On Friday, February 28, 2025, the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club will host an exclusive briefing by former U.K. Ambassador to Myanmar and Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business director Vicky Bowman. Prior registration is necessary.
The discussion will be moderated by TFCC President Thompson Chau.
A selection of tea, coffee and light refreshments will be provided.
Event details
Time: Friday, February 28, 2025, at 3:00pm (doors open at 2:30pm)
Location: Regent Taipei
Language: English
Rules: This event is strictly off the record
Admission: Free for TFCC members and selected invitees (incl. students), NT$200 for ATJ members, NT$500 for all others
Registration: Please register via this Google Form to secure your spot.
Event summary
At a time of increasingly unpredictable geopolitics, and challenging local contexts, businesses are still expected by investors, customers and other stakeholders to operate responsibly. Some countries have even introduced regulatory requirements for this. What does this mean for companies in Taiwan, sourcing globally, and those who care about their behavior?
Former U.K. ambassador to Myanmar and widely respected human rights and business advocate Vicky Bowman spent ten years in Yangon running the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, helping companies put international standards into practice. She now works at the international level on issues as varied as getting the balance right when regulating tech companies, responsible private security, integrating human rights considerations into commodities value chains, and responsible recruitment of migrant workers. She will share her insights from Myanmar and beyond on how Taiwan’s private sector and manufacturers can navigate business environments in countries where human rights are not respected. At a time when Taiwan’s government wants to support Taiwanese businesses to go global and expand their blueprint across the world, this briefing is highly valuable and timely.
About the speaker
Vicky Bowman has been the Director of Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) since July 2013, initially based in Yangon until November 2022 and now operating out of London. She also serves as a Senior Adviser at the Institute of Human Rights and Business (IHRB), Chair of the Global Network Initiative, and is on the Board of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA).
From 2011 to 2013, Vicky led Rio Tinto’s policy approach to transparency, human rights, and resource nationalism/resource curse issues. She previously served as Director of Global & Economic Issues and G8 sous-Sherpa for the United Kingdom (2008–2011) and as Head of the Southern Africa Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the U.K. Government (2006–2007). Earlier in her distinguished career, Vicky was the U.K.’s Ambassador to Myanmar (2002–2006) and held various roles in the U.K. Government and the European Commission, including as a Member of Cabinet for European Commissioner Chris Patten (1999–2002).
Vicky holds an MA in Natural Sciences (Pathology) from the University of Cambridge, an honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford, and is an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College as well as an Honorary Senior Fellow of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law (BIICL).