About 50 Members of the Citizens' Working Group Gather at Space Wonji in Yeongdo
The first meeting of a working group to gather a wide range of citizen opinions for establishing Busan's cultural policy has been held.
The Busan Metropolitan Government (Mayor Park Hyungjun) announced on the 24th that it held the kickoff meeting for the "Culture Listening" Citizens' Working Group at Space Wonji in Yeongdo-gu on the 21st, officially beginning efforts to collect public input for the development of Busan's culture and arts.
"Culture Listening" is a program designed to collect opinions on cultural policy from various social groups through a citizens' working group and to hear the vivid voices of local artists by visiting their sites directly.
To reflect citizens' opinions, the city recruited members for the working group in early March, and about 50 citizens participated in this meeting.
During the meeting, heated discussions took place on topics such as ▲Desired cultural facilities ▲Ways to bridge cultural gaps ▲The future of Busan as a global cultural hub city ▲Support for creation and talent development ▲Public-private cooperation.
Participants agreed on the need to address the aging of cultural facilities and regional disparities, activate online information platforms, promote outdoor events, and develop cultural facilities that reflect local characteristics to reduce cultural gaps.
Opinions were also raised that, for Busan to become a global cultural city, it is necessary to strengthen accessibility and diversity, expand cultural exchanges with overseas cities, and develop content that reflects the characteristics of a maritime city.
In addition, the need to support young and emerging artists, foster art planners, provide comprehensive support for the art industry, increase the utilization of community cultural spaces, address the lack of programs, and implement policies to resolve cultural alienation were actively discussed by participants.
Busan plans to operate the citizens' working group and conduct "Culture Listening Tours" visiting sites of artists and cultural organizations until June. At the end of June, a new direction for cultural policy, developed together with citizens and artists based on the results so far, will be announced.
Through ongoing communication and cooperation between the newly launched working group and the arts community, Busan intends to gather diverse perspectives and ideas, reflect the outcomes in policy, and actively utilize them in formulating the implementation plan for the regional cultural promotion, which is the city's cultural vision.
Lee Joonseung, Deputy Mayor for Administration of Busan, said, "In order for cultural policy to be effective and sustainable, it is essential to actively reflect voices from the field," adding, "Through this Culture Listening initiative, we will establish a policy governance system that brings together citizens, artists, and administration, and further strengthen communication."
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