The Pacific Islands Leadership Program with Taiwan (PILP) is a training program jointly operated by Hawaii’s East–West Center and the ROC’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. PILP seeks to cultivate and diversify the skills of outstanding young people with a curriculum that complements the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, and addresses a variety of issues of concern to Pacific island nations, including global climate change, economic development, gender equality, the environment, education, peace and security.

Hawaiian governor Neil Abercrombie spoke at the October 13 opening ceremony, noting that the PILP participants were all children of the Pacific who shared the island experience and expressing the hope that they would not sell themselves short. As he said: “President Obama is a son of the islands, just like us. You never know what the future holds for you.”

Established in 1960, the East–West Center is an important promoter of understanding and cooperation between the United States and the Asia–Pacific region, and has trained more than 60,000 students in its five-plus decades of existence.

Taiwan has had a close relationship with Hawaii since 1993. The two have engaged in numerous exchanges and cooperative endeavors over the last 20 years and in 2012 signed the memorandum of understanding that launched PILP, a program that aims to help Pacific island nations further their national development by providing training to 125 young leaders over five years.

Program participants must be less than 38 years of age and must have worked for at least two years in a Pacific island nation. They must also have leadership, international exchange or volunteer experience. The individuals selected to participate have varied backgrounds, but are alike in being outstanding in their fields.

PILP helps students understand regional issues and trends likely to impact the Asia–Pacific, while also cultivating their professional and leadership skills.

The curriculum has two segments. Participants spend the first two months in Hawaii studying agriculture, fisheries, renewable energy, and public health in a classroom setting. They then spend a month in Taiwan examining and verifying what they learned in Hawaii “in the field.” They also become familiar with Taiwan’s political, social, economic, and educational development.

The second part of the program, which runs from October 11 to November 8, takes these 26 students from 13 island nations to every corner of Taiwan and provides them with a priceless educational experience.

The current term’s participants include five each from Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and roughly half of the total have an environmental, commercial, or international relations background. Students will experience the full range of Taiwan’s cultural diversity and inclusiveness during their stay, meeting everyone from high-ranking government officials to ordinary citizens, and visiting everything from major infrastructure projects to bustling night markets.

Ian Hetri is a graduate of the tropical agriculture program at Papua New Guinea’s University of Natural Resources and Environment. In the years since completing his formal schooling, he has worked, founded his own investment company, and written online about his personal growth and the nature of success. He has also published a Papua New Guinean bestseller, a 2013 collection of his online articles.

Just 28 years old, Hetri loves to travel and learn new things. He says he is participating in this year’s PILP in hopes of furthering his own development.

“Papua New Guinea is a small country,” says Hetri. “Having the opportunity to learn from the US and Taiwan is incredibly valuable.” He notes that the second part of the course allows students to apply the knowledge and theories they studied in the first part to real life, and to test them against Taiwanese examples.

William Klein, political section chief with the American Institute in Taiwan, says that PILP is more than just a youth exchange program. It is also an indicator of the friendship and trust between Taiwan and the US.

He stresses that the US is itself a Pacific nation, that its future is closely tied to that of the region’s island nations, and that it intends to promote more cooperation in the future to bring still greater prosperity to all.

Vanessa Shih, ROC vice foreign minister, notes that the Pacific island nations enjoy rich maritime resources, with valuable fisheries, mining and energy resources. Taiwan’s East China Sea Peace Initiative, which seeks to end conflict and stimulate cooperation through joint development and resource sharing, has received international acclaim and provided Pacific island nations with a model worth their consideration.

It is hoped that programs like PILP will strengthen the US–Taiwan partnership, and suggest still other areas in which Taiwan, the US and the Pacific islands can work together.

The island nations of the Pacific must not be left behind as the nations of the world accelerate their integration into regional partnerships. As Governor Abercrombie said, “The Pacific Ocean doesn’t divide us, but rather defines us.”

The next ten years will be critical to addressing global climate change, especially for island nations. The citizens of these nations must make their voices heard, and share their experience of living in harmony with the sea and the natural world.