The 2020 Executive Council meeting was convened by the Council of Indigenous Peoples in Taipei today, present were ambassadors and representatives of the Austronesian Forum members to Taiwan. The meeting was chaired by Chairperson Icyang of the Executive Council. Delegates to the meeting all highly approved of the results the Forum has achieved in various working projects, and confirmed that the Forum general assembly will be held at the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the second half of next year.
Chairperson Icyang stated that the Austronesian Forum is an international organization originally initiated and established by Taiwan. It was jointly reactivated by 12 countries in the Pacific region on August 1, 2018, the Indigenous Peoples' Day, with the Headquarters Office activated in the Republic of Palau on September 30, 2019. Routine Executive Council meetings are convened annually. Originally planned for June in Hawaii, due to COVID-19, the Executive Council meeting was instead held in Taiwan this year on a smaller scale to comply with disease control measures.
Chairperson Icyang pointed out that many important projects were completed in the last year with the joint effort of various members. For example, the 2019 International Indigenous Economic Development Forum held in Taoyuan last December. 29 speakers from 9 countries were invited to exchange experiences and join hands in improving the competitiveness of Austronesian industries. In addition, the 2020 Cultivation Program of Young Talents for International Affairs held this July in Saviki Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County, was participated by 29 trainees from Taiwan and 12 members in the Austronesian region, in which everyone engaged in-depth exchange and empowerment of Austronesian young talents.
Chairperson Icyang further mentioned that three countries attended the Executive Council meeting for the first time this year, including Papua New Guinea, Australia and Canada. Among which, Papua New Guinea has already applied formally to join the Forum as an official member.
Contact Person: Sayun‧Tosu
Contact Number: +886-2-8995-3092
Appendix: Full text of speech by the Chair of Executive Council
Ambassadors and representatives, our participants, Ng’ayho! Hello everyone! Last year, we held the Executive Council meeting in Palau on September 30. During which, resolution was made that the Forum general assembly and Executive Council meeting were to be held in Hawaii this June. However, the COVID-19 outbreak beginning this March is still severe globally, and therefore, the meeting is instead held in Taiwan and on a smaller scale this year. Today, we will be connecting with the Palau Headquarters via videoconferencing, with the Deputy Secretary-General Uroi Salii online. In addition, we would like to thank Her Majesty Bilung Gloria Salii and Traditional Leader Rekemesil Surangel S. Whipps, Sr, for engaging in our discussions.
This year, many important international conferences were put on hold. However, thanks to the remarkable disease control performance of the Taiwan government, we are still able to gather here today and meet face to face. For this, I feel very fortunate and extremely grateful. Therefore, I believe we should cherish this opportunity, continue to discuss issues important to the Austronesian peoples and contribute to our regional development.
I would of course like to point out that in the Executive Council meeting last year, we shared with everyone that a Six-Year Plan was verified and approved by the Taiwan government in support of the Austronesian Forum, providing us with stable budget and manpower to promote the various projects of language and culture, industry, and human resource empowerment in the Austronesian region. This year, some of the projects and plans were put on hold due to the pandemic. For example, for language survey and research, we were originally going to send a professional team to collect and study the Austronesian languages, starting from Tuvalu. Unfortunately, the trip was cancelled. However, even with such challenges, we managed to complete many projects and planned the key working projects for next year, which we are going to report in the following meeting.
I look forward to engaging in further discussions with everyone during the meeting later on and exchange our opinions. Thank you. Aray
