Initiatives of Change: Asia-Pacific Youth Conference-2014 in Taiwan

The 20th Asia Pacific Youth Conference (APYC) was held in Taiwan from August 2 to 9, 2014. The forum gathered more than 100 participants from 14 countries of the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, including one from Bangladesh. The Initiatives of Change is a worldwide movement of people committed to the transformation of society through changes in human motives and behaviour, starting with their own. It has a vision to develop a just, peaceful and sustainable world to which everyone makes their unique contribution.

The social, political, economic and environmental crises of the present world signify the need for global cooperation to address these issues. The APYC has developed a platform for concerned youths from Asia Pacific region and beyond to have sincere dialogues on how individuals can identify their roles and take personal responsibilities for major issues of the world today and find specific steps for the sustainable solutions.
The conference opened with the welcome speech of the Chairperson followed by Secretary General of IofC, Taiwan and a representative of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan.

The conference was full of events like team building, parallel workshops, plenary sessions, morning reflection, quiet time, community time, outing in Taipei, cultural excursion, cultural evening, friendship bazaar, home-stay program and so forth. Each participant had the choice to participate in conference workshops on creative leadership for inspired action, building management competencies from the cross-country experience etc, which helped to explore the potential of the participants and developed new ideas, concepts, leadership and problem solving skills. At the plenary sessions, we were informed about Chinese educational reform, environmental problems and protection measures in Taiwan from experienced social activists, environmentalists and educationalists. I also had the opportunity to talk about youth employment situation, entrepreneurial spirit of the youth and present scenario and prospect of business growth in Bangladesh, especially in the sectors of garments, leather, IT, pharmaceuticals, ceramic etc.  

We also had the opportunity to explore old streets, famous night market, Theater Street, culture and creative park, and the landmark Taipei 101 in Taipei city. A visit to National Palace Museum was truly memorable. An excursion to traditional industries such as Kuo Yuan Ye Bakery Museum and Taiwan Glass Gallery offered participants an insight into innovation and creativity.

The closing ceremony was full of entertainment with Taiwanese and participating country presentations. There were also opportunities to introduce culture and history of each participating country to a group of school children of Taiwan through a space presentation. I represented Bangladesh, specifically with a presentation on the significance of February 21 as International Mother Language Day. The program ended with decisions and commitment of the participants regarding APYC experience, IofC's principles and approaches to change one's life and the world as well.