Taiwan Excellence: Sharing is Caring, a global philanthropic campaign launched by Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), Ministry of Economic Affairs that seeks to address environmental and social problems through the use of Taiwan Excellence-winning products, announced the top three winning proposals today.
They were Solar Solutions for Indigenous Māori Communities (New Zealand), Educating and Empowering the Community through Mobile Kart (the Philippines), and One-day Medical Tour and Same-day Denture Delivery - Mobile Digital Denture Clinic & Oral Health Service Project (Taiwan).
Cynthia Kiang, Director General of BOFT virtually presented certificates to the winners during an awards ceremony. The BOFT said that the winning proposals would be funded and implemented according to how they plan out in the proposed region/country, hoping to promote kindness and good deeds in the local communities.
With the support from the industry, Sharing is Caring, which was held for the first time, has solicited ideas from all over the world that incorporate Taiwan Excellence winning products to address either social or environmental problems. The organizer was pleasantly surprised with the overwhelming amount of proposals they received, where a total of 781 proposals from 61 countries poured in, and the best of all was finally revealed after a careful, arduous and thoughtful selection.
Director General Kiang was excited to see that so much could be achieved and so many people participated for the first year of the campaign. “We could feel that love and care are everywhere in the world,” emphasized Kiang. “At the same time, the Taiwan Excellence winning companies will continue to spare no efforts in pushing forward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via the Campaign.”
Marareia Hamilton, one of the team members of the winning proposal “Solar Solutions for Indigenous Māori Communities” from New Zealand, has long been devoted to the development of Māori communities and helped establish workable business models for the locals. As many of the communities are located in remote areas, the power supply might be on and off due to grid stability issues. Thus, the team has proposed to install solar panels from Taiwan and to build a self-sustaining green energy power generation system within the communities. Marareia expressed her special thanks to Taiwan Excellence during the ceremony for lighting up the Māori communities, and for bringing Taiwan and New Zealand closer.
The other winning proposal was “Educating and Empowering the Community through Mobile Kart” from the Philippines. It was conceptualized to narrow the education divide between the remote villages and cities while enhancing environmental protection. The winning team put together a mobile classroom – a kart powered by solar panels and equipped with laptops and internet -- so that children in the remote areas can learn how to use computers and get connected to new things. The proposer Jonathan J. Cartilla thanked the Campaign for this opportunity to promote education in the rural areas. With the mobile kart, a classroom regardless of distance will no longer be just a dream but a reality.
Another winning proposal is from Taiwan: “One-day Medical Tour and Same-day Denture Delivery - Mobile Digital Denture Clinic & Oral Health Service Project” that sets out to care for the health and well-being of elderly people in the rural areas with a mobile medical vehicle full of dental care devices for measuring biodata. The team pointed out that the quality of their healthcare services is guaranteed by using Taiwan Excellence-winning products, while the car brings the goodwill of Taiwan Excellence to some of the farthest and remote corners of Taiwan.
The event also came with a lucky draw for those who predicted the winners. People were also invited to predict and vote for the winning proposals online. During the event, Director General Kiang revealed three winners who voted for the right proposals with prizes amounting to nearly NT$50,000.
For more information on the lucky draw winner list, visit https://share-care.taiwanexcellence.org/,
One of the members of the selection panel, Professor Chu Jou-Juo, felt impressed with how well-intentioned all the proposals were. But if one idea needs to stand out as a winning proposal, Professor Chu said a mere creative philanthropic idea is not enough. Feasibility and practicality should also be taken into consideration so that a good idea can be turned into positive action. It is also hoped more companies can come on board and join the Campaign as a fulfillment of their corporate social responsibility efforts.
| Country | Winning Proposals |
| New Zealand | Solar Solutions for Indigenous Māori Communities |
| Philippines | Educating and Empowering the Community Through Mobile Kart |
| Taiwan | One-day Medical Tour and Same-day Denture Delivery- Mobile Digital Denture Clinic & Oral Health Service Project |