Ministry of Science and ICT to Operate 'Information Culture Month' Throughout June

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) announced on the 2nd that they will operate the 34th Information Culture Month throughout June under the theme "Recovery and Leap of the Republic of Korea, Digital New Deal and Inclusion."

This year, marking the 34th anniversary, various online and offline events and campaigns will be held with cooperation among related ministries, local governments, and affiliated organizations, as well as citizen participation, so that the entire nation can empathize with the fact that the core driving forces for overcoming COVID-19, restoring daily life, and leaping to an advanced country are the Digital New Deal and inclusion. In particular, this year’s Information Culture Month will focus on the recent rapid spread of kiosks and the inconvenience of their use, namely information accessibility issues, by not only holding expert conferences but also creating a platform to gather public ideas, aiming to raise awareness across society and seek practical improvement measures.

First, on the 16th, a "Conference for Improving Kiosk Accessibility" will be held. Academic experts, related industries, users including persons with disabilities and the elderly will participate to share the domestic and international status of kiosk expansion and trends in systems and policies, and discuss multifaceted alternatives such as institutional, technological, and civic awareness improvements for kiosk accessibility.

Prior to this, from the 14th for 15 days, a survey on citizens’ experiences of inconvenience in using kiosks and improvement ideas will be conducted using the national policy participation platform (Gwanghwamun 1st Street), and a naming contest for "Information Accessibility Compliant Kiosk" will also be held. Additionally, a "Kiosk Usage Environment Improvement Research Group" involving stakeholders such as disability organizations, citizen groups, kiosk manufacturing and operating companies, and academic experts will be operated from June to December. A working-level consultative body with related ministries will be formed to discover and promote specific policy tasks such as system improvement, technology development, and standard enhancement.

On the 22nd, the Information Culture Month commemorative ceremony will be held at "Space Sallim" in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. The ceremony will include government awards for contributors to the spread of sound information culture and realization of a digital inclusive society, celebratory performances, and a declaration ceremony for a major transition to a digital society involving companies, affiliated organizations, academia, and media related to digital inclusion.

Furthermore, in celebration of Information Culture Month, various digital inclusion-related events on topics such as digital competency, digital gap resolution, digital social innovation, proper digital use, and digital ethics will be held. First, a relay online special lecture series featuring invited speakers, jointly hosted by digital learning centers of 17 metropolitan local governments, will be conducted online from the 7th to the 30th. A digital competency enhancement education content planning contest (from the 14th to August 31st) is also open to anyone. Additionally, internet and smartphone overdependence prevention campaigns and events will be held at 18 regional Smart Healing Centers throughout the month.

Minister Hyesook Lim of the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "Taking Information Culture Month as an opportunity, the government will actively promote multifaceted measures in cooperation with related ministries, such as enacting the Digital Inclusion Act to establish an institutional foundation for a digital inclusive society and strengthening the financial role for improving information accessibility including kiosks."

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