---
title: 5-5 Current Status of Youth Participation in Civic Tech Communities in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea
tags: jothon, NDI
---
:::success
:book: Return to the homepage of the handbook: https://g0v.hackmd.io/@jothon/ctpbook_en

"g0v Civic Tech Project & Community Handbook" is licensed under CC BY-NC.
:::

# 5-5 Current Status of Youth Participation in Civic Tech Communities in Taiwan, Japan and Korea｜g0v Civic Tech Project & Community Handbook
### Chapter 5: Current Status of Civic Tech Projects and Communities in Other Asian Countries
## Current Status of Youth Participation in Civic Tech Communities in Taiwan, Japan and Korea

:::info
This section is based on observations by g0v Sch001 and interviews with U22 participants in "Facing the Ocean Meet & Hack 2023 (FtO 2023)," including 2 Korean university students, 2 Japanese university students, 2 Taiwanese university students, and 1 Taiwanese junior high school student.

#### Facing the Ocean Meet & Hack (FtO)
Facing the Ocean (FtO) is a community of civic hackers living in the West Pacific Ocean region, including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc. The “Facing the Ocean Meet & Hack” is a series of hackathon events organized by the FtO community since 2019.

“FtO 2023” is organized by Code for Korea, Code for Japan, and g0v international, a g0v project focused on international connection.
:::

### 1. Korea
#### (1) Current Participation of U22 in Civic Tech

Korean university students interviewed shared that civic tech is not well known among the U22 age group in Korea, with Code for Korea being one of the more well-known organizations. In addition, some interviewees mentioned NullFull (널채움) and the Semicolon student community (for detailed information, please refer to 4-1).

However, despite the civic tech communities is not well-known, the number of U22 projects is skyrocketing. For instance, in response to the frequent random murders in Korea in 2023, a team of four university students spontaneously created the "terrorless" platform as a civic initiative to aggregate relevant information and collectively build a social safety net.

Korean students in the field of civic tech often face challenges such as limited resources, lack of experience, and the need to balance academic performance in the school.

#### (2) Channels for Involvement in Civic Tech and Recommendations

One university student with a background in computer science mentioned that people at their school generally do not know of Code for Korea, possibly due to inadequate promotion among the U22 demographic. Young people typically obtain information about such organizations through news or recommendations from friends.

Furthermore, in general, students do not have sufficient resources for project development. Therefore, in order to obtain resources, Korean students typically develop projects through participation in various competitions. However, the competition process involves the judge's personal preferences, leading to important projects being frequently overlooked or underrated. In addition, based on the experiences of the interviewed students, Korea currently lacks specific resources dedicated to civic tech. Most students rely on technical resources for project development, such as the developer support system provided by goorm company and the collaboration platform offered by the Semicolon student community.

To further cultivate students' civic tech thinking and abilities, educational institutions can introduce courses or workshops about civic tech, allowing students to engage with civic tech and providing practical skills training. They can also establish mentorship programs, inviting experienced civic tech participants to guide enthusiastic young individuals, bridging the gap between enthusiasm and practical implementation and offering students a clearer path to involvement. Additionally, make full use of platforms that students frequently use, such as Discord, for dedicated channels related to civic tech discussions, hackathons, or creative initiatives. Finally, encouraging student participation in civic tech through means like credit certification, internship opportunities, and even scholarships, to recognize and reward their active involvement in civic tech.

### 2. Japan
#### (1) Current Participation of U22 in Civic Tech

Within the youth demographic in Japan, there are two prominent technology communities with significant influence: Code for Japan and Supporters (which provides young people with educational opportunities related to programming). Both of these organizations aim to enhance democracy through technology. Currently, there is an increasing level of engagement among U22 youth in civic tech, especially among high school and university students. This is particularly evident in the development of the Tokyo COVID-19 website, where many high school and university students actively participate in open-source software development. The Tokyo COVID-19 website serves as an open-source reference for the creation of regional versions for all 47 prefectures in Japan, with many of these projects being led by students.

