Nowon-gu, Youth Participatory Budgeting School Operation

Policy Proposal and Budget Planning/Execution Process to Empower Young Democratic Citizens...Open to Children and Adolescents Under 18 Living or Studying in Nowon-gu...10 Teams Selected, Up to 1 Million KRW Support

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is operating a Youth Participatory Budget School to guarantee the ‘right to participation’ for children and adolescents.

This school, designed to enhance responsibility and participation awareness by having youth directly propose necessary projects and manage budget planning and execution, is open to anyone under 18 who is a student or resident within Nowon-gu.

One guardian and two or more children or adolescents can participate as a team, with support provided up to 1 million KRW per team.

The application period is until September 9, and applicants can download the application form from the district office website and submit it via email or visit the Child and Youth Division in person to apply.

Applicants will be evaluated on their final project plans submitted by September 11, and 10 teams will be selected. The selected teams will carry out their projects according to their plans by December.

Consulting is also provided by the district office before submitting the project plans. For more details, inquiries can be made to the district office’s Child and Youth Division.

Proposed projects can include any activities related to human rights and rights, education and environment, play and culture, and life safety that participants wish to implement themselves. However, simple club activities and support for individual school festivals are excluded from selection.

The school sessions will be held twice, each lasting 4 hours, and attendance is mandatory. Participants who complete the program can receive volunteer hours.

Last year, 15 teams were selected to carry out projects such as ‘Cheongnabi,’ a youth community sharing activity, ‘Eobogae,’ a project to improve child protection zones, and ‘Step for Water,’ an environmental protection initiative.

The district will also hold a performance sharing meeting in January next year to build a local network for youth policies. This event will bring together children, adolescents, and public, private, and academic sectors to share their activity progress and achievements.

Meanwhile, the district has been focusing on creating a child-friendly city, having obtained the ‘UNICEF Child-Friendly City’ certification in February 2018.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “It is more important than anything else to listen to children’s opinions on policies related to them and reflect those opinions in administration,” adding, “We will strive to create a policy environment that can incorporate the diverse voices of young citizens, children, and adolescents.”

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