Gwanak-gu 6th Youth Autonomous Council 'Modu' Online Launch

Discussion on various topics including youth policy proposals and district resident participatory budgeting applications... Formation of four standing committees on post-COVID, climate crisis, etc., and a youth cultural event promotion team

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee) held the inauguration ceremony marking the beginning of the 6th Youth Autonomous Council ‘Modu’ online on the 15th.

As part of the Gwanak Innovation Education District project, the district has been forming and operating youth autonomous councils since 2016 to strengthen the democratic citizenship capabilities of youth. In April, 21 members of the 6th Youth Autonomous Council were selected through a public recruitment.

The Youth Autonomous Council ‘Modu’ is an abbreviation of ‘Mo-yeo-seo Du-deurim’ (Gather and Knock), aiming to enhance understanding of local councils through youth experience in council operations, contributing to cooperative character development and the establishment of identity as local citizens.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the inauguration ceremony was held online using ZOOM, and appointment letters for youth council members were delivered individually to minimize face-to-face contact.

The participants included 21 youth autonomous council members and 5 facilitators who serve as youth-centered supporters. Through the election of the chairperson group and the formation of standing committees, the start of the 6th Gwanak-gu Youth Autonomous Council Modu was announced.

The standing committees were formed by selecting thematic areas of interest such as post-COVID and climate crisis. The names of the standing committees were decided autonomously by the youth members through mutual discussion.

Until December, the committee members will recognize issues related to each theme and experience democratic discussion culture through the process of discussing responses and solutions.

On the same day, a democratic citizenship academy education was conducted with the lecture topic ‘I am a Youth Autonomous Council Member,’ involving discussions on keywords such as participation, autonomy, communication, and decision-making to understand the attitudes and roles as democratic citizens.

Going forward, through the Resident Participation Budget School, youth will directly participate in the budget formulation process and discover policies through discussions, experiencing the roles and functions of local councils firsthand. These activities will be operated both online and offline in accordance with the COVID-19 era.

The district expects that supporting the autonomous formation and operation of the youth council will strengthen the democratic citizenship capabilities of youth and contribute to network activation by providing communication opportunities between youth and young adults in the region.

Mayor Park Junhee said, “I hope that the youth autonomous council members will discover and propose many valuable opinions and policies to further develop our district from the perspective of youth.” He added, “We will continue to actively support youth to grow into mature democratic citizens who participate proactively in the policy-making process for the future.”

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