Saving Communities~ Creating Better Villages~

Seoul Gangseo-gu's '2021 Village Community Support Project' Promotion... 30 Groups Supported for Community Revitalization and Village Care Projects

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) is promoting the '2021 Village Community Support Project' to create livable village communities led by residents.

The purpose is to strengthen residents' autonomy capabilities and activate resident-led communities by supporting residents to discover and solve village problems on their own.

Especially this year, considering the COVID-19 situation, the district plans to actively discover projects suitable for recent issues such as resolving care gaps and projects that can be conducted in a non-face-to-face manner.

This project is largely divided into the ‘Community Activation Project’ and the ‘Village Care Project,’ supporting a total of 80 million KRW for 30 projects across 6 types.

First, the Community Activation Project consists of three types of support projects: ▲Activity Support ▲Space Support ▲Alley Support.

The Activity Support type targets projects that solve local problems or activate communities, while the Space Support type targets projects that activate communities based on multipurpose community spaces.

The Alley Support type supports projects such as alleyway neighborhood meetings and alleyway environment improvements based on low-rise residential alleys.

The newly established Village Care Project this year consists of three types of support projects: ▲Village Care ▲Village Sharing ▲Village Management, with project contents including child care activities, meal services or side dish sharing for vulnerable groups, and village environment improvement or storage organization for vulnerable groups.

The district supports each selected group with a budget ranging from 2 million to 5 million KRW.

The funds can be used for activity expenses, promotional printing costs, consumable supplies purchase, short-term rental fees, (intercity) travel expenses, meeting expenses, instructor fees, etc., and at least 5% of the subsidy amount (10% for Activity Support type) must be separately budgeted as self-funded expenses.

Groups or organizations with three or more residents whose address or living area (workplace, school, etc.) is in Gangseo-gu can participate in this project. However, only groups that have completed prior education can apply for the Village Care Project. The prior education will be held twice on March 9 (Tuesday) and March 16 (Tuesday).

Groups wishing to apply should receive prior consultation at the Gangseo-gu Village Autonomy Center and then apply by accessing the Seoul Village Community Comprehensive Support Center website by 6 p.m. on March 19.

When applying, applicants must submit a project proposal, project plan, list of project participants and work assignment chart, and consent form for personal information processing together.

The district will decide the support recipients through proposer participation evaluation, expert evaluation, on-site evaluation, and village community committee deliberation, and plans to announce the results in April.

A district official said, “We will strive to foster sustainable village communities by supporting resident-led community activities,” and added, “We hope many people will participate in this project to make our village a happier and more livable community.”