Students participate in civic tech for various reasons. Part of it is due to the enrichment of their learning experiences and resumes that civic tech projects can offer, enhancing their value in the job market. On the other hand, some students may not participate due to a lack of motivation. Additionally, the experiences of young people in civic tech communities differ; some students may find it confusing when they first join such communities because the freedom inherent in civic tech projects also comes with responsibilities.

#### (2) Channels for Involvement in Civic Tech and Recommendations

In Japan, most young people discover civic tech communities through platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and search engines. They also take in feedback and recommendations from seniors, friends, and student communities regarding these organizations. For example, in the case of Code for Japan, they organize the “Civictech Challenge Cup U-22” for participants under 22 years old. In this competition, participants develop demos in an online environment and showcase their work. This competition serves as a starting point for students to engage in civic tech and provides resources to support their civic tech projects.

However, interviewed students still believe that resources for civic tech projects among students are limited. To enhance youth engagement, one interviewee suggests that it’s crucial for young people to be able to apply skills from other fields through the development of civic tech projects. Therefore, there should be more discussions and sharing of experiences.

Additionally, interviewees believe that the more the industries, communities, or companies recognize the experiences gained through civic tech projects, the more the students are inclined to get involved. While this may initially serve as an external factor, once students actively participate in projects, they can realize the value of civic tech, thus growing motivation from within. For instance, having more entities consider applicants’ contributions to open-source civic tech projects when hiring. Furthermore, when students present their experiences to companies or universities, they should emphasize their proactiveness, leadership, and innovative skills developed through civic tech participation to gain appropriate recognition. When civic tech experience is acknowledged and valued, students can consider future career prospects while participating in civic tech advocacy.

### 3. Taiwan
#### (1) Current Participation of U22 in Civic Tech

In Taiwan, the participation of U22 youth in civic tech communities or projects has been relatively low, but progress has been made in recent years. Given Taiwan's education system, where most students are occupied with preparations for college entrance exams, fewer individuals under the age of 18 are involved. However, since 2019, the Curriculum Guidelines of 12-Year Basic Education of Academic Year 108 in Taiwan has encouraged students to engage in self-directed learning and provides specific courses for them to design and complete self-directed learning projects. Consequently, students with an interest in technology now have the opportunity to become acquainted with civic tech communities, and some have even initiated or joined civic tech projects.

According to the observations and experiences of interviewed students, the occasions for U22 youth to participate in civic tech communities or projects are similar to those for other age groups, primarily through g0v. The current development of civic tech communities in Taiwan reflects a will to lower the participants' age to embed digital literacy and issue awareness into younger generations. For example, in 2019, g0v Jothon initiated g0v Sch001 project, fostering spontaneous collaboration among middle and high school students and university students in digital projects aimed at addressing both life and societal issues.

Regarding projects initiated by individuals under 22 years old, based on the observations of interviewees, these projects often revolve around issues relevant to the students themselves, with a strong focus on education. For example, the "Bookish" helps students find the most suitable reference books or exam preparation materials, while "Course API" collects and integrates open course data from Taiwan onto a single platform.

One university student interviewee pointed out that the lack of time for project maintenance is a significant issue for students initiating projects. High school students face the pressure of college entrance exams, while university students juggle extracurricular activities, camp programs, and academic pressures no less than that in high school. Therefore, time is always a constraint. Additionally, interviewed students mentioned that one of the biggest challenges they currently face is marketing and promotion. Although they have made efforts, the impact has been limited, and once promotion stops, there are no new comments on their websites.

#### (2) Channels for Involvement in Civic Tech and Recommendations

All three interviewees mentioned the "g0v Sch001", a project initiated by the g0v Jothon as part of their experiences in participating in civic tech communities. This project introduces civic tech issues and collaborative models into the educational field. It achieves this by partnering with schools to incorporate courses, developing various online open courses, organizing camps, and hosting project incubator competitions. These efforts enhance students' digital citizen literacy and expand the age diversity within civic tech communities. One of the interviewees believes that this project effectively provides a channel for students to get involved in civic tech projects and communities. For instance, one freshman in college shared that their first involvement in a g0v event was the "Sch001 for Source Raising" organized by g0v Sch001 during high school. The information about the event was provided by a physics teacher at school. It was through this event that they got to know g0v community and began following the community's updates.

