‘Songpa Youth Network’ 1st Anniversary... Youth Voices into Policy!

Before the Enforcement of the Youth Basic Act, Listening to Policies Needed by Youth

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) is celebrating the 1st anniversary of the launch of the ‘Songpa Youth Network,’ established in preparation for the implementation of the Youth Basic Act, which was enacted for the first time this year, on August 29.

The Youth Basic Act, designed to guarantee a happy life for young people, was enacted on February 4 and will be fully enforced starting August 5.

Accordingly, the government must establish and implement a basic plan for youth every five years, and each local government must prepare legal and institutional measures such as gathering opinions necessary for establishing youth policies.

To this end, the district formed the ‘Songpa Youth Network’ on August 29 last year, a group that jointly considers and proposes policies desired by young people. It consists of youth aged 19 to 34 who reside or are active in Songpa-gu. Forty members are active across four divisions: jobs, places to belong, places to play and live well, and publicity.

Although 220,000 young people live in the district, the district recognized that youth had been relatively marginalized compared to women, infants, and the elderly in policy implementation, and thus created a communication channel to represent the voices of youth.

Over the past year, the Songpa Youth Network has focused on collecting diverse youth opinions ahead of policy implementation following the enforcement of the Youth Basic Act.

Starting with the first meeting on August 29, 2019, they held a youth grand debate on November 17, 2019, to identify key policy proposal topics, and formally proposed necessary policies for youth at the Youth Policy Proposal Presentation on June 27, 2020.

Representative proposals include establishing a job and start-up mentoring platform, implementing a youth committee assignment system, hosting youth festivals, and launching a youth YouTube channel.

They have also represented the thoughts of Songpa-gu youth through various meetings, debates, public forums, and symposiums.

In addition, the district is conducting various youth projects to create a city where young people are happy. These include the ‘Songpa Youth Living Lab’ and ‘Songpa Youth Forum,’ where youth explore and find solutions to their problems independently; ‘Songdaon,’ which supports youth stores in public support blind spots; the youth start-up challenge project; and the operation of the Songpa ICT Youth Start-up Support Center.

The district plans to submit opinions proposed through the Songpa Youth Network and debates to next year’s ‘Seoul City Youth Policy Governance Activation Project’ contest. Even if not selected, the district intends to actively reflect these opinions in district youth policies through budgetary and administrative support.

Mayor Park Seong-su said, “As the Songpa Youth Network marks its first anniversary, it is creating the significance of the Youth Basic Act’s implementation in Songpa,” adding, “We will promote sincere policies with active participation from the youth policy beneficiaries to build a city where youth have hope and happiness, Songpa.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.