From Tales to Reality: Storytelling for Sustainability
Programme Overview
From Tales to Reality: Storytelling for Sustainability organised under CAES at the HKU Academy for the Talented 2025 is a 5-day intensive programme revolving around United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to enhance language and communication among high-ability secondary school students through digital technologies. At the core of the programme is digital storytelling (DST), an established pedagogy that puts students at the centre of learning by giving them much ownership and agency of their final creative product. By adopting a differentiated curriculum and a multimodal perspective towards communication, the programme stands at the intersection of traditional, visual and digital literacies to encourage critical and creative thinking, representing one of the frontiers in language education.
Learning Outcomes
This programme primarily aims to give students an opportunity to research a prominent issue of their choice under the SDGs and empower them for a voice. The programme uses digital storytelling as a focal point to contextualise research, writing, speaking, and visual and digital literacies in a creative process. It focuses on real-life issues that are frequently ill-defined and complex, which demand students to work in groups to read selected journal articles and research online. They will then write scripts, create storyboards, source and/ or shoot footage, record narrations, and edit and share their videos to drive impacts among their peers and members of the public. Final products will be displayed online as part of the World Expo 2025 initiative, extending students’ voices for social benefits. While the programme requires no prior experience in research and technology, it offers room for their development in a supportive and collaborative environment. The horizon, and communication and technical skills acquired by students will prepare them for admission into Bachelor of Arts (Humanities and Digital Technologies), Bachelor of Social Sciences, and other related undergraduate programmes at HKU.
Programme Details
- Programme Period: July 14 – July 18, 2025
- Class Time:
- Morning session: 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Afternoon session: 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM (extended to 5:00 PM on Days 2 – 4)
- Target Audience: S3 – S5/Grade 9 – 11/Year 10 – 12 students
- Programme Fee (Non-refundable Application fee: HKD 60):
- Non-members: HKD 12,000
- Members: HKD 8,500
- Delivery Mode: Face-to-Face
Required Devices
Each participant should bring along his/ her mobile phone for video-shooting and a computer for video-editing. iPad and other tablets are not acceptable for video-editing.
Note: No prior experience is required in video production
Application and Registration
- Programme Code: ACTST2025
- Registration Link: https://actstudentapp.hku.hk/student/login
- Application Deadlines:
- Non-local students: April 6, 2025 (HKT 23:59)
- Local students: May 31, 2025 (HKT 23:59)
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*Disclaimer: Programme contents and formats are subject to change. The programme is subject to cancellation if there are insufficient applications.