Strait Talk Taipei

Strait Talk is a non-partisan dialogue workshop that empowers young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to collaborate in transforming the Taiwan Strait conflict. It is the world's first initiative that enables direct political dialogue between youth from both sides of the Taiwan Strait with the goal of moving toward peace and understanding. Strait Talk comprises four chapters based in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States. Every year, each chapter hosts its own week-long Strait Talk dialogue, organized and funded by the local chapter leadership. These efforts are supported by a transnational steering committee, motivated by a common theory of change, and conducted through an innovative model of dialogue and conflict resolution. Strait Talk bridges grassroots youth advocacy and a long-term vision of the role of personal relationships in resolving conflicts. Its process is based on the Interactive Conflict Resolution method, which has been used since the 1960s to facilitate dialogue between people engaged in seemingly intractable conflicts. The basic goals of ICR are to creating personal trust across conflict lines and to empowering youth to develop creative and workable ideas to help spur official dialogue. Strait Talk is resolving the Taiwan Strait conflict in three steps: ‧ Identifying outstanding young people from the three communities. ‧ Transforming them into active peacemakers through a week-long experience of intense dialogue. ‧ Propelling them and their ideas to positions of influence through a high-level, inter-communal network.