In the last lecture, we learned the basic principles and skills of youth counseling. You were also led to understand some of strategies on youth cases, and we took experiential learning and Outreach Program for examples. We also used two films to introduce some preliminary understanding of these two strategies. At the same time, I also let you to understand that how can these two strategies achieve the goal of empowering youth. In this talk, the theme that I am going to lead you to discuss is that, the strategies discussed in our previous discussions are more of individual empowerment, while personal empowerment is not enough. Apart from individual empowerment, we should draw the empowerment concept to a policy level. so that we can actually apply the maintenance of rights. In this talk, I'm leading you to learn how to use advocacy work to safeguard the implementation of the rights of youth. Let youth voice. What is the youth voicing? Youth voice is a basic strategy for implementing youth rights. That is, to give youth opportunities and paths to express their ideas and needs. Next, let me give you a brief look at the dialogue between me and the Director General of Fubon Cultural and Educational Foundation, Miss Leng Bin, who promoted the program of Youth Voice in Taiwan. in order to understand the concept of this project and its origin and content. Hello everyone, I am very glad to be able to come to Fubon Culture and Education Foundation and have such a talk with Director Leng Bin today to talk about how we look on their efforts to promote the rights of youth and the efforts they have made. Actually, Leng Bin was my student long time ago. And also, for a long time, yes, we are often talking, but we seldom shared our minds in such a formal occasion. Today we're going to let her share her efforts on promoting this so-called Youth Voice via Fubon Cultural Foundation in the past decade. And that is such a pleasure to have this opportunity to have a talk with her today. You can also find out what we can do to promote the development of youth rights. Well, first of all, I would like to ask Leng Bin that, Back into the beginning around 2005, why did you start to promote this website Youth Voice? Actually, in 2005, the past business of the Fubon Cultural and Educational Foundation, or the direction of past efforts, was actually on media monitoring, which took a great deal of effort. Then we hope to examine the media in Taiwan from an adult perspective, and even a lot of research to understand what the media affect on the development of youths and children. Regardless of positive or negative impacts. We were pushing educations on media literacy into the youth school education, and finally as a formal education. And that was actually efforts done before 2005. However, we can all feel that these things are via adult views like adult worries, adult concerns perspectives. Back in 2005, we were just thinking, is that possible to make youth themselves attending in such a caring. Or even more involved in their own rights. So there came the idea of make the youths to speak, and the first thing done is in to establish Youth Voice. Yes, of course, it is hoped to become a platform provider, so that youth can express, share there thoughts here. So the original thought was actually quite simple, just a platform establishment. And for sure, not until the platform is done that we start learning on Taiwan youth situations. It is not that simple like you give them a platform and they will speak out, So in the past decade, in fact, we slowly thought about how to make it develop from a simple platform, to our entire completed education programs, service programs, and even online media, as a teenager announcement path to demonstrate the expressions of the youths. So the whole Youth Voice program, from the beginning of site construction, has extended into something I consider a relatively complete so-called Youth empowerment service program. And yes, so you just mentioned the concept of enhancement. And the announcement of youth may seems like a very strange term. Well, then you can talk to me and say that the youth announcement, or what the concept is for the enhancement service program? In fact, in the beginning, while talking to parents or teachers about Youth Voice. Yes, everyone are all worried about that. So you have to teach them what and how to speak. So, actually, we were more clear to share the program later. It doesn't mean that we encourage the kids to say whatever they want including bullying or inappropriate talks. Thus, we're clear that, when we're communicating with teachers or parents about the program itself, they're recommended to have a specific caring target. Well, of course, the target is not necessarily to "really" care about others, or maybe that is just too much for you to care about social issue in such an age. You can just try to care on yourself, knowing yourself and your friends, you and your relationship with the community or your daily life and so on. So you should possess a special target you concern, and then And then you can use a way you feel comfortable, some people speaks, some people writes, some people takes pictures, some people films. That is, you should find a way mostly represents yourself. At the same time, you should keep a very clear intention, like I want to speak, I want to share with others, I want to have a claim, Then, use this way you feel comfortable and express your minds. And let us go back onto the project's essence itself, the first one is the target you care mentioned previously. The second is your intention, the intention you want to express. The third is the way you find yourself comfortable to express, and the fourth is action, which you have to speak it out, and do it. The thing you think it caused empowerment for the youth, did you set the goal you want to reach though the plan while pushing it? I think there is a more great goal, which is much of the youth rights in Taiwan actually come from enthusiastic adults and concerned adults, like us, are even more anxious to have more rights every day. In my opinion, youths are basically no say in Taiwan, so youths announcement has a clear goal. We want to let the kid have their own voice. In formal expression, it is a re-found of the subjectivity elaboration of youths in Taiwan Society. In fact, through these works or the way to elaborate ourselves, we can find a more direct way and have more possibility to see and hear youths' opinion. Especially a long-term workers for youths like me, when we start to bring some creativity for kids, and encourage them to share their creativity. In fact, through these share, after I start the youths-related work, this is the first chance for me to face youths, or to participate in the life of youths. We can not go to school with a child every day, follow his life at anytime, but through his creation and his work, we may glimpse his life experience. This is actually a main value that we originally