Additionally, some interviewees mentioned existing resources that encourage student participation in civic tech communities and projects, such as Notion for Education, GitHub Student Developer Pack, and AWS Educate, which primarily provide development resources.

To further increase the participation of U22 youth, the interviewees suggest that with the current resources, apart from the various forms of courses organized by g0v Jothon and g0v Sch001, SITCON (Students’ Information Technology Conference) often hosts events like Hour of Code (HoC) or promotes OSCVPass. These events provide opportunities for the younger generation to engage in practical workshops involving simple project work, enabling them to explore and contribute to open-source projects, many of which are civic tech projects. According to the interviewees, some of their friends had their first encounter with civic tech projects through such events.

According to the interviewees’ observations, these workshops usually have a broad audience, primarily composed of students from elementary, middle, and high schools. These students possess diverse skills, not limited to just technical abilities. They often express enthusiasm for such workshops but rarely appear in subsequent civic tech communities or continue their involvement in civic tech projects. To address this issue, the suggestion is to have projects that are more beginner-friendly, where newcomers can actively participate with lower technical requirements, thus increasing the conversion rate.

Moreover, if more young people have greater opportunities to engage with or participate in civic tech, they are most likely to engage in projects or communities related to education, such as open course integration projects. Although the interviewees do not believe that educational topics are the only type that students can get involved in, in terms of motivation, they should be the most relatable and action-oriented compared to other types. These students are currently found in various Discord groups, discussing different topics, with the majority being study groups, cooperative learning communities, or purely recreational clubs. It is recommended to consider how to channel their motivation into projects that help more students and use technology as a means to provide solutions, along with estimating the necessary resources.

Regarding the involvement of university students, if there are some projects within the civic tech community that lack human resources, it could be beneficial to collaborate with universities to offer service-learning courses. This approach can help match students seeking service hours with projects requiring assistance. It not only exposes university students to civic tech but also provides projects with suitable contributors and partners.

In summary, two interviewees believe that it is not necessary to establish "youth-only" civic tech communities to promote youth participation and interest in civic tech issues. Instead, creating a "youth-friendly" community and providing support resources can be more effective. The suggestion of youth-only communities initially arose from the desire to lower the participation threshold for young people. However, within existing civic tech communities, providing proposal guidance and assistance can also reduce the barrier, enabling young people to develop the skills and technology needed to participate in civic tech communities. Furthermore, with guidance from community contributors, youth are more motivated and less concerned about encountering issues during project development.

### 4. Summary
#### (1). Current Participation of U22 in Civic Tech

**A. The number of individuals under 22 years old participating in civic tech projects has been increasing year by year.**

The participation of U22 individuals in civic tech projects is on the rise, with many projects focusing on addressing educational and learning-related challenges, such as learning resources, study partners, and education in distant areas. Some projects also tackle societal issues that affect young people, such as location-based reminders for random murder incidents and nighttime safety for women. Among the interviewed students in Taiwan, Japan and Korea, the U22 groups that are relatively more familiar with and actively participate in civic tech communities are the largest local groups, such as Taiwan’s g0v community, Japan’s Code for Japan community, and Korea’s Code for Korea community. The level of participation and engagement among U22 participants in these communities is not significantly different from other age groups. However, while the current number of participants is not large, with the development of various community initiatives, competitions, and capacity-building programs aimed at nurturing civic tech awareness and skills among U22 youth, the number of U22 community participants and those engaged in civic tech projects is increasing year by year. Examples include the g0v community’s “Sch001” project and Code for Japan’s “Civictech Challenge Cup U-22.”

**B. Student civic tech projects can face challenges due to academic pressures, limited experiences and resources.**

Both Korean and Taiwanese university students mentioned that balancing academic performance and other responsibilities can hinder students from developing civic tech projects. Education systems in Taiwan, Japan and Korea still heavily emphasize performance in college entrance exams, making it difficult for students to find time and energy to work on projects alongside their demanding coursework. Additionally, limited experience and resources can hinder students from successfully addressing project challenges. For example, Taiwanese students mentioned a lack of marketing and promotional experience limited the reach and impact of their projects. However, changes in government education policies that create more opportunities and incentives for students to participate in or initiate civic tech projects, such as Taiwan's Curriculum Guidelines of 12-Year Basic Education of Academic Year 108, which introduced self-directed learning courses, research and practical courses, and diverse electives in high school, can potentially increase students' capacity to work on projects. Moreover, g0v Sch001 has collaborated with high school teachers on multiple occasions to offer digital civic project practical courses, nurturing students in project development.

