To cultivate students' powers of observation, expression, and humanistic literacy, the General Education Center at Ming Chi University of Technology has continued to organize the "Local Stories" competition. Through writing and visual storytelling, students are encouraged to focus on local people and daily life, prompting reflection on the value of regional culture and the depth of life stories. This year’s competition yielded impressive results, reflecting students’ deep understanding and delicate portrayals of local dynamics.

　　The 2025 competition received 25 entries for the film category and 21 for the writing category. After preliminary and secondary reviews, the writing category awarded one first prize, one second prize, one third prize, and six honorable mentions. In the film category, five teams were shortlisted for the final presentation, with four others receiving honorable mentions in the preliminary round. The final presentation event was held at the Ding Taishan Temple Activity Center, where professional judges viewed the films on-site and engaged in direct dialogue with the students before selecting the top three winners and two honorable mentions.

　　During the final event for the film category, each team presented their work within a 20-minute time slot, including a film screening, a 3-minute oral presentation, and a Q&A session with the judges. The panel of judges featured Lin Pao-Yu and Hsu Shun-Cheng from the Taishan Cultural Association, director Han Chung-Han, Dean Li Jiang-He of Ming Chi College, and last year’s first prize winner, student Chen Yu-An. All judges offered insightful and detailed feedback on the students’ works.

　　The first prize in the film category went to Wanlong Comic Store, created by six students: Wang Yen-Rong, Lin Sheng-Jia, Hung Tzu-Yu, Chin Kai-Hsi, Tung Yu-Chen, and Liu Chi-Chien. The documentary focused on “No. 21 Rental Bookstore,” a rare comic book rental shop in Wenshan District. Through their lens, the students captured the story of its retired owner, Michael Chou, who continues to run the store driven by a sense of mission. Dedicated to preserving out-of-print books and supporting young creators, he exemplifies the warmth of physical bookstores coexisting with local culture. The team impressed the judges with their compelling narrative and refined editing, effectively preserving a vanishing cultural memory.

　　The writing category's first prize was awarded to the work A Burning Fire, an Unextinguished Heart — Teacher He Chu-Wan, written collaboratively by five students from Class 1B of the Department of Mechanical Engineering: Ku Shih-Chieh, Lin Wei-Hsiang, Li Yueh-Tung, Liao Hsing-Yu, and Chuang Tzu-Yun. Written in the first person, the piece narrates the educational journey of Scout Leader He Chu-Wan at Taishan Junior High School, from local campfires to international scouting in Sri Lanka. It portrays a teacher who profoundly influences his students' lives, quietly planting seeds of hope. The writing is emotionally resonant and stylistically delicate, conveying the enduring power of education.

　　This competition was more than a contest—it was a dialogue across generations and a cultural exchange. Through their writing and filming, students transformed fleeting yet moving moments from daily life into creative works, capturing the spirit of the local community and tracing their own paths of growth. Judges encouraged the students to keep creating and become vital voices that bridge local stories with the wider world.

中文：113學年度在地人的故事影像組暨寫作組競賽
This article is simultaneously published in the 39th edition of the SDGs E-paper.