From "Safe Walking" to "Digital Learning"
Shinan County regularly holds a local youth participation committee to propose policies. Photo by Shinan County
The Shinan County Youth Participation Committee achieved significant success by winning in two categories at the "2025 Jeollanam-do Online Policy Proposal Contest."
A total of 29 youth teams participated in this contest, and the youth team from Shinan County received both the Jeollanam-do Superintendent of Education Award and the Jeollanam-do Youth Future Foundation Director’s Award.
The policy that received the Jeollanam-do Superintendent of Education Award was a "Proposal for the Installation of Sidewalks to Ensure Safe Walking Environments for Rural Youth." By presenting concrete alternatives to strengthen pedestrian safety, reflecting the reality of insufficient sidewalks in rural areas, the proposal was highly praised by the judges.
The other winning entry, which received the Jeollanam-do Youth Future Foundation Director’s Award, was the "Project to Strengthen the Academic Competence of Youth in Island Regions by Establishing a Digital Learning Environment." The project includes measures to provide digital devices, aiming to bridge the educational gap for youth in island areas and enable them to access high-quality education anytime and anywhere by establishing an online learning infrastructure.
A committee representative stated, "It is especially meaningful because the youth themselves identified local issues and proposed policies, leading to these achievements," adding, "We will continue to actively work to ensure that the voices of youth are reflected in policymaking."
The committee is an organization that enables youth to actively participate in local government policy. With these awards, even more active engagement from youth for the development of the local community is anticipated.
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