Yeoncheon-gun Hosts UNESCO Multiple Designation International Symposium

On the 8th of next month at Yeoncheon-gun Comprehensive Welfare Center

Poster for the 'UNESCO Multi-Designated Area Yeoncheon International Symposium for Future Generations'.

Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province announced on the 29th that it is recruiting participants for the "International Symposium for the Future Generations of Yeoncheon, a UNESCO Multi-designated Area."

The symposium is scheduled to be held on November 8th from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM at the 3rd-floor auditorium of the Yeoncheon-gun Comprehensive Welfare Center.

Yeoncheon-gun organized this symposium to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the designation of the Imjingang River in Yeoncheon as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the re-designation of the Hantangang River as a UNESCO Global Geopark. A pre-event program, the "Starlight Milky Way Art Campaign," was held at the Jeongok Prehistoric Museum.

This symposium is co-hosted by Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province, ICLEI Korea Office, the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, the Korean MAB Committee, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) Secretariat, and the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation. The event will begin with a choir performance by Yeoncheon Elementary School, a UNESCO school, followed by a welcome address by Kim Deok-hyun, Mayor of Yeoncheon-gun, congratulatory remarks by Kim Mi-kyung, Chairperson of the Yeoncheon County Council, and speeches by Han Kyung-gu, Secretary-General of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO and Co-chair of the Korean MAB Committee, as well as Jo Do-sun, Director of the National Institute of Ecology.

Additionally, following the registration of the Imjingang River in Yeoncheon as part of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, a certificate presentation ceremony will be held by Jennifer George, EAAFP Representative. Lectures will then be given by Hans Tulstrup, Director of the Ecology and Earth Sciences Department at UNESCO Headquarters, and Ingrid Kutsch, Director of the ICLEI Urban Biodiversity Center.

Furthermore, presentations on Yeoncheon-gun’s activities as a UNESCO multi-designated area will be given alongside case studies from Betina Kunast, Head of the Elbe River Landscape Biosphere Reserve Visitor Center in Germany, and Akie Yamaguchi, Manager of the Hakusan Global Geopark and Biosphere Reserve in Japan. These sessions will provide insights into UNESCO-designated sites and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) practices both domestically and internationally.

Finally, a talk show featuring youth and experts related to biosphere reserves and global geoparks, along with Yeoncheon-gun representatives, will be held. The event is open to students, youth, local residents, and anyone interested in the topic.

Applications for symposium participation can be made via Google Forms or by scanning the QR code on the promotional poster. For more details, contact the ICLEI Korea Office or the Geology and Ecology Team of the Tourism Division at Yeoncheon-gun Office.

A county official stated, "This symposium is designed to strengthen the capabilities of future generations as Yeoncheon-gun is a UNESCO multi-designated area. We hope that various students and youth from inside and outside the region will participate and gain valuable experience."