Yongin City Selected for 'Lifelong Learning City for Persons with Disabilities' Contest for 3 Consecutive Years

Operation of Visiting Lifelong Learning and Sports Programs

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 16th that it has been selected for the '2024 Disabled Lifelong Learning City Operation Project' contest, hosted by the National Institute of Special Education under the Ministry of Education, securing 135 million KRW in national funding.

The 'Disabled Lifelong Learning City' project has been operated by the Ministry of Education since 2020 to promote community-centered lifelong education for people with disabilities. Yongin City has been selected for the contest for three consecutive years since 2022.

Based on securing national funding, the city will invest a budget of 270 million KRW this year for the Disabled Lifelong Learning City project, an increase of 50 million KRW compared to last year.

First, the city will conduct 'Visiting Lifelong Learning' programs tailored to the circumstances of each district office and media education for elderly people with disabilities. Customized lifelong learning programs such as 'sports programs' to enhance physical abilities and social skills of people with disabilities will also be prepared. In addition, the city supports 49 disability programs from 15 organizations and groups, including the visiting learning center 'DdokDdokDdok', the digital integrated cognitive education program 'Doctor Brain', and the basketball team for people with developmental disabilities 'Basket Dream'.

Meanwhile, in November last year, Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, met with Jang Sang-yoon, then Vice Minister of Education (currently Senior Secretary for Social Affairs at the Presidential Office), and conveyed the opinion that the national support for the Disabled Lifelong Learning City project was limited to three years, causing disruptions in the continuity of the project and program operation, and that improvements were needed. Reflecting the mayor’s opinion, the Ministry of Education later abolished the three-year support limitation period.

A Yongin City official said, "Through the operation of a high-level Disabled Lifelong Learning City, we will establish a lifelong education system for marginalized groups."

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