Bridging Mountains and Seas with AI, Connecting Hearts Through Cultural Heritage — AIGC Creative Camp for Youths from Shandong, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Holds Award Ceremony and Launches Youth Media @ Mountains & Seas Program

“Gentlemen make friends through culture and cultivate virtue through friendship.” On July 19, the award ceremony of the AIGC Creative Camp for Youths from Shandong, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, along with the launch ceremony of Youth Media @ Mountains & Seas, was held at the Multifunctional Studio of the School of Journalism and Communication at Shandong Normal University. Bringing together young creators from the four regions, the event used AI-powered creativity as a bridge to explore the profound Confucian heritage of Qilu and build a new platform for digital cultural innovation and collaborative creation among young people across the Taiwan Strait. Nearly 300 students, young creators and industry representatives gathered for a vibrant celebration where technology and culture came together.

With a long and rich cultural legacy, Qilu is the birthplace of Confucian culture and shares deep historical and cultural roots with Taiwan across the sea. In a keynote speech, a representative of the organizers noted that, as stated in The Doctrine of the Mean, “All things grow together without harming one another; different paths run parallel without conflict.” Traditional Chinese culture and cutting-edge AIGC technology can complement and empower each other. Through digital creativity, the event aimed to break geographical barriers, encourage young people to tell Chinese stories and Qilu stories through AI, and strengthen cultural understanding and shared identity through cross-strait exchanges.

The event featured a well-structured program combining ceremony, creativity and meaningful dialogue. The award presentation showcased the outstanding achievements of the creative camp. Two competition categories were established: AIGC video and AIGC music, with awards presented for first, second and third prizes, as well as special awards recognizing outstanding technology, creativity, cultural expression, screenwriting and directing. Outstanding mentors who guided young creators throughout the process were also honored. Centered around themes such as Mount Tai, the Yellow River, Qilu heritage and cross-strait unity, the winning works seamlessly integrated traditional cultural values with AI-generated technology. The music award-winning piece “One Light Across the Sea” and visual works including “The Guiding Light,” “The Light Remains On,” and “A Shared Heritage” conveyed heartfelt stories of connection across the Taiwan Strait through melodies and visual narratives, showcasing the creativity and cultural passion of young creators. Guests presented certificates and trophies to teachers and student winners, capturing memorable moments of youth inspiration and cultural inheritance.

The flag presentation and camp launch marked a significant milestone of the event. The camp flag represents the close bond and shared aspirations of young people from the four regions, symbolizing the official launch of the AIGC Creative Camp for Youths from Shandong, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. As the flag was passed on, it represented AI as a bridge connecting young hearts across the Taiwan Strait and opening a new chapter of long-term, cross-regional digital collaboration.

The highlight of the event was the youth sharing session and exchange forum, which connected students on site with young creators from Taiwan through an online platform. Award-winning creators from Shandong took the stage to share their creative journeys, from drawing inspiration from traditional culture to applying AI tools in bringing their ideas to life. Meanwhile, videos recorded by Taiwanese young creators were played, showing that despite the physical distance, their creative aspirations and cultural connections remained closely aligned. Six youth representatives from Shandong and Taiwan then joined a panel discussion, engaging in in-depth conversations around three key topics.

The young participants shared their experiences in the creative camp, including the AI tools they explored and the challenges they encountered during the creative process. They discussed common difficulties faced by students using AIGC, such as improving aesthetic judgment and overcoming technical limitations, while also exploring how artificial intelligence may transform media, cultural creativity and the arts over the next three to five years. They further examined how AIGC can help bridge information gaps between young people across the Taiwan Strait, revitalize traditional culture and support the creation of regular cross-strait youth cultural innovation programs.

“As learning alone without friends leads to limited knowledge.” During the forum, young participants exchanged ideas openly and learned from one another. Their discussions covered both practical AI applications and broader reflections on cultural preservation. They agreed that AIGC is not merely a creative tool, but also a new medium for overcoming geographical distances and carrying forward Chinese cultural heritage, opening new digital pathways for deeper youth exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

At the conclusion of the event, a closing speech reviewed the significance of the gathering, reaffirming the cultural vision of “a world where the common good is shared by all” and encouraging young people from Shandong, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao to embrace opportunities in the digital creative era. Through AI-powered works, they were encouraged to continue promoting outstanding Chinese traditional culture and write a new chapter of youth-driven cross-strait integration.

Following the award ceremony, participating students from Shandong and Taiwan visited the media laboratories of the School of Journalism and Communication at Shandong Normal University. They explored media production technologies and workflows in the high-definition film analysis room, photography laboratory and integrated media studio. They also experienced cutting-edge developments in the mobile internet era through the XR immersive studio, convergence media center and multimedia editing laboratory, gaining valuable insights into the future of media integration while expanding their knowledge of communication and creative technologies.

Breaking away from traditional youth exchange models, the event empowered cultural communication through advanced digital technology, integrating Confucian heritage, Qilu culture and cross-strait connections into one creative platform. It established a long-term space for young people from Shandong, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao to learn from each other, collaborate and create together. Looking ahead, young creators from the four regions will take this creative camp as a starting point to further explore the contemporary value of Chinese cultural heritage, use youthful and digital expressions to strengthen emotional bonds among people across the Taiwan Strait, and ensure that shared cultural roots continue to flourish in the AI era.