The World’s Attention!… Busan Children's Complex Cultural Space ‘Deullak Nallak’ Wins Grand Prize at SDG City Awards

CityNet and UN ESCAP Co-Host the 3rd SDG City Awards… Grand Prize Winner

Deullaknallak, Core Project of ‘15-Minute City Busan’… Noted for Sustainable Urban Development and Enhanced Social Inclusion

Mayor Park Hyung-jun: “Deullaknallak is a solution to social issues; we will do our best to help children grow happily”

Busan City announced that its policy 'Busan Children's Complex Cultural Space Deullaknalak' won the first prize, the 'Grand Prize,' at the 3rd SDG City Awards jointly hosted by CityNet (Asia-Pacific City Network) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP).

Busan City won the 'Grand Prize' at the 3rd SDG City Awards. Photo by Busan City

The 'SDG City Awards' is a global awards ceremony that discovers and shares excellent urban policy cases to achieve sustainable development goals in the Asia-Pacific region.

This year, the 'SDG City Awards' (held on November 19) took place during the 44th CityNet Executive Committee meeting held in Iloilo City, Philippines, under the theme 'Life with SDGs: A Future for All.'

In particular, the city's 'Busan Children's Complex Cultural Space Deullaknalak,' a core project of the '15-minute City Busan,' was recognized at this awards ceremony as a case that enhanced sustainable urban development and social inclusiveness. It was selected as the best case considering the level of innovation, sustainability, replicability, and community impact in the Asia-Pacific region.

More than 70 projects were submitted (one project per city principle), with a total of 14 policy projects advancing to the finals. Through final presentations and expert evaluations, Busan's 'Busan Children's Complex Cultural Space Deullaknalak' earned the honor of first place, the 'Grand Prize,' at this competition.

'Deullaknalak' was evaluated as an excellent urban innovation policy that transformed underutilized, aging vacant spaces in the region into analog-digital convergence spaces offering children various digital content and programs, thereby bridging educational service gaps by region and improving local living conditions.

Moreover, collaboration among multiple institutions and active citizen participation were driving forces behind winning the 'Grand Prize.'

The awarded policy projects will be published in CityNet publications to serve as reference materials for policy development in other cities. Through sharing such cases, it is expected to achieve the SDG City Awards' goal of promoting inter-city cooperation and sustainable development.

CityNet is an international organization established in 1987 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UN-Habitat, UN DP) to promote sustainable urban development in the Asia-Pacific region.

It has 173 members, including city governments, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government-affiliated organizations, and research institutes, facilitating policy exchange, network building, and international cooperation among cities.

The announcement scene of the 3rd SDG City Awards. Provided by Busan City

Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, “With this award, the excellence of the 'Busan Children's Complex Cultural Space Deullaknalak' policy has been recognized not only domestically but also internationally, providing an opportunity to promote and spread the value of Busan's 'Deullaknalak.'” He added, “'Deullaknalak' is a solution that can address many social issues such as care, education, low birth rates, and urban regeneration. We will continue to do our best to provide quality education and environment for a sustainable future and ensure that children can grow up happily.”