did in this plan. Let the youth be their advocates. Let them express their own opinion. We train our children, and give them the way, the space, and the courage to express for themselves. Then we have no need to work so hard for youths. I think that youths announcement is implement the concept of self-help. When we let the youth be their advocates, the power is very powerful. As the process we worked for the goal of empowerment, we also clarified the whole project that there is some important goal or effect on youth empowerment. The first one is when leading kids to think what we have said, whether you have any questions you care about, which expressions you think are comfortable, what you really want to talk to others. When you take action, in this process, he will surely go back to the task of so-called youth development and he will certainly solve the problem of identity, solve the self-exploration, solve the relationship between peers, and open the eyes to see the environment around. Well, that these indicators of development, in fact, I believe we can be more clearly imagined. The youth's physical and mental development, the relationship between individual groups, and then open your study, open your ability to explore the world, Starting to associate with others and interacting with others, I think this is what everyone can imagine. The state or effect in development of youth This is the first point, I think it is the most basic, I believe that while all workers doing youth work, there is no way to skip this stage of the youth development mission. Of course, apart from this, of course, we will further explore the matter. In order to participate in this science and technology and media age, Now about the participation of citizens on 2.0, I think it may have to 3.0, that is, all your previous concerns about things, You go to the streets, and you can only go to that place, but there are so many way of participation in such a network, or in a new media, you will naturally speak out our opinion. We can understand lazy bag, we can understand the network co-signatory, everyone can understand you, even if reprinting news, it is the beginning for you to participate. The method of participation became diverse. As foreign media say that the sharing in a public network has become a way of participation of citizens in this era. When you speak on an open platform to express your opinion, and was seen and heard by others, in fact, you already turn the energy in citizen's participation. It is the same as Youth Voice. We let the kids express and create, and create the opportunity to be shown. In fact, it is let the kids participate further into society and into actual action. This is of course we hope Youth Voice can empower. In the past, as you are a kid, if you have some different opinion with things, you may silently bear or complain with classmate. However, you have the chance to talk with others. You have the opportunity to invite others to join your action, that advocation and empowerment is much better then the previous era, so we call it 2.0. You do not have to go to such a site so hard, do not write so much petition. The obstacle is actually ruled out, because this is an age where everyone can participate through the media and network, that is actually we really encourage the kids to participate in. Furthermore, I think as a worker there is a great mission that is create a dialogue between generations. The concept of new media and the citizen participation 2.0 are the fact that it is a new generation. Actually our kids are native generation, and their state of life has changed a lot because of the Internet in tens years. Because of the different forms of media participation, in fact, a large generation gaps have been created. The old generation gap may be in the range of three years to five years. Now I feel that it will be in the range of three and five months now. It is rapidly update. Within Youth Voice Program, we have lots of voices from children, we have lots of work from children because of all these works, we may have some experience to face the true status of children, we may have a some chance It was very precious to us to hear those voices, and in the children's films I saw some situations very different from my own experience. I may saw the true form of their life which cannot be obtained through talks, and we'll spend lots of effort to share The creation of these children to their peers, their parents, their teacher, even specialists or educators working on relevant welfare. There's a grand wish that we can have a medium between generations to communicate, because through watching makes communication easier, instead of just talk and imagine on their own. Through the work, a lot of things can be concertized Then we can have more chance to speak. As I often said that one should find a way to preserve talks with children You may not be able to talk to your parents directly, but through other forms of creation you may have the chance to voice out, then we can try to invite your parents in certain occasion to listen on it. Through such intergeneration communication, can produce more direct change. That way seems to have a more clever connection than the old way. I think it's more suitable for Chinese, when the children hugs their parents, or when they spoke something they can't really spoke of. We used to teach them to write letter, and now, it's filming, taking photos, writing blogs or Facebook, these methods changes with time. Especially for children it's like back to be a certain situation hoping for acknowledgement from others, wanted to speak of something but can really do so, we've been trying to solve the same problem repeatedly, but with a method that's more accessible to this generation. We still hope that through this program, everyone can understand and accept each other eventually, OK. So when Leng Bin you mentioned a new media strategy, the strategy is also based on the youth rather than the elder. We use the concept of new medium which the youth can accept, can you tell us more about the connotation of a new media, which is included, or how to make people know this concept more? Well, it's actually easier to understand now, back when Youth Voice is created in 2005, at that time Facebook or YouTube are no mature enough to be a commonly used platform, so the voicing network is hoping to use YouTube and Facebook to create a platform for children in Taiwan, and let children put things on it. But we soon realized that we can't catch up with Facebook and YouTube on their expansion. We soon discovered that we're not doing a social network, we're trying to make children more familiar with the daily usage of Facebook and YouTube, how to redeem yourself within it, how can existing tech and platform be used on communication. So I think the concept of new media is more on making people understand. The value of the new media is that everyone is a media worker, everyone is a media creator. It broke