Jung Won-oh, Seongdong District Mayor, Takes Steps to Communicate and Empathize by Directly Listening to Youth Voices?

On the 4th, the Youth Policy Forum 'With You and Me' Held to Discover Policies Reflecting Youth Voices... A Space for Empathy and Communication Discussing Youth Jobs, Culture, and Independence Support in the Post-Corona Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, held the ‘3rd Youth Policy Debate Forum "With You and Me"’ on the 4th at a cafe located in Haengdang-dong to communicate with young people.

Hosted by the Seongdong-gu Youth Policy Network (Chairman Jung Soo-bong), a youth participation organization, this debate forum was prepared to empathize and communicate with young people while discovering policies that reflect the voices of youth stakeholders.

The debate forum, planned directly by young people, centers on five subcommittee discussion topics, proposing cultural support measures to improve the lives of youth and discussing changes in communication methods among youth experienced during COVID-19.

Along with the changes in workplace culture in daily life during the COVID era, the forum will deeply discuss the necessity of financial support systems for youth independence, especially sharing candid communication and ideas with local youth about financial support measures for youth startups.

In May this year, the Youth Policy Network, composed of five subcommittees on culture, communication, jobs, independence, and entrepreneurship, held planning meetings since last October to select presentation topics by subcommittee and exchanged diverse opinions on the concerns and life changes of youth in the post-COVID era.

The Youth Policy Network laid its foundation through the inauguration ceremony and public forum (June 2021) and has been promoting various youth governance activation projects such as youth problem identification and necessary policy proposals including youth ‘Seongdong Play’, ‘Single-Person Household Healing’ projects, nonstop job search support services, as well as social and arts projects and youth theater festivals.

In celebration of Youth Month this September, the district held the online youth festival ‘Seongdong Hello Smile Club’, which attracted great interest and participation with various programs suited to their sensibilities. Accordingly, this debate forum will also include cultural events such as performances by youth musicians and screenings of independent films depicting youth life to soothe the hearts of young people exhausted by COVID-19, aiming to empathize and communicate more closely with youth.

As the so-called ‘MZ Generation’?the 20s and 30s age group?accounts for the largest proportion of single-person households in the region, the district is implementing customized policies that can enhance the policy efficacy for youth, such as the Safe 4-Set, Youth Savings Account, and moving service support.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “I hope this process of youth directly planning and debating will be an opportunity for further growth,” and added, “We will continue to strive at the district level to support our youth, who are our future, so that they can freely dream and challenge themselves.”

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