National Sun Yat-sen University

Localization of Educational Knowledge and Globalization of Engagement Venues – Starting with Kaohsiung Old Port and New Bay Communities

This project is orchestrated by the research team of NSYSU Siwan College. It focuses on fostering innovative and pioneering urban spirit based on the labor values of Kaohsiung. The project adopts two perspectives – local expression and global identification – and utilizes six tools – Write, D. Image, Comic, Craft, Play, and Dramatize – to link local and cultural practices and international issues.

Caoyua, Cianjhen, is an area that boasts both labor and pioneering spirit. Therefore, this area is adopted as the venue for local engagement. Local schools are invited to develop concrete and exciting activities that culminate in theatrics, markets, music, graphics, calligraphy, and crafts. The successful experiences of Caoyua, Cianjhen, will then be applied to Cishan, consolidating the resources of local schools and private organizations to achieve cultural cultivation and promotion. In terms of international connection, the project collaborates with universities located in transitioning cities that focus on urban-rural linkages, such as the University of Tsukuba and Chiba University in Japan, to introduce geographical solutions for talent cultivation, aesthetics and cultural readings, and other relevant courses and jointly plan cross-domain preparatory courses. Moreover, the project addresses living space issues, cross-cultural exchange, and cross-domain courses to link local practices and international issues, thereby fulfilling the social responsibility of universities of providing local care by fostering cultural strength and deepening cultural identification.

Cooperative Empowerment and Extension Service, CEES

The core objective of this project is the creation of cooperative empowerment and extension services (CEES). A mechanism for promoting industry-university co-creation and establishing cooperation is designed based on five major working principles, namely, “responding to local demands,” “stimulating diversified learning,” “strengthening local recognition,” “sustaining industrial management,” and “engaging in public communication.” This mechanism is expected to facilitate talent cultivation, professional counseling, resource utilization, matchmaking, and public involvement.

Starting with the promotion of university-centered CEES, this project aims to host social engagement and co-learning activities and community assistance services within schools to make the skills and resources of universities available to local communities while fostering local talents. Then, by promoting collaborative projects for fulfilling corporate social responsibilities, this project aims to merge the promotion models of USR and CSR to develop CSR courses, help enterprises assess their status and fulfill their CSRs, and match social responsibilities with coinciding corporate spirit. In addition, the project aims to consolidate the resources of areas or individuals with similar demands and co-develop more effective strategies for fulfilling the social responsibilities of companies and universities. Finally, this project aims to draw on past experiences and consolidate resources to develop a universal social engagement course. By sharing teachers’ experiences, constructing teaching methodologies, and planning and implementing curricula, as well as building an incentive and certification system, this project aims to continuously encourage teachers and students to become involved in their communities, enhance students’ acknowledgment of local production, and promote cooperation and partnerships, ultimately achieving "talent cultivation and sustainable development,” “professional counseling and cultivation,” “resource consolidation,” and “public involvement.”

The City as a Commuseum – Socially Embedded Community Engagement

This project analyzes the “Kaohsiung Philosophy” and the local cultures and history of the earliest developed districts in Kaohsiung – Cijin, Gushan, and Yancheng – to expand three major dimensions, specifically landscape sustainability, landscape celebration, and vision brand. These dimensions were then developed into three main issues of life society, ecosystem, and production economy. In terms of implementation, the course is categorized into nine engagement projects, including introductory courses “Museum Marketing Implementation,” “School-Based Curriculum Preparation and Implementation,” and “Permanent Exhibition to Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Renaming of Kaohsiung;” vision courses “Maritime East Asia; Brand Harbor” and “International Connection; Local Revitalization;” landscape courses “Wetland Ecology Museum” and “Pursuing Sustainability and Promoting Urban and Community Transformation and Development;” and soundscape courses “Local Inheritance and Cross-Border Innovation” and “Yancheng Life Laboratory and Yancheng Summer Festival.” In terms of area integration, we adopted a direct creation model in the Cijin District that focuses on different field characteristics and the cooperation of local teams.

Using Cijin Social Development Base as the hub, we linked the War and Peace Memorial Hall, Fund for Children and Families, and Yangming Marine Transport Museum to promote relevant courses and projects. We adopted a cooperation model in South Gushan, linking several local organizations, such as KWs, Takao Railway Museum, and Takao Kaisha to promote local revitalization through industry-university cooperation.

We collaborated with the Kaohsiung Museum of History and Crowned Museum of Art to organize a local culture and history show. The overall plan will facilitate school teachers and students in learning about local characteristics and consequently promote communities to give back and foster their strengths, thereby fulfilling the social responsibility of university and community co-prosperity.

NSYSU, Bay Shore Placemaking: Memory Representation and Innovative Transformation of the Transient Communities of Kaohsiung

NSYSU’s “Bay Shore Placemaking: Memory Representation and Innovative Transformation of the Transient Communities of Kaohsiung” project focuses on the three earliest developed coastal areas in Kaohsiung: the old port area, Zuoying District, and Caoya area in Cianjhen; resident researchers are dispatched to station in these places. These three areas have entered a transient stage due to the city development, and the problems they face include population outflow and aging, slow renewal of infrastructure, and lack of placemaking awareness. NSYSU is looking forward to initiating a placemaking movement in collaboration with these three communities, instilling the perception and creative energy to the local communities and helping them transform into a placemaking model with social innovative power.

• Zuoying District: The Excavation and Representation of Humanity, History and Memory.

• Old Harbor Area: Inter-generational Civic Engagement: Fostering Civic Skills Through Socially engaged Activities.

• Cianjhen’s Caoya District: Find Transitional Opportunity from the Industrial Trace of Cianjhen

NDC, Regional Revitalization Program in Taiwan

In order to address issues such as the excessive concentration of population in large cities, a widening development gap between urban and rural areas, low birth rate and aging population, the Executive Yuan designated 2019 as Taiwan’s Regional Revitalization Year. National Development Council (NDC) is responsible for promoting Regional Revitalization Policy by integrating the regional revitalization-related resources and plans of various ministries, developing businesses with regional characteristics, driving the population to move into regions, and achieving regional population growth.

National Sun Yat-sen University is the major research-intensive university in Southern Taiwan and has been assisting in promoting regional affairs in Kaohsiung and Pingtung for a long time. For promoting Regional Revitalization Policy, the Senior Vice President of National Sun Yat-sen University, I-Yu Huang, served as the Chairperson and linked professional teams from Department of Sociology, Institute of Public Affairs Management, and Social Engagement Center. By holding workshops and consensus camps, having in-deep conversation with regional groups, writing and integrating proposals, and co-planning and proposing regional revitalization projects for eight administrative areas: Cijin District, Cishan District, Meinong District, Shanlin District, Jiaxian District, Liugui District, Taoyuan District in Kaohsiung, and Wutai Township in Pingtung County.