Kuo Chia-yo
President of the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association (TDDA)
BA in Business Administration, National Taiwan University
MA in School of Public Policy, Central European University
Taking place every third month of the lunar calendar, the Mazu Pilgrimage is one of the world’s three major religious festivals, with this year bringing together hundreds to form an international group including envoys from 13 countries and guests from over 20 countries – a “diplomatic pilgrimage group”.
The hard work behind this group’s formation in what is probably the most international Mazu pilgrimage ever, is Kuo Chia-yo. Not having reached the age of 30, Miss Kuo was already leading a group of like-minded youths to collaborate with the General Association of Chinese Taoism, completing this Herculean task in just 12 days.
From Kosovo to Vietnam, Young Taiwanese Engage in Digital Diplomacy
When living in Kosovo in 2017, Kuo attracted the global media’s attention after applying her online social communication skills to help Kosovo acquire its own national Internet domain. After realizing that “digital diplomacy” might actually bring about substantial change for her own country’s place in the world, she returned to Taiwan and established the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association.
In 2019, Kuo met Dee, a Vietnamese student in Taiwan and founder of Taiwan Diary (Vietnam), and after learning that both had similar interests about the island nation, they decided crowdsource funds and open a café in Ho Chi Minh City called Taiwan Corner.
What exactly is digital diplomacy? Kuo explains it’s the opening up of cross-border communication and promotion via the Internet to experiment with diplomacy at the civilian level, turning online momentum into actually gathering in person.
Sowing Trust by Linking Foreign Communities in Taiwan
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the world, the calm and safety lived in Taiwan is hard to come by, during which the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association (TDDA) organized last year’s only parade for Norwegian Constitution Day and a 13-team Latin American football competition enjoyed by four thousand spectators. These ordinary events occurring in such extraordinary times caught the eye of many around the globe who perhaps knew nothing about Taiwan previously.
The past three years, Kuo has pioneered in creating spaces for diplomatic exchange at the civilian level, with each plan being one without precedent.
“From Kosovo to Vietnam, from Central America to Oceania, we bring small nations who are less familiar with Taiwan closer, and challenge diplomatic allies that Taiwanese both recognize and don’t. One after another, our experimental events show the limitless possibilities when people participate in diplomatic situations, proving that everyone can get involved in diplomacy.
Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association: https://www.facebook.com/TaiwanDigitalDiplomacy
