Nowon-gu Accelerates Creation of Senior-Friendly City... Joins WHO International Network

14th Domestic City to Join WHO Age-Friendly Cities International Network... Nowon Advances 43 Detailed Projects in 3 Core Areas for Age-Friendly City Creation, Implementing WHO's 8 Guidelines... 40 Detailed Tasks This Year, Quarterly Evaluations, and Ordinance Establishment to Lay Legal Foundation for Age-Friendly City

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) has joined the World Health Organization (WHO) ‘Age-friendly Cities International Network’ and completed registration on the membership list on the 9th.

Nowon-gu is the 14th city in South Korea to join, and currently, the Age-friendly Cities International Network includes over 1,000 cities from 41 countries worldwide.

Taking this membership as an opportunity, the district plans to promote more systematic age-friendly policies with the support and advice of the internationally recognized WHO.

Additionally, by applying international guidelines through sharing advanced aging society strategies and information from various countries around the world, the district aims to gain new momentum for senior welfare policies.

Since 2018, the district has been gradually promoting the creation of an age-friendly city, preparing procedures for project execution, implementing comprehensive plans, and establishing a legal foundation.

First, to analyze age-friendliness and identify needs within the region, from December 2018 for seven months, the Korea Policy Management Institute was commissioned to conduct a survey targeting a total of about 1,000 people, including 408 general residents and 598 seniors aged 65 and over.

About 150 items, including questions on the WHO’s eight domains, were surveyed, and in-depth interviews were also conducted with 20 residents aged 50 and above who had lived in Nowon-gu for more than one year.

The next step is to establish a three-year comprehensive implementation plan for creating an age-friendly city. Based on the research results, three core areas were set: ‘Healthy and Vibrant Nowon,’ ‘Nowon Where All Generations Coexist and Want to Live for Life,’ and ‘Safe and Pleasant Nowon,’ through which 43 detailed projects will implement the WHO’s eight guidelines.

Starting this year, the district will actively carry out age-friendly city projects. After review by related departments, a total of 40 projects will be conducted, with quarterly progress checks until December.

Representative projects this year include △‘Visiting Job Fair’ for creating and linking senior jobs such as job counseling and one-on-one interviews △‘Mobile Health Bus Operation’ circulating by neighborhood to improve access to health services for vulnerable groups △‘Nowon Silver Line,’ which prevents solitary deaths by making weekly welfare check calls to isolated seniors in blind spots △‘Senior Forest Trail Exploration,’ providing barrier-free forest trail exploration and health and cultural programs for seniors at senior centers and welfare centers △‘Nowon 5070 Talent Donation Group,’ composed of retirees in their 50s to 70s to expand senior social participation.

Nowon-gu plans to faithfully implement the projects planned over three years until 2022, prepare for WHO re-certification evaluation, and from 2023, establish a five-year plan based on the evaluation of the three-year comprehensive plan to stabilize the age-friendly city creation project.

A legal foundation for creating an age-friendly city will also be established. Currently, the ‘Nowon-gu Ordinance on the Creation of an Age-friendly City’ is under legislative notice, aiming for passage in April.

The main contents include the establishment and implementation of age-friendly city plans, promotion of age-friendly city projects, activation of international exchanges, operation of monitoring groups, and operation of the creation committee.

As of the end of February 2020, the population of seniors aged 65 and over in Nowon-gu was 81,919, accounting for 15.4% of the total population of 531,840, entering an aged society.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “Joining the WHO Age-friendly Cities International Network brings us one step closer to creating an age-friendly city,” and added, “Through creating an age-friendly city, we will do our best to create a livable urban environment where not only seniors but all classes can enjoy healthy and vibrant social lives.”