MOFA programs to send 12 Taiwanese to global NGOs on internships

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) Two government-sponsored internship programs will be sending 12 local NGO executives and students to gain experience at international NGOs (INGOs) around the globe this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday.

One of the two programs, first launched in 2005, sends Taiwan-based NGO executives to international organizations to strengthen their capabilities, MOFA said in a press release.

So far, more than 70 Taiwanese NGO executives have been selected and sent overseas for an internship with INGOs, it said.

Another program, initiated in 2019, allows students between the ages of 18 and 35 who want to learn new skills and broaden their horizons to serve as interns for an international NGO overseas.

Since then, nine Taiwanese students have been sent to INGOs in Europe and the United States for internships under that program.

After a screening process undertaken by the two programs earlier this year, MOFA said it has selected five Taiwanese NGO executives to intern at NGOs that work on such issues as agricultural technology, child care, information analysis and gender equality in Thailand, Nepal, the United States, and the Netherlands.

Another seven Taiwanese students, meanwhile, were chosen to intern at NGOs focused on women's empowerment, humanitarian assistance, environmental protection and youth issues in Japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Palau, MOFA said.

The 12 are expected to begin their internship programs later this month, MOFA said, adding that these Taiwanese interns will also help promote Taiwan on the global stage during the process.