"Autonomy and Cooperation of Residents Change the World" ... Gyeongnam Social Innovation International Forum Held

“COVID-19, Local Democracy” Theme
Keynote Speeches by Taiwan Digital Minister, Preston Mayor, and Governor Kim Kyung-soo

COVID-19, Local Democracy Event Poster. (Photo by Gyeongnam Province)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kang Sharon] Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 15th that it will hold the 2nd Gyeongnam Social Innovation International Forum at the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office from the 19th to the 21st under the theme of "COVID-19, Local Democracy."

This event will be limited to pre-registered participants to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and will be conducted online for citizens.

The international forum is held with the purpose of recreating democracy based on autonomy and cooperation in which citizens actively participate in their communities, focusing on citizen participation, public-private governance, and revitalization of the local economy amid growing attention to the importance of local areas.

The keynote lectures, starting at 3 p.m. on the 19th, will feature Audrey Tang, Taiwan's Digital Minister, Matthew Brown, Mayor of Preston, UK, and Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongsangnam-do.

Minister Audrey Tang will lecture on how smart technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous vehicles must be based on democracy, including broad education for citizens and citizen participation (collective intelligence CI), to succeed.

Mayor Matthew Brown will explain the background, progress, and achievements of the Preston model in the UK, which is based on local priority purchasing by regional anchor institutions such as local governments, public institutions, universities, and hospitals, as well as the development of a social economy ecosystem including cooperatives, social enterprises, and employee-owned companies.

Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongsangnam-do will lecture on why regional development strategies by zone (Southeast Mega City Platform) and democratic, participatory governance are important keys to the success of region-led New Deal initiatives.

Yoon Nansil, Head of the Social Innovation Promotion Team, said, "In a situation where the importance of 'local' as the living space of citizens is increasing due to COVID-19, we hope this international forum will become a platform in Gyeongnam for discussions on revitalizing democracy and social innovation based on local communities and citizen participation."

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