The Code: The Second New Generation Digital Citizenship Program Champions Announced

Dentsu Group, Taiwan Secom, Cathay Financial Holdings, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store, 5% Design Action, and NCKU Innovation Center Collaborate with Gen Z to Create a Sustainable Future

To empower the youth with digital and sustainability skills, dentsu Group Taiwan, in collaboration with leading industry brands Taiwan Secom, Cathay Financial Holdings, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store, social enterprise 5% Design Action, and National Cheng Kung University Innovation Headquarters, hosted the "The Code : The Second New Generation Digital Citizenship Program." This year’s event attracted 533 students forming 102 teams. Over a span of two months, finalist teams presented their innovative ideas through presentations on April 14, 2024. After compelling presentations, three champion teams were announced. These teams, recognized for their creativity, will now collaborate with brands to implement their proposed sustainable solutions, truly realizing the vision of intergenerational sustainability. 

To enhance digital sustainability talent, dentsu Group established Sustainable Forest in 2022, a communications design action academy in Taiwan. By integrating social enterprises and brands, the academy empowers young students with critical thinking, innovation, integration, and sustainability skills, preparing them to be good digital citizens with correct values. It also helps them connect with the professional world early, contributing to society. Unique to this year’s event, beyond the championship prize money, participating brands committed to providing resources worth 500,000 NT dollars as a fund to actualize the winning students' creative ideas. 

The three leading brands participating in the second Sustainable Forest presented sustainability topics they aim to delve into in the future, inviting students to explore and brainstorm together. The topics are: 

• [Taiwan Secom] Focused on preserving heritage temples, partnering with the national heritage site Tainan Confucius Temple to promote cultural preservation and heritage transmission. 

• [Cathay Financial Holdings] Since 2016, promoting green real estate, driving sustainability concepts through environmental and holistic health initiatives. This year, targeting the younger generation to establish sustainability awareness, understanding, and actions in future smart buildings through the principles of "green, technology, and humanity." 

• [Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store] Facing the imminent super-aged society, encouraging consumers to accumulate sustainable actions, creating a positive social cycle by giving back to the elderly. 

The "The Code : The Second New Generation Digital Citizenship" program not only demonstrates dentsu Group’s commitment to digital harmony and environmental sustainability but also emphasizes the importance of integrating creativity, digital, and media resources through industry-academia collaboration. This year’s expanded collaboration includes continuing partnerships with 5% Design Action and forming a strategic alliance with National Cheng Kung University Innovation Headquarters. Together with three leading brands, they established a sustainability communication design action academy, creating a comprehensive training system. This cross-industry-academia platform offers students valuable learning and practice opportunities through three-stage workshops, guiding them from on-site visits to brainstorming, learning to deconstruct problems, and proposing innovative solutions. It enables them to deeply understand and engage in addressing sustainable development issues. Participating brands are fully committed to nurturing the next generation of talent. The champion teams’ project execution will involve close collaboration with students, ensuring that industry-academia connections go beyond one-sided information transfer, fostering interactive exchanges that produce impactful innovative solutions. This enables students to truly participate in the sustainable challenges faced by corporate innovation transformation, enhancing their sustainability competitiveness needed for future careers.