, and expressed his hope that more young Australians will come to know Taiwan as an open, inclusive, and resilient democratic society.
During the program, participants joined a working lunch with Craig Smith, President of the Australia-Taiwan Studies Association (ATSA) and a Taiwan Fellowship recipient, exchanging views on Taiwan's academic environment and scholarship opportunities including the Taiwan Fellowship and related programs. Participants also visited community organisations including the Melbourne Hakka Association and Tzu Chi Melbourne, gaining firsthand experience of how Taiwan's civil society promotes cultural diplomacy and community welfare overseas.
We are delighted to have joined the GRTW program for the first time and look forward to continuing to engage through youth exchange and leadership networks — further strengthening the people-to-people connections between Taiwan and Australia, and deepening mutual understanding between our two societies.
