Seoul Selected as One of UNESCO's Top 10 Connected Cities for Excellence in Bridging the Digital Divide

On the 15th, Paris UNESCO Headquarters Hosts 'UNESCO NetXplo Connected Cities Awards' Ceremony, Selecting Cities in the Education Sector

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul has been named one of the world's top 10 Linking Cities selected by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

According to Seoul City on the 14th, the city was selected as an award-winning city in the 'Education' category at the '2021 UNESCO Netexplo Linking Cities Awards' held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, at 4 p.m. (Korean time) on the 15th. This is the first time a domestic city has received the award.

Now in its second year, the UNESCO Netexplo Linking Cities Awards recognize the most outstanding cities worldwide in 10 categories including education, mobility, and digital transformation. Professors and scholars from 20 universities worldwide, including Harvard University in the U.S., ParisTech in France, and the National University of Singapore, participate as judges.

UNESCO and Netexplo stated the reason for selecting Seoul as an excellent city in education was its response to the isolation and exclusion of the elderly during the COVID-19 era through education on smart device usage utilizing the humanoid robot Liku. Seoul City provides various educational programs to bridge the digital divide so that differences in digital technology skills do not deepen into economic and social inequalities beyond everyday inconveniences.

The awards ceremony is held concurrently with the UNESCO Netexplo Linking Cities Forum. It will be conducted online from the UNESCO headquarters studio in Paris and broadcast live on the UNESCO website.

Lee Won-mok, Director of Smart City Policy, expressed his pleasure in a video interview at the awards ceremony, saying, “We are proud that Seoul has been recognized as a digital education city,” and added, “We will establish a digital education system that leaves no one behind so that the digital divide in the knowledge information society does not lead to disparities in education and quality of life.”

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