Listening to Foreign Residents' Voices... Yeongdeungpo-gu Launches Intercultural Participation Group

Formation of Intercultural Participation Group for Inclusive City Realization through Communication, Participation, and Cooperation of Domestic and Foreign Residents... 20 Members Selected via Open Recruitment... Full-scale Activities after Official Launch Ceremony on 5.20... Activities in 'Order,' 'Communication,' and 'Education & Culture' Fields... Expected to Create a Global City through Coexistence and Harmony

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) announced that on May 20, World Multicultural Day, it plans to actively support the formation and activities of the 'Yeongdeungpo-gu Intercultural Participation Group' to share local policies and current projects with both domestic and foreign residents and to realize an inclusive city based on public-private cooperation governance.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the number of foreign residents living in Yeongdeungpo-gu is 55,524, accounting for 14.1% of the total population of approximately 394,000, the highest ratio among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul. (Announced in November 2020)

Accordingly, the district plans to form and actively support the 'Intercultural Participation Group,' which will represent the voices of foreign residents in the area and play a central role in communication and harmony between domestic and foreign residents as well as between the public and private sectors.

From May 4 to 11, the district conducted an open recruitment for the participation group and finally selected 20 members, including local residents and representatives of foreign resident organizations. The inauguration ceremony will be held on May 20, World Multicultural Day, marking the official start of activities.

The 'Yeongdeungpo-gu Intercultural Participation Group' will later be divided into the Intercultural Order Subcommittee, Intercultural Communication Subcommittee, and Intercultural Education and Culture Subcommittee. They will engage in various activities ranging from proposing and monitoring implementation tasks, evaluation, and discussion initiation to listening to local public opinion and external promotion.

The Intercultural Order Subcommittee aims to create a "safe society built together" by conducting basic order campaigns, operating a joint public-private autonomous crime prevention squad, and providing crime prevention education.

The Intercultural Communication Subcommittee will continue activities such as hosting sports competitions for foreign residents and multicultural family events to create a "sympathetic and open city" and to activate self-help groups for both domestic and foreign residents.

The Intercultural Education and Culture Subcommittee will promote various implementation tasks to foster a "cultural city where diversity is respected," including cultural experience family schools, support for settlement of youth who immigrated mid-way, and consulting for foreign residents on management and entrepreneurship, aiming to secure universal human rights and healthy growth.

Meanwhile, the district has been implementing various customized policies for multicultural families and foreign residents to alleviate cultural alienation caused by social structural differences and to help them settle more stably in the local community through education, welfare, awareness improvement, and participation activation.

The multicultural newsletter 'Yeongdeungpo Hanul' for multicultural families and foreign residents is published quarterly, delivering various district news, cultural events, and living information, establishing itself as a local communication channel for foreign residents.

Last year, the Dadream Cultural Complex Center, a cultural welfare facility for both domestic and foreign residents, provided diverse and beneficial educational and cultural content by conducting programs such as parent education, Korean martial arts experience, and singing classes online in a non-face-to-face manner.

In addition, to create a safe and pleasant local environment, the district has continuously operated a foreign autonomous crime prevention squad and focused on strengthening local safety and security activities by conducting intensive patrols in foreigner-dense areas such as Daerim-dong.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, "We look forward to the active activities of the Intercultural Participation Group, which will represent the vivid voices and opinions of domestic and foreign residents and propose highly effective agendas on multicultural policies." He added, "We will carefully manage multicultural support policies so that Yeongdeungpo-gu can leap forward as a truly global city."

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