Testimonies from Past Delegates
“Strait Talk to me has been a profound and heart touching experience, not to mention all the intelligence, creativity, and fun flying around the room every day. It was a lot more than I expected, which was in short, a academic conference that makes you grow in terms of professional knowledge but not in terms of personal growth. Instead at Strait Talk, I had the chance to really look into myself and discover the aspirations I've never realized before, have the confidence to speak up and be heard, and also, most importantly, to listen and share. The most valuable thing I made out of the experience was all the great people I met. I think one of the most important strength in a person is the ability to listen to others. At Strait Talk, we all had many opportunities to listen to others and also to ourselves... The wonderful diversity fostered our creativity and encouraged the open-mindedness of our generation be manifested into innovative peace dialogues and projects. Each and everyone of our 15 delegates have our own logic paths and ideals, but share the same passion to make the world a better place, and from that we built a friendship and trust that will certainly go beyond the time frame of the Symposium week and the geographical frame of Taiwan, China, or the US. It was simply wonderful to find the differences in our similarities, and our similarities in our differences. There was always so much to talk about--the past, present and future across the Strait, around the world, and in ourselves. I learn so much from every one of the delegates and organizers, and from that I learn more about myself. I truly do think Strait Talk made a difference in my life, and will carry the passion and momentum of the short week into my future plans and aspirations.” — Taiwan Delegate, ST Brown 2010
“The Strait Talk experience was utterly life changing. The Symposium honed personal developments in ways that I could never have previously imagined. Through the small group interactions and emphasis on trust and confidentiality, my fellow delegates and I grew and learned together, fostering strong and unique friendships that persist to this day. I found that the structure of the conference also helped me gain the assuredness to voice my opinions among my peers and speak with a confidence that I had lacked before. The Symposium empowered us with the tools to pave a more definite path for our goals and visions. We were strengthened through each other, through shared hopes and mutual support, and I’m positive we will all continue to stand by each other in individuals endeavors towards peace and stability.” — United States Delegate, ST Brown 2010
“During Strait Talk I experienced a frankness and openness that I was completely unexposed to previously when discussing cross-Strait relations, and it was both refreshing and fascinating. Reading scholarly information about the situation from all sides is one thing, but experiencing the opinions of the different students from all three delegations was something so unique and special. Our combined dedication to the issues and our cooperation really helped to facilitate a strong friendship amongst all 15 delegates as well.” — United States Delegate, ST Brown 2010
“It is not the kind of conference where everyone discusses what he or she already knows. Through Interactive Conflict Resolution sessions, panels, and friendship building with people from different backgrounds, I found myself transformed. I now see the world differently. I am surprised by my own transformation. I never thought that I could be able to reasonably talk with people from mainland, let alone forming a consensus document. … Strait Talk brings people together, people who did not necessarily share the same beliefs at first, but we were all deeply inspired by each other on many different levels and discovered a fairly simple common goal—we want peace.” — Taiwan Delegate, ST Brown 2010