 Students from the Republic of China Taiwan have started displaying their skills at the start of an international youth ambassadors exchange program. The program will run until September 9th and will include a cultural camp, a courtesy call to parliament, and a Taiwan-sincluded cultural night. The Arthur Lewis Community College is the first stop in the week of cross-cultural activities. The visiting creative arts students are showcasing the musical talent to their counterparts at the college. Using traditional instruments, the visiting students are treating their host to an interlude of mellow music. And not to seem upstaged, creative arts students of Sir Arthur spice things up with a traditional song and dance. Head of the Department of Digital Humanities, New Media and Creative Industries, Dr. Jenny Joseph says this interaction is invaluable for her students. What we hope to gain from this honestly is that our students will be inspired. They will also learn about other cultural forms other than their own. They will also share with the Taiwanese students what they know about Senucian culture and hopefully it will ignite their passion a bit more when it comes to their interest in the creative and performing arts. One of the highlights of the exchange is a Taiwan-sincluded cultural and culinary evening on September 7th at the National Cultural Center. The students are collaborating on the menu and are excited for the evening. Kasper Zai from Taiwan is looking forward to using local ingredients while Gikela Ume of the Hospitality Division of Sir Arthur Lewis feels privileged to be part of this historic exchange. What we are looking forward is that we can learn from this time's experience and we can adjust like local ingredients like how do we use local ingredients and also to know more about the environment, the crops, the ingredients. We also do international courses where we learn different cooking methods and cuisines from the Mediterranean, Italy, Greece, French, we learn different skills, different menus and we learn to cook them up in the pastry or down in the kitchen at Sir Arthur. This is the second time such an exchange is happening between students of the two countries. Taiwan's ambassador believes it's a reflection of shared values and a mutual understanding. According to his Excellency Peter Chen, this cultural exchange will deepen cooperation between the two countries. Sir Arthur Lewis Community College's Vice-Principal Dr. Winston Filgers welcomed the students. He says, given the history of the college as a war fought, the college is the perfect place for this young people's exchange. So our campus today is a place that used to be a place of war. I think you will find it to be one of the most historic campuses and a very beautiful place. Its beauty however hides the past in which men used war to settle disagreements. In that regard, I think it is fitting that the youth forum in which young people of our nations meet to share thoughts and ideas can be exposed to each other's culture is happening on such a campus where a place of war becomes now a place of peace and cultural exchange. The theme for this year's Youth Exchange Program is Youth Innovation. Taiwan and St. Lucia take action. From the Government Information Service, I am Virgil Leonti reporting.