Sustainable Co-Existence Design and Digital Media Advocacy

Encircled by ocean and characterized by dense population stemming from its compact size, Taiwan has consistently sought to harmonize environmental preservation with economic development, resulting in distinctive challenges across its regions.Our team places sustainable society as its core objective, employing digital media, design, and technological tools to establish participatory methodologies for university institutions to engage in significant societal issues. Using examples from our 2023 projects, such as the "AR Integration in Chenglong Wetland Environmental Narrative Design - Retrospective and Speculative Design Application Research" in Taiwan's western sea, the "Butterfly Ecology Restoration Education Project" in the northern mountainous region, the "Sustainable Education and Innovative Business Models for Rainforest Conservation" in Indonesia, and the "International POCO Design Digital Education and Promotion Design Internship Program" in Spain, we evaluate the impact of action plans on society and communities, contributing to knowledge sharing and collaboration on current environmental & climate issues (SDG17) to collectively advance resilient and sustainable enviroments.

Result

1. Vision Statement — Collaboratively Building Societal Resilience under Climate Change

Extreme weather events like heavy rainfall and floods pose challenges for balancing industrial development and ecological conservation in Taiwan's communities. YunTech integrates climate change and ecological preservation into university and outreach education, enhancing students' understanding and awareness while applying academic expertise to societal practices. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, innovative solutions are proposed to strengthen societal resilience. Expanding external and international cooperation alliances, particularly with underdeveloped regions, promotes global understanding of environmental sustainability.

2. Implementing SDGs — Promoting Social Dialogue and Exploring Sustainable Issues through Design Methodologies

Utilizing digital media, technology, surveys, interviews, and case studies, weclarify the relationship between environmental changes and biota and human survival. Proposing innovative business models grounded in social design, we maintain ecological balance through education, advocacy, and disclosure. Our environmental education initiatives connect communities and organizations, fostering mutual understanding and influencing diverse perspectives. Centered on "SDG 17 Global Partnerships," linking SDG 4, SDG 11, SDG 13, SDG 14, and SDG 15, we facilitate transnational cooperation to address societal issues and achieve sustainable development goals.

3. Innovative Initiatives — Linking Industry, Government, and Academia to Develop Digital Social Design Environmental Education Models

Leveraging university resources, we guide students inexploring climate, environmental, and ecological crises and learning communication skills with stakeholders, facilitating cross-sector discussions and resource integration. Collaborating with NGOs provides comprehensive understanding, avoiding shortsighted interventions, and promoting meaningful social dialogues and actions. Taking the Chenglong Wetland Environmental Narrative Project as an example, we enrich project content, integrating design science methods and digital media technology, promoting mutual learning and practical action.

4. Social Impact—Forging Partnerships to Achieve Sustainable Vision Together

Over the past decade, our team has collaborated with at least 12 organizations, producing advocacy outcomes and holding events, stimulating stakeholders' attention to environmental and climate issues and encouraging participation. Collaborating with non-profit organizations promotes discussions and solutions, providing university expertise to support NGOs and cultivating students' social responsibility. Through cooperation, action plans enhance higher education's focus on environmental issues, nurturing future environmental advocates.

(1) Social aspect: Linking domestic and international non-profit organizations

Collaboration with domestic and international non-profit organizations to promote discussions and solutions regarding climate and ecological issues. Through cooperation, we provide university expertise to support NGOs in serving society, while students benefit from practical learning, enhancing understanding of climate change and ecological conservation. Not only promotes issue development but also provides new perspectives for solutions, achieving sustainable development goals.

(2) Educational aspect: Collaborating with NGOs to cultivate social practitioners

Through cooperation with NGOs, action plans cultivate students' sense of social responsibility, enhance higher education's attention to environmental issues, and emphasize the ability to solve practical problems (observation, insight, and action), nurturing students to become future environmental advocates.

5. Scalability — Continuously Linking Cross-Domain Organizations to Promote Environmental Issue Awareness

Focusing on environmental issues, understanding stakeholders' needs, and defining problems through various design methods, we advocate through narrative and visual technology design, influencing values and behaviors. For instance, the Butterfly Ecology and Environmental Education Action integrates software into school curricula, advocating ecological conservation. Continuous evaluation and correction of action plans become a methodological intervention using digital design, playing a significant role in climate and environmental education and advocacy.

