Incheon Yeonsu-gu Submits Application to Host the 'UNESCO 5th International Conference on Learning Cities'

'Global Health Education and Emergency Response' Theme... K-Quarantine as a Global Citizenship Education Agenda
President Moon's Support Letter: "May the Spirit of Inclusion and Cooperation Continue in Incheon"
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning to Announce Final Host City Next Month

Gonam-seok, head of Yeonsu District Office, is giving a keynote presentation at the "4th UNESCO Learning Cities International Conference" held in Medellin, Colombia, last October.
[Photo by Yeonsu-gu, Incheon]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, has submitted an application to host the '5th UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities' scheduled for next year.

The district announced on the 15th that it delivered the application, which included letters of support from over 60 key figures such as President Moon Jae-in and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye, to the organizer, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL).

The UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities is a gathering where 229 member cities and experts from 64 countries worldwide share lifelong education achievements and explore cooperation strategies.

In its application, Yeonsu-gu introduced Korea's passion for education, which has been a growth engine from the poorest country after the Korean War to the present, and the excellent environment of Yeonsu-gu, a global smart city hosting 16 international organizations and 11 universities.

It also included a vision as a world citizenship education cluster coordinating city, emphasizing the need to establish a new normal in lifelong learning triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the emerging issue of new digital illiteracy.

Through hosting this international conference, the district plans to share the achievements of K-quarantine during the COVID-19 crisis with the international community under the theme of 'Global Health Education and Crisis Response.'

Additionally, various related events such as a fireworks festival, K-pop concert, and book festival will be held to utilize Songdo International City as a venue for global citizenship education.

Since being selected as a lifelong learning city in 2003, Yeonsu-gu enacted the Lifelong Learning Promotion Ordinance the following year, was designated as an Education Internationalization Special Zone in 2012, joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) in 2018, and last year attended the Medell?n International Learning Cities Conference with District Mayor Ko Nam-seok as head, being selected as a world citizenship education cluster coordinating city.

Building on this foundation, the district has been preparing in earnest to host the international conference since June, in consultation with related organizations such as Incheon City and the City Education Office.

In his letter of support, President Moon stated, "Through the COVID-19 crisis, we have realized how important our neighbors' safety is for our own safety," and added, "I hope the spirit of inclusion and cooperation we shared in Beijing, Mexico City, Cork, and Medell?n can continue in Incheon, Republic of Korea."

He also emphasized, "Since Songdo in Yeonsu-gu was designated as the first Free Economic Zone in 2003, it has experience hosting top-level international events such as the Asia-Pacific City Summit (2009), Incheon Asian Games (2015), World Education Forum (2015), and OECD World Forum (2018)."

The UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities was held in Beijing, China in 2013; Mexico City, Mexico in 2015; Cork, Ireland in 2017; and Medell?n, Colombia in 2019.

The host city for 2021 will be finalized and announced in late next month after evaluation, and the main event is scheduled to take place in October next year.

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