Gwangju City Promotes Contest Project for Creating Human Rights Villages

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 22nd that it will promote the '2020 Human Rights Village Creation' contest project to realize a human rights city where citizens' human rights are guaranteed.

The Human Rights Village contest project is being promoted so that citizens themselves can take the lead in human rights movements and solve village problems, starting from the 'village,' which is the everyday living space of citizens, where the value of human rights is upheld. It started with 3 human rights villages in 2013 and has now expanded to 19 villages.

This year's Human Rights Village project will be a participatory program through residents' meetings, and plans to include content that can remain as tangible assets such as improving the human rights environment. Approximately 10 million won per village will be supported as project funds.

The eligible applicants are non-profit corporations, non-profit private organizations, and village communities with experience in village projects residing in Gwangju.

Applicants can submit their Human Rights Village project proposals from the 28th of this month to the 13th of next month through the Gwangju city website under ‘Communication·Participation → Online Reservation Application’ or by mail or visit.

For more details, inquiries can be made to the Gwangju City Democratic Human Rights Division.

Meanwhile, in the Human Rights Villages, programs are operated where residents themselves discuss what is needed for the village's change by looking at the village from a human rights perspective through human rights education, human rights camps, and human rights cultural festivals.

Participants in the Human Rights Villages hold monthly meetings to share activities and experiences, promoting the continuous development of the human rights villages and building bonds among the villages.

So far, Munsan Village has operated a Human Rights Love Room, Human Rights Learning Center, and user-created content (UCC) on human rights, receiving favorable reviews from various groups ranging from teenagers to seniors over 70 years old.

Wolsan Village conducts human rights education for finding the rights of people with and without disabilities through a program called ‘Dalmoe and Sabaek,’ holds a ‘Human Rights Campaign’ respecting differences, and hosts a ‘Disability Empathy Small Concert’ with youth, creating a foundation where people with and without disabilities can protect and uphold each other's human rights without distinction.

In addition, Bamsil Village runs a ‘Children and Youth Human Rights Camp,’ Ilgok Village operates a ‘Youth Human Rights Exploration Team and Human Rights Cultural Festival,’ Pungam Village holds a ‘Sharing Market and Village Safety Map Making,’ Geumho Village offers ‘Charging Human Rights Sensitivity, Play is Human Rights, 5·18 Human Rights Historical Site Exploration,’ and Nodae Village runs ‘Comforting Human Rights, Human Rights Club, Human Rights Education,’ among various programs, laying the groundwork for citizens themselves to become the main agents of human rights movements.

Kim Yong-man, head of the city’s Democratic Human Rights Division, said, “We hope that many organizations and activists interested in creating human rights villages that strengthen residents' human rights capabilities and expand the Gwangju spirit to universal human values will participate.”