Capacity building has become a much-discussed
topic in recent years. In addition to shaping the response
toward developing countries’ human resources needs,
capacity building also reflects something of a new
direction in foreign aid strategy. Working in accordance
with such trends and drawing on Taiwan’s comparative
advantages, we aim to meet partners’ national
development needs by assisting them to strengthen
education systems, build a pool of basic human capital,
cultivate professional expertise in a variety of fields and
nurture quality skills throughout their labor forces, as
discussed in further detail below.
Reducing Barriers to Enrollment; Achieving Universal
Primary Education:
With basic education forming the bedrock of personal
and national development, we are supporting one of the
MDGs, “Achieve universal primary education,” especially
through our promotion of a TaiwanICDF Scholarship
Program in Burkina Faso.
The project is funded by the TaiwanICDF, while
Terre des Hommes – a Lausanne, Switzerland, based
organization – is implementing the project. The
TaiwanICDF, the Taiwanese embassy in Burkina Faso
and UNICEF are all responsible for monitoring project
progress. Funding is being employed at gold mines and
quarries throughout nine districts in three provinces,
sufficient for at least 2,000 cases of financial support,
including for families who lack the means to support
preschool children, children of school age or young
children who have not had the chance to pursue primary
education before. Providing assistance to improve
primary education facilities at such sites will improve
students’ learning environments, enhance the schooling
opportunities and learning outcomes of impoverished
children, and gradually reduce instances of exploitation
and child labor through the provision of education.
Meeting Regional Demand for National Development
Through a Range of Workshops:
Since 2011, we have been gradually organizing
a greater number of specific courses as part of our
program of workshops, including worldwide, regional
and single-country workshops. This is introducing
partners to Taiwan’s unique experiences of social and
economic development and assisting them to develop
their human resources. Every year we organize around
20 workshops, whose main themes cover economics and
trade, agriculture, fisheries, social development, human
resources, TVET, environmental protection, health care
and ICT. As many as 400 people – government officers
from developing countries, together with high-level
government officials and NGO personnel – visit Taiwan
annually to participate in these events.
Education
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