Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa District, Elected as the 5th President of the Innovative Education Local Government Council

Songpa-gu to Host Innovation Education Local Government Council Conference and General Meeting on the 3rd... 'Communication for New Educational Directions: Finding the Path to Future Education' Theme

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) held the Innovative Education Local Government Council Conference and the 2021 First Half Regular General Meeting on the 3rd to discuss educational issues and response measures in each region.

The "Innovative Education Local Government Council" is a group launched in March 2018 to strengthen cooperation between central and local governments, as well as between general autonomy and educational autonomy. Currently, 63 local governments nationwide participate in its activities.

In particular, Songpa-gu attracted attention by announcing the Songpa Education Model, Songpa SSEM, at the regular general meetings in the first and second halves of last year. Mayor Park Seong-su of Songpa-gu was appointed as the Senior Vice President of the Innovative Education Local Government Council and Songpa-gu was selected as the host city for this first half regular general meeting.

This event was held under the theme "Communication for a New Direction in Education: Finding the Path to Future Education," and proceeded in three parts: Part 1 - tour of the Songpa SSEM Instrument Library & Music Creation Studio facilities, Part 2 - conference, and Part 3 - first half regular general meeting.

In Part 1, through a tour of the Instrument Library & Music Creation Studio, which opened on May 26 and provides every resident with one instrument to develop artistic literacy, participants could directly experience Songpa-gu’s future education response cases.

In Part 2, a performance using holograms was held to attract attention, featuring video answers from children representing each member city to future education questions such as "What education do I want to learn in the future?" and "What future do I dream of?" The performance symbolized all cities uniting to lead the future together.

Following the keynote speech by Mayor Park Seong-su of Songpa-gu on the role of autonomous districts in finding the path to future education and the Songpa SSEM case, case presentations from Yeonje-gu in Busan, Gangdong-gu and Seodaemun in Seoul, and Paju-si in Gyeonggi Province were given, deciding to strengthen communication and cooperation among cities for future education.

Part 3 provided a venue to share the progress of the council’s initiatives so far.

Also, this regular general meeting was the occasion for electing the 5th term executives. Mayor Park Seong-su of Songpa-gu, who was the Senior Vice President in the 4th term, was elected as the 5th term president.

Mayor Park Seong-su of Songpa-gu said, "I am pleased and feel a heavy responsibility to be elected as the president of the Innovative Education Local Government Council," emphasizing, "The role of local governments, which are in direct contact with residents, is more important than ever to nurture each and every child well."

He also stated, "Songpa-gu is preparing for future education through Songpa SSEM. Going forward, we will share and communicate various future education projects of member cities to find new directions and paths for education, and work together to turn crises into opportunities."