55 Organizations in Volunteer and Disaster Fields Collaborate for 'Safe City Seoul from Disasters'... Formation of 'Baro Volunteer Group'

55 Institutions Sign MOUs...Performing Various Roles According to Each Institution's Expertise

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Volunteer Center, district volunteer centers, and 55 disaster-related organizations announced on the 25th that they will establish a mutual cooperation system through a business agreement to support areas where citizens face difficulties during disasters, such as housing environment, health care, meals, and medical services, and to help restore daily life.

Representatives of the 55 organizations will attend the "Seoul Regional Disaster Response Volunteer Operation Business Agreement Ceremony" held on the same day to sign the agreement. The agreement formalizes cooperative activities among the organizations and outlines roles to enhance disaster response awareness and capabilities in the Seoul area. The main contents of the business agreement include ▲ operation of disaster volunteer resources to raise awareness and strengthen capabilities for disaster response in Seoul ▲ support for rapid disaster site recovery and smooth restoration of daily life for local residents in the event of a disaster ▲ cooperation in operating emergency volunteer teams for initial on-site disaster response.

The participating organizations engage in various disaster and safety activities across 29 fields, including disaster experts who have worked at relief sites, specialized groups with technical skills in healthcare, electricity, and maintenance, activity groups with extensive disaster volunteer experience, and companies that can connect resources. Seoul YMCA fosters human resources to prepare for marine disasters by training lifeguards and survival swimming instructors, and cultivates resident autonomous mediators in each village to resolve neighborhood conflicts, thereby enhancing community resilience and residents' autonomous mediation capabilities.

The Promise, an international relief cooperation organization, has been consistently providing emergency support and psychosocial assistance at domestic and international disaster sites since 2008, and is playing a key role in supporting residents at the recent wildfire site in Gangwon Province. The iCOOP Consumer Cooperative Seoul Regional Council not only produces and consumes healthy food but also continuously organizes and operates citizens' self-help activities during disaster situations.

The Seoul Volunteer Center, together with 55 disaster response partner organizations, plans to begin recruiting and forming volunteer teams in earnest from April and launch the "Baro Volunteer Team" in July. Partner organizations will conduct policy consultation, curriculum development, volunteer team management, and information sharing based on each organization's expertise.

In particular, the "Baro Volunteer Team," formed through this agreement, is expected to serve as a standing volunteer group equipped with speed and expertise to respond to various types of natural and social disasters that may occur in the Seoul area. To this end, volunteers with both technical expertise and local understanding will be secured, and disaster response capabilities will be strengthened through continuous education and training.

Meanwhile, the volunteer team will be composed of about 500 members divided into local fields focused on initial response and disaster volunteer activity development, and professional fields that require specialized skills at disaster sites. Team members will prepare through education and training in their respective professional and occupational fields during normal times, and when a disaster occurs, an emergency response system will be activated to deploy volunteers according to the needs and situations at the site.

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