Youth Development Administration （YDA） of Ministry of Education conducted “Youth Community Participation and Action 2.0—Changemaker Project” to encourage youth to enter local areas and assist in local revitalization. 2023 action team “小人物大事集” and “石在工作隊” chose to start from local temple culture and translate local temple stories through actions such as settlement maps and community newspapers, leading the public to understand the appearance and development history of local belief culture.
“Magang” is located in Gongliao District, New Taipei City. It is known as the easternmost fishing village in Taiwan. The most famous place is the century-old stone house settlements and the scene of “sea women” scraping seaweed in the intertidal zone. However, with the decline of the fishing industry and the migration of the population, the memory of the fishing village has gradually faded like the sunset. The team “石在工作隊” formed independently by the residents of Magang Fishing Village who are art and cultural workers in different fields facing forced eviction, have been conducting “Unpacking and seeing the Sea: Our Memories and Skills （開箱見海：我們的記憶與技藝）” campaign since 2021, and through actions such as reading by walking at community and marine debris creations, have continued to gather awareness of Magang; in 2023, the team took the action "Cape Relay: Cultural Heritage and Exchange of the Sea （海角接力：海的文化傳承與交流）", with the theme of the paying tribute ceremony to welcome Guandu Mazu as a guest to Magang, leads the audience to understand the inner strength of the fishing community through rituals, and it is also expected to become the documentary basis for the inheritance of rituals for future generations; in addition, they recruited the people to lift sedan chair through “working holidays （工作假期）”, allowing participating people to have an in-depth experience of temple culture. It has also aroused the cooperation and division of labor among local residents, community primary school students, and external followers 3 parties, looking forward to gradually bringing back more Magang youth to return home and work together to revitalize the place.
The team “小人物大事集” is composed of local youth from Beidou Township, Changhua County. Through the power and creativity of youth, let more people know Beidou Township. In 2022, the team collaborated with young painters to draw settlement maps and develop town exploration games, combining technologies such as "five-sense experience" and "unguided navigation mechanism" to allow the public to enter Beidou old street in a relaxed and interesting way; In 2023, they promoted “Your Temple-court, Our Living Room” project, starting from the faith center "Gak-tau Temple", collected local stories through text and images, and at the same time empower local residents to become local storytellers. At last, the team presented the results in a curatorial way, transforming the block into a classroom and recording the town's unique spatial memory. They hope that through the project, more people will enter Beidou and continue the memory of life in the small town.
YDA promotes the Changemaker project to encourage youth to form teams and show their love for their hometown and land through actions. Do you want to know more stories about youth's local actions? The 2023 Youth Community Participation and Action 2.0—Changemaker Project Achievements Exhibition was held on 9th and 10th December 2023 at Taipei Huashan1914 Creative Park Middle parts 4B, invited Changemaker action teams, learning spots, Dream Idea teams, and so on to gather the event. In addition, you can also follow the official website of YDA （www.yda.gov.tw） and the official website of the Youth Community Participation and Action 2.0 （https:// www.ydachangemaker.tw）, and join the YDA Facebook fan page to stay up to date with the latest news!
“石在工作隊” use bright colors and lively illustrations to attract attention to the annual Welcoming Mazu Ceremony.
The team “小人物大事集” by setting up workshops, empower local residents to develop their story-telling abilities and become local storytellers.
“小人物大事集” has not only records local knowledge in words, but also creates maps with local residents and collects local stories.