Gwangju City Hosts 'Policy Proposal Forum' for Children and Youth Council

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 5th that it held the inaugural Children's Council (14 members) policy declaration ceremony and the 2nd plenary session of the 5th Youth Council (23 members) on the afternoon of the 4th at the 4th floor plenary hall of the Gwangju City Council.

The Children and Youth Council is a participation organization supported by Gwangju City to allow children and youth, who are the stakeholders, to directly participate in the policy-making process.

They carry out activities representing the voices of children and youth in our region.

Until last year, the Children and Youth Council was held together, but from this year, it has been separated and operated as the 5th Youth Council and the inaugural Children's Council.

At the inaugural Children's Council policy declaration ceremony, the children council members declared policies for a total of four emergency problem-solving teams.

The contents are ▲ prohibition of discrimination by gender and age in education (Education Studio) ▲ respect for children's rights (Beautiful Earth) ▲ installation of playground trash bins (Hero) ▲ enforcement of parking regulations in front of schools to improve traffic road environment (Safety Keeper Party).

In the 5th Youth Council, two items were resolved: ▲ Special education ordinance on the Yeo-Sun Incident by the City Education Office (proposed by Park Sang-yoon of the Youth Here Party, acting chair of the Culture and Autonomy Committee) ▲ formation of youth volunteer teams through ‘volunteer activities you want to do’ by the City Education Office (proposed by Lee Ji-woo of the Glucose Party).

Then, during the 5-minute free speech session, three topics were freely discussed: ‘the only career experience center in Gwangju City’, ‘environmental policies desired by youth’, and ‘operation plans for the Youth Council’, urging interest in local youth issues and sharing their own activity experiences.

The contents discussed at the policy declaration ceremony and plenary session will be delivered to the relevant departments of Gwangju City and the City Education Office, and various policy improvement directions will be sought, including reflection in Gwangju City’s children and youth policies.

The inaugural Children's Council members, who took their first step this year, said, “We are grateful for creating a communication place where our opinions can be fully turned into policies,” and “We hope there will be more delicate and consistent interest in children who speak with small words and voices.”