Detail of the Practice

The team's core focus on climate change and ecological conservation involves seeking funding through collaborative efforts with faculty-student cooperative community, curriculum integration, and academic thematic research. Actions are divided into pre-, mid-, and post-phases, involving building trust with stakeholders, collecting feedback, setting goals, and gathering data. Mid-term assistance from experts adjusts content based on feedback to ensure accuracy. Post-implementation, expert and user testing optimizes solutions. Over the past three years, the following initiatives were undertaken:

1. Integrating Natural Ecology into Taiwan's Local Elementary School Education:

(1) Wetland Ecology and Environmental Education

Due to subsidence and climate change, Chenglong Wetland in Yunlin County's Kouhu Township faces depopulation and aging. Investigating ecological change elements, such as the impact of industry on the environment and bird habitats, we designed wetland AR navigation systems and games using participatory, interdisciplinary, and emotion-driven environmental education methods. These materials not only promote understanding and interest in climate change but also alter attitudes and behaviors, enhancing community resilience. Materials were also donated to local foundations and schools as educational resources.

(2) Butterfly Ecology and Environmental Education

Taiwan boasts over 400 butterfly species, making conservation crucial. Collaborating with Hsinchu County's Daping Elementary School and butterfly experts, we designed immersive games to enhance students' understanding and appreciation of butterfly ecology. This initiative raises awareness of butterfly ecology and conservation, contributing to environmental education.

2. Transnational Sustainable Actions Facilitate Multilateral Knowledge Sharing:

(1) Sustainable Education for Indonesian Rainforest Conservation

Collaborating with the Indonesian Bodhi Mandala Mantra Foundation, we conducted field surveys in North Sumatra's rainforest to understand conservation resources and rescue modes for wildlife like tigers, elephants, and orangutans. Integrating findings into student curricula, we proposed a rainforest coffee brand project supporting conservation and local economies. Digital storytelling advocated for rainforest conservation and explored social enterprise potential, promoting conservation and economic development.

(2) Digital Education and Promotion Design in Spain

Collaborating with WWOOF SPAIN, we participated in sustainable agriculture and shared knowledge through digital media, posting 20 social media entries, documenting work processes, and fostering Taiwanese students' ability to convey sustainability perspectives. Additionally, we collaborated with WWOOF Spain on community mural projects, aiding in building mobile chicken coops on farms.

3. Scheme Planning Trials: Continuously Seeking Expanded Multilateral Environmental Advocacy Collaboration

Before implementing action plans, we interviewed stakeholders (government agencies, NGOs, businesses, academia, communities), effectively exchanging information and opinions to establish common goals and cooperation bases. Feedback from community members, NGOs, and other stakeholders on software content and design forms was used to refine content, establishing effective communication mechanisms. Over the past decade, our team has collaborated with at least 12 local and overseas organizations, including 3 domestic NGOs, 4 foreign NGOs, and 5 government agencies.

Addressing different partners, we advocated for at least 10 issues using digital media design, covering marine and terrestrial environmental conservation and sustainability issues:

(1) Marine Ecology Issues: Air and seawater pollution in Mailiao waters (industrial development and environmental ecological issues), industrial carbon emissions and seawater acidification, wetland ecological restoration, and climate change.

(2) Terrestrial Ecology Issues: Butterfly ecological restoration education, Ecuador rainforest community construction, organic and sustainable living education and business model promotion, Indonesian rainforest and biodiversity restoration and education promotion, Ecuador Bano community development and environmental conservation projects.

4. Sustainable Impact: Cultivating and Linking Sustainable Talent

Within our university's educational environment, through field visits, field surveys, and stakeholder interviews, we cultivate students' attention and understanding of environmental issues. By setting clear action plans and course objectives, we continuously promote courses and projects related to climate change and sustainable development, increasing student awareness of issues, fostering environmental consciousness and sustainable values, and motivating student participation in action research.

Through continuous cooperation and resource integration with our partners, we share experiences and solve problems. In addition to devising solutions for alliance-concerned issues and sharing knowledge and resources, we substantially change the situations of collaborating units, relevant communities, and stakeholders.

By promoting environmental education through different action plans, we emphasize the importance of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), understanding the balance of common interests, and synergistic effects. NBS cooperates with natural ecology to address challenges such as climate change, disaster risks, and biodiversity loss. We propose comprehensive solutions considering climate and environmental benefits, promoting sustainable management, natural restoration, and ecosystem protection. Interdisciplinary cooperation attracts experts' participation, inspiring community residents to change cognition and behavior, enhancing resilience to environmental change. Through digital media advocacy, we sow the seeds of ideas among stakeholders, continually strengthening social influence.