Gangseo-gu Selected as a Lifelong Learning City for People with Disabilities for 2 Consecutive Years

Building a Learning Community for Disabled and Non-Disabled People Together

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jin Gyo-hoon) announced on the 21st that it has achieved the great feat of being selected for the Ministry of Education's 'Lifelong Learning City Operation Project for the Disabled' for two consecutive years. The National Institute of Special Education under the Ministry of Education is promoting this project to guarantee lifelong learning rights for the disabled and to establish a disability-friendly lifelong learning system.

Program progress by type of disability. Provided by Gangseo-gu.

With this selection, the district secured 30 million KRW in national funding. Adding district funds, a total of 60 million KRW will be invested to actively promote the project under the vision of ‘Dadaikseon Gangseo: Colorfully, Diversely, Together.’

This year, the district will operate 16 projects in five areas: programs by disability type, employment preparation courses, professional workforce training, disability awareness improvement, and the formation of a practical consultative body. New courses for hearing-impaired and cerebral palsy-disabled individuals will be launched, and the professionalism of education will be enhanced through training lifelong education instructors for the disabled.

Programs by disability type include customized courses tailored to each type such as visual, hearing, brain lesion, physical, and developmental disabilities. For visually impaired individuals, the ‘Sound Forest Reading Class’ uses audiobooks and braille materials to discuss various perspectives such as the protagonist’s worldview and literary interpretation in literary works.

Additionally, diverse programs such as ‘Korean History in Sign Language (for the hearing impaired),’ ‘Saebit Hangeul Class’ (for cerebral palsy disabled), and ‘Healing Horticulture Class’ (for physical and developmental disabilities) have been prepared.

To support social participation, ‘Employment Preparation Courses’ such as ‘First Steps in Baking and Pastry’ and ‘AI Art Creation Group’ are operated. ‘First Steps in Baking and Pastry’ combines theory and practice, while the ‘AI Art Creation Group’ aims to create paintings using artificial intelligence and submit them to contests.

Furthermore, efforts are made to train ‘professional personnel’ to support activities for the disabled. In the ‘Developmental Disability Life-Integrated Activist Training’ course, participants learn about understanding and communication methods for people with developmental disabilities and enhance field communication skills through welfare center visits and practical training. The ‘Reading Leader Training Course’ teaches customized reading guidance methods for people with developmental disabilities and includes practical sessions.

To improve disability awareness, disabled and non-disabled individuals create artworks together using colored pencils, acrylic paints, etc., and hold exhibitions. Also, a consultative body called ‘Jayanggangjang (Nourishment Group for the Disabled in Gangseo-gu)’ consisting of 20 practitioners shares the project and produces a casebook documenting the operation results.

The Lifelong Learning City project for the disabled will be operated by institutions from next month until November, and program and institution information can be found on the Gangseo-gu Office website (Notices/News).

Mayor Jin Gyo-hoon said, “We will focus on creating a systematic educational environment for the disabled and eliminating educational blind spots,” adding, “We will build a Gangseo-gu where disabled and non-disabled people learn and grow together.”