the unidirectional nature of traditional media. People within media in the past Whether it's reporter or something, there's only a single output where you submit a matter for others approval. OK, right. These are one-way, but now everything is bidirectional. Everyone is both receiving and generating content. So when discussing new media in terms of youth empowerment, I find two things among it being most significant One is that it serves as a platform for rich information, meaning that you as a recipient of information is more easier than before, everything can be Googled. Now everything spoken by teacher can be validated with a lot of ways that's not accessible before. So as a recipient of information you have the condition of empowerment, you no longer needed to unconditionally accept everything, you have a lot of choice to choose with. You have so many opportunities to verify that information is correct, Even you get the information you want, you are no longer a feeding, I think this matter is very full of empowerment. That is, authoritative or professional, these things are actually slowly collapsing, caused by the Internet In fact, a certain kind of equal status is very meaningful to training, and the other is the output value I said, when you absorbed, you also can be the producer of information at the same time. You do not have to submit manuscripts to let other people review your manuscript. Your opinion also have the opportunity to be heard, Therefore, the two media's bidirectional, about breaking the authority, breaking the class. In fact, it has a great significance. I think it is a condition of empowerment under the development of this era. Right, so we decided to put teens to training job, actually we took the advantage of the era and make a good combination. Instead, let the children to recognize that because of these characteristics and bidirectional of Internet I just said. the first one you have no way to grasp what information is good more clearly, The independent thinking actually needs to be enhanced The second one is that although everyone is a media worker, but because there is a lot of information. You should express well then you could be heard. You should spend more effort expressing. And you may be heard. In the past, there was only thirty messages. Now, there are thirty million, how are you to be heard? There are so many on YouTube. How do you let your things be seen and heard. In fact, you still have to spend a lot of effort, then I think this is where workers can step in. So really great, that is, you are in such a 2005, really, it seems to be only ten years. Things that existed ten years before is no longer there, the voicing network has been revised repeatedly. We need to change every few months to catch up with young people. That even I just said. You mentioned some empowerment or how to put teens on a subjective. Well, I think the whole spirit is good. To combine technology and media to help us, to help these younger to have their platform. Well, in this materialistic environment, of course I want to say when we were teens, we can only accept the authoritative knowledge, as you said. We can not be like the students taking courses on Internet. He can be anyone. He can take courses all over the world. Yes, all over the world. I think this is a very awesome thing in this youth's platform. Then I would like to say, of course, many people will say, is this kind of operation advantageous to youth of great ability? In terms of the weak or poor, how do you serve them? Frankly speaking, we did not say that we would like to serve what area or what else clearly. We just want to serve the youth. Actually, we try to break some stereotypes, that is, how to distinguish elite and non-elite, economic advantages and economic disadvantages. We have a lot of kids who are rich, but his parents still do not let him do what he wants. In this matter he wants to do, he still has no resources, then how do you judge whether children have resources Frankly speaking, it is very difficult. It is very difficult for us to use some external conditions to identify such a case, so we did not make very clear set indeed. When we are planning, we really think about where my course go to today. The characteristics of the children in the area, what adjustments should be made, for example when I was in the eastern part of the country, I may do something differently. Actually, I really want to share with yourselves. We are actually often trying to think what is digital divide? We have a lot of experience in the rural side, not that they have no hardware, not that they do not have a computer, not that they have no Internet connection, Instead, nobody leads them to use these things. Good worker, good education program, so when we blindly wanted to make a learning platform, Wow, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, all the companies are willing to donate Internet installment and computers. But the hardware does not change the child's experience, only software, only education programs, only good service do. So we are actually solving digital divide or we are planning to do on different cities. The biggest problem are not computers or networks. but who accompanies the teens. So our plan is indeed all over the whole province. And then we also cooperate with different social welfare units on some case. But we do not really define Youth Voice as serving specific teens. The only thing I am joking about with my teacher is that my only insistence is that we have to include the age of 19. Our youth law is 12 to 18 in Taiwan, so I think Taiwan's 19-year-old is the most tragic. They have completely legal responsibility, but do not have citizenship. Thus, all of the teens voice programs are included those 19-year-old. The program have taken care of them. We will discuss today that in Taiwan, there's an gap or so-called trial for the youths that after age 18 for civil and social rights. The balance with social right is inconsistent. I always think this is great. When you are promoting something, I think there is a very important concept. Sometimes we misunderstood the weakness or resources, that is, resources are not only have the type of assets. When you talk about a wealthy family child, his resources actually have a great gap. He does not have the resources to sound for themselves. On this level, we see that the entire rights of a youth are deprived of. This is irrelevant to the fact that his family's economic conditions may be broken. So I think that in this process, how we promote this is one of the things that I've hope to speak with everyone. About how to take care of youth community, as a group within adult mainstream society, with resources controlled by others, when they are disempowered, how can we compensate them through certain strategic choice, or how to educate adults not to disempower them, giving them a platform and choice. Thank you, in this part to help us share some of these concepts, thank you!
