Granting Authority and Responsibility to Resident Autonomy Committees
Geumcheon-gu Signs Entrustment Agreement for Operation of Autonomous Community Centers with 10 Dong Residents' Autonomous Committees
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Seong-hoon) signed an entrustment agreement on December 27 with the residents' autonomous committees of 10 dongs for the operation of autonomous community centers in 2023.
Last year, two dongs (Siheung 2 and 3-dong) residents' autonomous committees were selected in Seoul's pilot project for entrustment operation of autonomous community centers and conducted a one-year pilot operation.
From 2023, the entrustment operation has been expanded to all dongs to enable residents' autonomous committees to acquire practical autonomous authority and capabilities as resident representative organizations.
The entrustment period is one year from January 1 to December 31, 2023, and the possibility of extension will be reviewed through performance evaluation before the expiration of the entrustment period.
The main contents of the entrustment include overall operation of autonomous community center programs such as ▲ program operation management ▲ collection and execution of tuition fees ▲ management of instructors and students.
This is the first time in Seoul that all dongs' residents' autonomous committees have signed entrustment agreements. Geumcheon-gu aims to strengthen the autonomy and responsibility of residents' autonomous committees through this agreement.
Yoo Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, "I hope the entrustment operation of autonomous community centers will be successfully established," and added, "I look forward to autonomous community centers becoming shared spaces where residents meet and interact."
Nowon-gu Early Intervention for Youth Smartphone Addiction
Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will implement a digital detox project to prevent excessive internet and smartphone use among youth.
According to the ‘2022 Media Usage Survey of Teenagers’ released by the Korea Press Foundation, the average daily internet usage time of Korean youth increased from 4.5 hours (267.2 minutes) in 2019, before COVID-19, to 8 hours (479.6 minutes) in 2022, about 1.8 times higher.
In response, the district is promoting the digital detox project to address the worsening youth internet and smartphone addiction and provide healthy activity alternatives, recruiting schools to participate until January 31.
The education targets are elementary, middle, and high school students and youth in the area. After pre-registration by schools and youth organizations, professional instructors will conduct on-site education aiming to early identify children at risk of addiction.
Before education, a survey will be conducted on youth at the applying schools to assess game addiction, smartphone overuse, usage time, and behavior, selecting those at risk of addiction. The collected data will be used to analyze the relationship between pediatric depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and youth addiction, serving as reference for setting directions for addiction prevention projects.
The education will present the harms and prevention methods of addiction through understanding brain structure and function based on the brain science-based addiction prevention education manual (SBIRT-IAD), aiming to improve self-regulation and healthy digital usage.
Nowon Addiction Management Integrated Support Center to Operate Digital Detox Program in Elementary, Middle, and High Schools Early Next Year
After education, children classified as at-risk will be connected to a short-term intervention program with parental consent. The four-session short-term intervention will be conducted with experts, guiding participants from awareness of their digital usage patterns and amounts to exploring healthy alternatives through various activities.
This year, the digital detox project was conducted in 13 schools and 8 vulnerable child and youth institutions. A total of 1,682 children and youth were surveyed, with 9.2% identified as at-risk, and 39 students were connected to the short-term intervention program with parental consent.
In 2023, the project plans to educate about 3,000 youth in cooperation with applying schools and related institutions, aiming to increase the short-term intervention rate for high-risk groups to 35%.
Additionally, the district provides general counseling and outreach counseling services centered on the Nowon Addiction Management Integrated Support Center for at-risk groups and their families regarding alcohol, internet, and other addiction issues.
From March, when the weather warms, the district plans to visit six rental apartment complexes with relatively vulnerable households to provide addiction screening tests and rehabilitation program information, actively supporting discovery and recovery.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, "Early intervention and education are essential to prevent youth addiction," and added, "In the new year 2023, we will actively implement addiction prevention projects for residents who want a fresh start free from various addictions."
Dobong-gu Selects 102 ‘Our Village Carbon Neutral Practice Stores’
Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eon-seok), together with the ‘2050 Carbon Neutral Practice Group,’ selected 102 village retail stores leading energy-saving efforts as ‘Our Village Carbon Neutral Practice Stores.’
The practice group, composed of environmental organization members, visited about 500 village retail stores such as convenience stores, laundries, and general stores from June to October during the summer season when energy consumption surges, conducting three rounds of inspections on ▲ whether air conditioning doors are left open ▲ appropriate indoor temperature settings (26~28℃) ▲ participation in the ‘Greenhouse Gas 4 Tons Per Person Reduction Pledge’ campaign ▲ enrollment in Eco Mileage program.
Based on the inspection results, the district held a public-private evaluation committee review and finally selected 102 energy-saving excellent retail stores as ‘Our Village Carbon Neutral Practice Stores’ in December.
Selected stores received energy-saving and power-saving products, and their names were published on the Dobong-gu website (notices) to encourage resident use. Stores not selected can receive energy diagnosis consulting upon application to support carbon neutrality practices.
Oh Eon-seok, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “Along with the ‘Dobong Residents’ Greenhouse Gas 4 Tons Per Person Reduction Pledge’ campaign, which currently has over 20,000 participants, the participation and practice of local retail stores are very important for creating a carbon-neutral urban environment. We will continuously promote energy saving and expand the pledge to take steps toward carbon neutrality.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