#### (2) Channels for Involvement in Civic Tech and Recommendations

Interviewed students from Taiwan, Japan, and Korea provided insights into how to support U22 youth in engaging with civic tech. Their recommendations focus on increasing resources, collaborating with educational institutions, organizing relevant competitions, and establishing connections with the industry to enhance the recognition of civic tech participation experiences. Specifically, Taiwanese students emphasized the importance of reducing participation barriers within existing civic tech communities rather than creating exclusive youth-only communities. They also highlighted the role of mentorship from experienced civic tech contributors in motivating and assisting young participants in overcoming project challenges.

**A. Enhancing motivation through increased recognition of civic tech experiences for education and employment.**

a. Compile stories of students who have utilized civic tech experiences to achieve academic and career success, providing inspiration for other students:

Both interviewed Japanese students highlighted that their main motivation for engaging in civic tech was to enrich their learning experiences and enhance their resumes, ultimately increasing their employment prospects. Meanwhile, observations from g0v Sch001 in Taiwan indicate that numerous high school students have gained valuable experience by participating in or initiating civic tech projects. This experience has served as a crucial factor in their university applications, enabling them to gain admission to their preferred academic programs. It is recommended to gather and compile these types of experiences to provide a roadmap for others and to understand the specific impact of civic tech projects on career development.

b. Increase societal recognition of civic tech experiences and establish connections between students and the industry:

The Japanese students specifically emphasized the importance of high societal recognition of civic tech project experiences in motivating students to engage with civic tech. On the other hand, students should proactively highlight the skills and attitudes they've developed through these projects, including initiative, leadership, innovation, and technical abilities, to enhance recognition. Furthermore, collaborating with enterprises in civic tech activities is also a method to boost recognition. Currently, Code for Japan (CfJ) collaborates with enterprises when organizing the "Civictech Challenge Cup U-22," allowing enterprises to present awards to teams they deem outstanding. In 2020, several winning team members attested to the substantial career benefits of their project experiences.

**B. No need to create specialized civic tech communities exclusively for youth; instead, lower the barriers to participation within existing civic tech communities.**

a. Technical resources can substantially assist students in developing civic tech projects:

In addition to civic tech communities, students also require resources or communities for technical support. Developing civic tech projects often involves expenses for necessary resources or digital tools. If students can access these resources for free or at discounted rates, it will make it much easier for them to turn their project ideas into reality through development.

b. Promote collaboration with civic tech communities within the current education system:

Both Korean and Taiwanese students mentioned the potential for collaboration with educational institutions. This collaboration could include the introduction of civic tech-related courses and activities by educational units, inviting civic tech contributors to establish mentorship programs, utilizing social media platforms commonly used by students, and providing credit recognition, internship opportunities, or scholarships. In Taiwan, g0v Sch001 already has experience in collaborating on courses with high schools and universities. Additionally, the g0v mentor program serves as a reference for such initiatives. Feedback from previous collaborating teachers suggests that linking existing civic tech communities not only provides clear case studies and models but also reduces educators' concerns about unfamiliarity with digital tools, civic tech concepts, and resources, thereby increasing their willingness to collaborate and offer relevant courses.

c. Organize competitions more aligned with civic tech:

Korean students emphasized that they often participate in various competitions to obtain project resources. However, it is common for the judges in competitions not to fully understand civic tech projects. Currently, g0v Sch001 in Taiwan organizes an annual "Sch001 Project Incubator Competition," and Code for Japan holds the "Civictech Challenge Cup U-22" each year. Both of these competitions focus on civic tech and reserve a certain number of spots for participants under 22 years old. These two competitions have become important avenues for Taiwanese and Japanese students to engage in civic tech. In light of these experiences, it is recommended to organize competitions centered around civic tech themes.