To All Youth Travelers: Warm greetings from the beautiful island of Taiwan! I extend my sincere appreciation to all of you who participated in the 4th Youth Trekkers Wanted campaign. The full list of 20 finalists from 13 countries was posted to our official website’s Hot News section on December 29th. Excitement about the Youth Trekkers Wanted campaign has grown by leaps and bounds. The 653 submissions from 55 countries received this year is 1.4 times more than the 466 received from 32 countries last year. After reviewing all 4th Youth Trekkers Wanted campaign submissions, a National Youth Commission-appointed panel of seasoned backpackers, academics and other experts made their decisions and offered the following comments: 1. In addition to having a creative theme, submissions should embody the unique character, perspective, insightfulness and inspiration of their authors. Itinerary completeness and adequate depth were also key selection criteria this year. All are critical to designing trek itineraries capable of plugging youth travelers into rewarding Taiwan adventures that go beyond the reach of regular tourists. 2. Itinerary feasibility and viability were also important considerations. We assessed practicality of implementation as well as the value of each itinerary in terms of sharing with and promoting to other youth travelers. How applicants expressed the inherent creativity and practicality of their ideas was also important. We did not just limit our focus to applicants’ plans to share travel experiences with friends and family via Facebook and personal blogs. 3. We encourage future Youth Trekkers Wanted campaign participants to consider incorporating professional and personal interests into their itineraries and, perhaps, think about how to use cultural differences as their starting point. We wish everyone happy holidays and a warm and prosperous New Year of the Dragon!!   National Youth Commission, Executive Yuan