In response to a decreasing population, overcrowded major cities, and unbalanced urban and rural development over the long time, the government is proactively promoting placemaking to facilitate local development by making placemaking a major policy and marking 2019 as the start of placemaking. In Suao, there is a group of creative young people. They formed a team called Suao KPI based on the notion of “Keep Pace with Information” to help people reimagine Suao. By executing the project Let’s Talk, the group led young people to discuss local issues and vision for development as well as attempt to find a solution based on the theme “Upgrade Suao - The Youth x Suao”.
Professor Yu-Jean Chen from the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning of National Taiwan University shared her experience and models of placemaking in other areas in Taiwan. Take the Seawind, a self-help group in Yuanli of Miaoli, campaigned against the installation of wind turbines and called on young to return home. The group successfully promoted local features. Kouhu in Yunlin transformed the once-idled ChengLong Wetlands into an environmental education center, reminding people of the importance of identifying the true needs of a place prior to placemaking.
Audrey Tang, a minister without portfolio, also participated in the event to carry out exchanges with young people. With advanced Internet technologies, young people are able to make good use of crowdfunding platforms to transcend physical boundaries to reach more audiences and lay a broader path for placemaking. The sharing concluded with THE CAN and CAN Sanxia. Young people are encouraged to participate in placemaking by first caring for their surroundings.
Based on the information and experiences shared by the speakers, the participants carried out further discussions and exchanges before formulating preliminary recommendations and action plans, such as connecting the cultural and creative industry with local traditional industries for a more sophisticated development, increasing bus services in Suao or offering shared services, making an inventory of public facilities and arranging space transformation to create more spaces for entertainment, and developing apps or job-matching schemes for young people to gain access to more job opportunities.
If you want to change society, you need to start with yourselves. Do not hesitate. Come and Talk things through!For more information, please visit the website of Youth Development Administration (http://www.yda.gov.tw).