The “Youth Community Participation and Action 2.0—Changemaker Project” of the Youth Development Administration of the Ministry of Education encourages youth people to enter local areas and inject new vitality into local areas. The 2023-year project winning team, the silver award in the Actor team “卵生居” and Sinyi Realty-We are ONE Changemaker team award team “茶說旅行”, both entered the local place as outsiders and used their expertise and collaboration skills to turn foreign place into their hometown, to blaze a new path for their own. The call for applications for the 2024-year project ends at 12 noon on March 15. Youth teams are welcome to apply on the project website （https://changemaker.yda.gov.tw）.
Chen Rou'an, who has been invited by artist residencies in Xiyu Township of Penghu, fell in love with the island two years ago when she went to Xiyu Chidong Elementary School to paint the walls. In 2023, she formed as “卵生居” team with local youths to activate the community with her art profession. The team first created an art-in-residence space, inviting domestic and foreign artists to come and stay for exchanges; they also matched artists with local youth groups to collaborate and co-create, allowing artists to understand Penghu and trigger inspiration to create; moreover, invited artists to lead local children in artistic creation or music performances, allowing children to have more exchanges and collisions with artists, at the same time stimulating children's creativity and self-confidence by organizing achievement exhibitions.
Gong Jingyi, who originally from Kaohsiung City, came to Puli Lugao Community in Nantou County since she was studying at Chi Nan University, relate to that few people know the story of the development of the Lugao black tea industry, in 2023 she organized a “茶說旅行” team with local youths and proposed the “茶路漫漫” project, starting from interviews with local tea factory personnel and tea farms, by holding tea banquets to connect local people, the participants can also experience actual interaction with black tea practitioners through tea banquets. In addition, “茶說旅行” team published black tea guide book not only allows travelers to follow the basic knowledge of black tea, but also provides opportunities to enter the community and gain more understanding and experience of industrial ecology or history and culture.
Whether you are a youth who was born and raised in the local area, or you are an outsider who has become a local person, the YDA hopes that through the support of the project, more youth will be encouraged to care about the local area and become a new driving force for local development. Youth aged 18 to 35 are welcome to form a team of 2 to 5 people, take practical actions to care for their hometown land, and turn ideas and dreams into possibilities. For more information, please go to the event website to apply or inquire （https://changemaker.yda.gov.tw）.
The team “卵生居” using artistic expertise to engage in community action.
The team “茶說旅行” let participants know the basic knowledge of black tea through the tea banquet experience.
TThe team “卵生居” let children and artists have more collisions through artist exchanges communications.