Low salaries, high housing prices and labor disputes are common topics discussed in Taiwan society, as more and more young people are choosing to return to their hometowns and start their own businesses when they find that career options in the city did not meet their expectations. However, starting a business in ones hometown is not as romantic as some might imagine. The challenges are no less than being employed in the city and for this reason the government has initiated the provision of necessary resources.
This year, Ministry of Education’s Youth Development Administration (YDA) collaborated with Non-profit organizations and social enterprises that are continuously working on community development and supporting local industries hold nine sessions of 「Localism & Youth Forum」. Through this series of events the YDA is aiming to gather together ideas of young people to bring more opportunities for local community development and provide improved startup environments for young entrepreneurs.
The Forum was held on Sep 29th in Toucheng, Yilan where many talented people gathered and three entrepreneurs were invited to share their experiences on the restoration and reconstruction of the old streets.
The owner of Pumpkinno3. Tsai Wei De provides working holiday programs for travelers to experience rural life and learn the nature and beauty of Ping Lin.
The owner of Goldfishspace Peng Ren Hung discovers the stories of the alleys and old streets to preserve and restore the heritage and culture of Toucheng. He teaches young people traditional craft skills in local towns. This activity has attracted many young people to Toucheng to contribute their creative ideas.
The owner of Staytravelerbookstore Lin Shih Jie has settled in Bisia Old Street in Yilan, despite being a newcomer, he has gradually integrated himself into the community and local inhabitants have joined his team and are building a new future for an aging community together.
After the excellent workshops, the young people have pinpointed several to-be-improved issues which are a) inconvenient public transportation, b) irregular number of tourists during weekdays or low seasons, c) difficulty for the newcomers to become familiar with local community, d) absence of a platform for resource integration, etc.
For the above-mentioned questions, the young people have also come up with possible solutions, for example, to increase shuttle services or cooperate with local taxi drivers to solve the problem of inconvenient transportation. Furthermore, build a platform to integrate local resources and businesses and strengthen the sense of identity of inhabitants for the community to develop a more refined tourism industry.
The last solution is to create a friendly environment for entrepreneurs to attract newcomers or graduates to run their business in the local community.
Through discussion and communication, this forum not only established a consensus among young people but will also enable Toucheng to create a future with more diversified development. The future of Taiwan is on our hands, for more information on「Localism & Youth Forum」, please visit the website (http://107ypu-letstalk.yda.gov.tw)