Nowon-gu Youth Policy Receives Prime Minister's Commendation...The Secret?

Nationwide First 'Youth Safety Net Integrated Support Center Establishment, Expansion of Youth-Only Cultural and Artistic Rest Spaces... Customized Service Support through a Detailed Support System'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it received the Prime Minister's Award in the ‘2021 Excellent Local Government Youth Policy Awards’ hosted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

The ‘Excellent Local Government Youth Policy Awards’ is a ceremony that selects and encourages local governments leading efforts for the safe and healthy growth of youth, and promotes balanced development of youth policies among local governments through sharing exemplary cases.

In 2021, 17 metropolitan cities and provinces and 228 cities, counties, and districts participated. The evaluation was conducted by dividing into joint local government evaluation and youth policy analysis and evaluation. Among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul, Nowon-gu was the only one to receive the Prime Minister's Award.

The district achieved the great success of receiving the Prime Minister's Commendation by focusing on ▲expanding the youth social safety net and reorganizing the protection support system ▲expanding youth spaces and activating capacity-building activities ▲a segmented youth service support system ▲and youth-tailored career and independence experience activation policies.

First, in January 2021, the district established the ‘Youth Safety Net Integrated Support Center’ to provide integrated support services for at-risk youth for the first time nationwide. The center operates with personnel from the district office, police station, education office, and private sectors working together to maintain organic responses. In May, the Nowon Youth Counseling Welfare Center ‘Now’ for at-risk youth and out-of-school youth opened.

Additionally, the district operates the ‘Nowon Child Protection Agency,’ the first of its kind established by a basic local government nationwide, runs the ‘Shelter for Abused Children,’ and supports the creation of a nature-friendly learning environment at the ‘Yerum Art School’ (the first commissioned alternative school in Korea for children and youth with borderline intellectual functioning), thereby expanding the youth social safety net and establishing a systematic protection system.

Efforts were also made to expand youth spaces and activate capacity-building activities. By actively discovering idle spaces, a total of 12 locations were created, including ‘Youth Agit,’ a cultural, artistic, and resting space exclusively for youth, and ‘Ttukttak,’ a resting place within schools. Furthermore, youth participation rates have been increased through youth festivals planned, promoted, and operated directly by youth, children and youth sports competitions, children and youth participatory budgeting, and programs like ‘I am also an architect.’

Attention was also drawn to the segmentation of the youth service support system to provide demand-centered customized services. The district established 27 ‘I-Hu Centers’ for after-school care services for elementary students, set up a sick child care center and implemented a hospital accompaniment service for sick children to support households where both parents work and find it difficult to care for sick children, operates a community service investment project that won the grand prize for two consecutive years recently, and runs free youth cafeterias, providing age- and situation-appropriate services.

Lastly, there are career counseling and experience programs aimed at nurturing creative talents and reducing private education expenses. Various programs supporting youth career and independence are provided, including the ‘Nowon Education Platform’ for self-directed learning and career counseling, the ‘Sangsang Irum Center’ for career experiences in community workplaces, the ‘Specialized High School Customized Employment Support Project,’ and the ‘Nowon Future Road Project’ preparing for the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “I am very pleased that our efforts for youth policy have borne good fruit,” and added, “We will continue to strive so that youth can grow happily and healthily under the catchphrase ‘Nowon that does not give up on a single child!’”