To serve the elderly, the Kaohsiung Public Library (KPL) has planned a summer drama camp for readers aged 55 and above, "People with Stories: Youth and Silver Drama Workshop" once again. During the 12-week course, senior members were led to challenge themselves through drama. Yesterday (17th), a grand achievement presentation was held at the Sanmin Branch Library. Students of the workshop were nervous and looking forward to acting out their wonderful life stories in front of their relatives and friends and successfully realizing their dreams.

Wang, Wen-Tsui (王文翠), Director of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Directors of KPL, said that this year marks the second year of the "People with Stories" workshop. The results of last year's activities not only won the "Taiwan Healthy and Age-Friendly City Award – Aging Together Award" (共老獎) by the Health Promotion Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare but also received praise from the students. Based on the feedback from last year’s activity, the workshop was organized again this year, with an almost 60% increase in the registration rate. Director Wang said that the library is the best place for lifelong learning, and she is also glad to see that the library can also create a stage for the students of the Youth and Silver Drama Workshop to realize their dreams.

Acting Director of KPL, Lin Yi-Cheng (林奕成), said that continuing the spirit of last year's event, KPL continues to cooperate with local theater troupes to enrich the lives of the senior citizens through drama, bringing them different artistic and cultural experiences. At the same time, based on feedback from last year's students, the event was extended from 8 weeks to 12 weeks so that senior students have more time to share stories, discuss and interact, and have more time to prepare to present their results. This year's course led the students to dig deeper into their own emotional memories, and the script also added more inner exploration and understanding. The life stories and emotional memories of the students on the scene led the audience back to more than 30 years ago and touched the audience's hearts.

KPL illustrates that the “People with Stories” workshop pays more attention to the cooperation between the youth and the elderly this year. In addition to the 55-year-old senior students, students aged between 16 and 26 also participated in this year's workshop. Through body development courses and story sharing, both young and senior students have in-depth cooperation and interaction, experiencing the lives and ideas of different generations. Zhang, currently a high school student, states that his daily interactions are made up mostly with peers, and the elders he has contact with are primarily family members. Through this activity, he understood the generational differences between himself and the elders when they were young. Moreover, he understood that the elders also felt lost and confused when they were young. This made him feel closer to them and more empathetic. Overall, this is a rather valuable experience.