Gwangju Nam-gu to Host Disability Policy Forum on the 21st

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Nam-gu, Gwangju (Mayor Kim Byung-nae) will hold a disability policy forum on the 21st to develop welfare policies for people with disabilities in the fields of culture and arts.

Nam-gu announced that it will hold the ‘2021 Nam-gu Disability Policy Forum’ at the Nam-gu Disability Welfare Center on the 21st, where people with disabilities, organization officials, and experts will exchange various opinions to promote welfare for people with disabilities and revitalize cultural and artistic projects.

This forum is expected to have an in-depth discussion for about two hours under the theme of ‘Directions for Revitalizing Culture and Arts for People with Disabilities.’

First, Bang Gui-hee, president of the Korea Disabled Artists Association, will deliver the keynote presentation on the core topic of the forum, ‘Development Plans for Arts by People with Disabilities in Gwangju Metropolitan City.’

President Bang will broadly cover the current status of people with disabilities working in the domestic arts sector devastated by the pandemic, support measures for creative activities by people with disabilities, and institutional improvements based on the results of the ‘Survey on Arts by People with Disabilities in the Gwangju Area’ conducted by the Gwangju Cultural Foundation in 2019.

In particular, since most policy projects in the field of arts for people with disabilities are carried out through government public contests, it is difficult to guarantee continuity of projects if not selected, so she is expected to emphasize the importance of establishing long-term operation plans and securing budgets for arts projects for people with disabilities.

After the keynote presentation, an in-depth discussion and Q&A session will be held, moderated by Oh Young-soon, a member of the Nam-gu Council.

Jung Jin-sam, president of the Gwangju Disabled Culture Association, and Kwak Kyu-ho, head of the Arts Imagination Division at the Gwangju Cultural Foundation, will participate as panelists. They plan to suggest directions for projects in the field of culture and arts for people with disabilities through the roles of the government and local governments and examples from other regions.

A Nam-gu official stated, “We will collect diverse opinions from experts and people with disabilities themselves to realize the right to pursue happiness for people with disabilities and to improve social awareness by eliminating prejudice through artistic activities by people with disabilities.”