[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Resident general meetings featuring various unique characteristics and new concepts are attracting attention in each neighborhood of Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.
The public forum where residents directly decide village agendas is transforming into a village festival that fosters community harmony and unity.
According to Gwangsan-gu on the 23rd, since last month, resident general meetings have been held in each neighborhood where residents directly discover village agendas and find priorities and solutions through voting.
This resident general meeting is prepared and hosted directly by the neighborhood residents' autonomous committees, involving not only committee members but also local youth, foreigners, and related councils. In particular, new attempts that reflect the characteristics and individuality of each neighborhood are more active than ever.
On the 2nd, Cheomdan 2-dong held a festival-style resident general meeting at the lawn plaza of Nambu University with about 2,000 local residents participating. The neighborhood agenda priorities discovered by the resident council in Cheomdan 2-dong were set, and harmony was strengthened.
Eoryong-dong held a resident general meeting with the concept of camping to enjoy the starry night together, receiving great response. Residents enjoyed performances prepared by local residents and shared the village agendas discovered so far, having time to communicate. In this process, students from Seonun Middle School directly presented the village agendas they discovered.
Hanam-dong linked the youth general meeting with the resident general meeting to allow youth to actively voice their opinions. The agenda “Wanting to avoid the sun (installation of smart shade shelters),” discovered by Sanjeong Middle School students through the meeting and selected as the best empathy agenda, was actually raised as a village agenda item and was chosen by residents as the third priority among five village agendas in Hanam-dong.
Wolgok 2-dong, where many foreign residents live, attracted attention as North Korean defectors took charge of conducting the resident general meeting.
Usan-dong held the “True Person Forest, Great Gathering” together with the residents' autonomous committee and the local community welfare council. About 500 residents participated, sharing and deciding on the 2023 village autonomy agendas and welfare health agendas.
Park Byung-gyu, head of Gwangsan-gu Office, said, “Seeing the public forums where village agendas are decided changing into diverse and novel forms and literally being held like village festivals, I could glimpse the high autonomy capacity and participation willingness of Gwangsan-gu residents,” and added, “We will do our best to further activate the autonomous community where residents are the owners.”
Meanwhile, based on the village agendas discovered at the resident general meetings, the residents' autonomous committees establish village plans and find implementation methods through securing their own budgets, proposing resident participation budgets, and applying for community subsidy projects.
As of the 16th, 15 neighborhoods in Gwangsan-gu have completed resident general meetings up to Suwan-dong, and Songjeong 1-dong and Dosan-dong, which newly established residents' autonomous committees this year, plan to hold meetings in October to November. Four neighborhoods where residents' autonomous committees have not yet been formed will hold local forums to discover village agendas.
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