Civic
Contributing What We Know Best
The Digital Diplomacy Association does not begin with the idea of giving.
Instead, it begins with participating in someone else’s challenge.
Rather than arriving with resources to “help,”
they choose to stand alongside local young people—
working on the issues that matter most to them,
becoming partners built on trust and shared commitment.
Instead, it begins with participating in someone else’s challenge.
Rather than arriving with resources to “help,”
they choose to stand alongside local young people—
working on the issues that matter most to them,
becoming partners built on trust and shared commitment.
Duration：2018~2021
Rationale
In recent years, many organizations in Taiwan have successfully introduced international initiatives into the country.
Projects such as TFT, DFC, Social Enterprise Insights, and Fuckup Nights Taipei have connected Taiwan with global movements through licensing international concepts.
But the Digital Diplomacy Association chose a different path.
Instead of starting with the act of giving, they chose to participate in other people’s problems.
Rather than arriving with resources, they stand with local young people—
working together on issues those communities genuinely care about, and becoming partners who share both trust and effort.
Taiwan’s younger generation has built considerable expertise across many fields:
- curation
- design
- data visualization
- open data
- digital storytelling
but to help others solve real problems,
then what we often call “soft power” can transform into something warmer—
a kind of “warm power” that people can genuinely feel.
And trust is often built slowly in exactly this way.
Initiatives
The founder of the Digital Diplomacy Association, Chiayo Kuo (郭家佑) , once raised an issue few people had considered.
The Balkan country Kosovo declared independence in 2008 and has been recognized by more than 110 countries.
Yet even today, it still does not have its own country-code domain—there is no “.ks.”
For many young Kosovars, this is not merely a technical issue.
It symbolizes a deeper question:Are we truly seen by the world?
Chiayo Kuo (郭家佑) hoped to travel to Kosovo and work with local youth to advocate for this cause.
We did not want this to become a transactional exchange, nor a calculation of returns.
We simply said something straightforward:
If you want to make friends with the world, don’t begin with too much calculation.
So we provided partial funding and a one-way plane ticket.
And the return ticket?
We trusted that friends in Kosovo would make sure he came home safely.
This was not recklessness.
It was trust.
Impact
During the Kosovo initiative, Chiayo Kuo (郭家佑) also brought partners from Taiwan into the project.
He collaborated with SimpleInfo Design to create clear and engaging infographics explaining the “.ks” issue.
He connected with Dot Dot Good, curating an installation exhibition titled “Kosovo NEXT10” at the National Museum.
Through design and storytelling, Taiwan did not merely express support from the sidelines.
It became an active participant.
Following the Kosovo experience, the Digital Diplomacy Association was formally established.
This journey introduced a new dimension to Taiwan’s role as a digital citizen on the global stage.
Not a cold export of technology,
but a partner willing to engage with empathy, creativity, and collaboration in solving shared problems.
Sometimes diplomacy is not forged through treaties at negotiation tables.
Sometimes it begins with a simple willingness
to walk part of the road toward someone else’s future.
