Transforming Cultural Sovereignty into Global Competitiveness

Austrade’s Melanie Harris on Her First Encounter with Taiwan’s Indigenous Cultures

Chen Chun-fang　/　photos by Jimmy Lin

June 2026

中文

Melanie Harris (right) of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) visited Taiwan for the first time in the summer of 2026, experiencing various aspects of Taiwan’s Indigenous cultures and opening a new door to mutual understanding. (courtesy of the Commercial Section, Australian Office)

In the afternoon at the Australian Office Taipei, Melanie Harris greets us with an easy, spirited smile. Harris is head of Indigenous Engagement and Export at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade). A trailblazer who served as Australia’s first female Trade and Investment Commissioner of Indigenous ethnicity and was previously posted to Malaysia, she has in recent years devoted herself to helping First Nations Australian businesses reach international markets.

On her first visit to Taiwan this summer, Harris’s brief itinerary took her to an Amis traditional winery, Kavulungan Austronesian Cultural Exchange Park, the Council of Indigenous Peoples, and Taiwan Indigenous Television. Before returning home, she spoke exclusively with Taiwan Panorama, sharing a broad cross-cultural perspective on how the deep foundations of traditional Indigenous culture can be transformed into a competitive advantage in international markets. Her visit also opened a new door for exchanges between the Indigenous peoples of Taiwan and Australia, creating a new opportunity for both sides to better understand one another.

As Austrade’s Head of Indigenous Engagement and Export and Australia’s first female Indigenous Trade and Investment Commissioner, Melanie Harris has helped First Nations Australian businesses reach international markets.

Harris visits Taiwan Indigenous Television to learn about the work of Taiwan’s Indigenous media. (courtesy of the Commercial Section, Australian Office)

A sense of belonging, like coming home
Speaking of her recent visit to Taitung, Harris’s eyes light up with excitement. “I have felt very at home here in Taiwan, and I think having those experiences just cemented that sort of welcoming and at-home feeling I’ve had since I first landed,” she says. “I didn’t feel like I’d come to a foreign country at all. It felt like a very familiar country. And I’d never been here before. I’ve just loved it.”

In Taitung, Harris, herself a First Nations Australian, joined Amis people in making traditional rice wine. The experience gave her a deeper appreciation of the role rice wine plays in Indigenous community life in Taiwan, linking people with their ancestors. At Kavulungan Austronesian Cultural Exchange Park, she took part in a Paiwan ceremony: kindling a fire, formally addressing the ancestral spirits, and washing her hands with attention to a prescribed sequence. These ancient and rigorous rituals did not make her feel like an outsider. Instead, they left her deeply moved and grounded.

Harris says she found a powerful sense of commonality in Taiwan’s Indigenous cultures: “There’s definitely a lot of shared values,” she observes. “The rituals and traditions, and the importance attached to them, felt very similar and very strong here.” It is in this profound connection to the land, and in this respect for traditional rituals and crops, that the Indigenous cultures of Taiwan and Australia find a resonance that transcends the ocean.

At Kavulungan Austronesian Cultural Exchange Park in Taitung County, Harris experiences traditional rituals and senses the close connection between Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples and the land, making her feel warmly at home. (courtesy of the Commercial Section, Australian Office)

At Truly Wine, an Amis traditional rice-wine producer, Harris joins Amis people in making traditional rice wine, gaining a sense of the cultural meaning of grain in the community. (courtesy of the Commercial Section, Australian Office)

Traditional wisdom and ESG’s green opportunities
As global markets increasingly organize themselves around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks, the cultural foundations of Indigenous peoples’ harmonious coexistence with nature are becoming a distinctive source of international competitiveness. Harris believes that “especially from an Australian Indigenous perspective, our culture is naturally aligned to ESG priorities, because culture, sustainability, and community are central to our culture.” She further explains that this competitive advantage comes from “a place of authenticity and connection to land” and from “long-term thinking,” qualities that are attractive to global buyers because they are looking for businesses with “genuine purpose and values behind them.”

Harris gives an example of an Indigenous Australian business that has transformed traditional knowledge of living with fire into land management services for the green economy. Using traditional “cultural burning,” First Nations Australians manage local savanna and forest land by setting underbrush aflame to reduce fuel loads, thereby helping to prevent larger, more destructive wildfires later on, with many other benefits for the ecosystem as well. Importantly, the timing and scale of such burns are guided by Indigenous knowledge. Meanwhile, Australia is exploring how the carbon-reduction benefits of such fire management can be incorporated into carbon accounting and carbon-credit trading systems. This innovative model, which takes into account both traditional knowledge and modern carbon-credit standards, offers a valuable point of reference for Taiwan as it continues to develop and refine its own carbon-credit trading mechanisms.

During her visit to Taiwan, Harris met with many Indigenous entrepreneurs, government agencies, and organizations for warm exchanges. (courtesy of the Commercial Section, Australian Office)

Opening the way for Indigenous women
As Australia’s first female Indigenous Trade and Investment Commissioner, posted to Kuala Lumpur, Harris describes the role as “a privilege” and “a responsibility back to my people.” She says she has always tried to focus on “creating pathways for others,” and believes that leadership can look different: “I bring my whole self. And I think being authentic is a key thing.” For young Indigenous women, she adds, “representation matters. . . . You just can’t be what you can’t see.”

Harris (third from left) visits the Council of Indigenous Peoples, expressing hopes for more substantive exchange and cooperation between the Indigenous peoples of Australia and Taiwan.

At the close of the interview, we ask Harris what advice she would give to entrepreneurs. Her answer is direct: “Go for it. Always go for it.” She continues: “My advice is always to back yourself and stay connected to your identity and your values.” Global markets, she says, are always looking for “something that’s unique and values-driven, and for authentic voices.” In a crowded international marketplace, authenticity is what resonates: “There’s a lot of noise out there, and so when the authentic one comes along, people really resonate with it.” Her final message is simple but firm: “Be true to yourself. Your authenticity and your story will allow you to go long and far.”