The General Education Center of University of Taipei held the "All Out Diplomacy Workshop" on December 11, 2020. It was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, R.O.C. It is our pleasure to have Ambassador Vanessa Shih to deliver this speech. She is the youngest female Administrative Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan. Moreover, she served as a Director-general of the Government Information Office, Executive Yuan, and she a former ambassador to Singapore. Shih currently serves as an Ambassador of the School of Foreign Affairs and International Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the speech, Ambassador Shih shared her experience of diplomacy. She encouraged students to pay high attention to the Foreign Affairs nowadays and take part in the international affairs in leisure time. In addition, Shih provides plenty of ways for college students to participate in international affairs, such as being an international youth ambassador or having a working holiday, etc. Through these valuable experiences, students acquire a great amount of knowledge and interpersonal communication skills. As a result, students may increase their interest in international participation. Furthermore, Ambassador Shi mentioned the most important part of the speech—international etiquette. By having Q&A times and role plays, she made the listeners deeply immerse themselves in the workshop. To make the participants understand that every action has its purpose in formal occasions, she explained each etiquette individually. Here are some important international etiquettes: (1) The elder person, especially women, may offer her hand first for a handshake. The younger one, especially men, may wait for the ladies to offer their hands. The main consideration is the age between two of them, and the secondary consideration may be the gender. (2) Dressing in formal occasions is also an important aspect. Participants must wear designated costumes to take part in the banquet. If the banquet is designated with an evening dress, the ladies must dress in an evening dress or a gown. It is inappropriately to wear the casual clothes there. (3) While eating, you must follow the table manner. There are some specific order and time to use each of tableware. For example, salad forks are only used for salads. When it comes to cutlery, always start from outside-in. If someone uses the wrong cutlery at the wrong time, he or she will made a gaffe. In fact, there are many strict regulations on international etiquette of dining, clothing , housing, and transportation. Although it may be a bit cumbersome, it is the most basic way to get along with others. Moreover, if you don’t pay attention to it, you will be laughed and made a gaffe. Therefore, it is better to learn some international etiquettes before you participate in international affairs. Due to the techniques shared by Ambassador Shi in this speech, listeners may learn some of the international etiquettes. At the end of the speech, Ambassador Shi answered all the questions from the students during the QA time. After the speech, some students asked more information about the international youth ambassador to the ambassador. It shows that this speech really promoted the willingness of the listeners to join the international affairs. We believe that after this workshop, every participant got loads out of it. The idea of joining the international affairs may be deeply rooted in their heart. The moment it sprouts, the new ambassador shows up.

Implemented by General Education Center
Date: 2020/12/11