"Suwon is a city promoting lifelong learning" - Suwon Lifelong Learning Forum Held

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon City held the '2019 Suwon Lifelong Learning Forum' at the City Hall conference room on the 18th to explore ways to promote lifelong learning.

Around 100 participants including lifelong learning experts, learning institution officials, and citizens attended and conducted 'keynote speeches', 'topic presentations', and 'small group discussions'.

Vice Chair of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Committee Choi Un-sil, who delivered a keynote speech on the theme of 'Daily Learning and Civic Participation', emphasized the importance of lifelong learning in daily life and civic participation.

Vice Chair Choi stated, "We must create an open learning society where anyone can freely learn and teach in their daily lives anytime and anywhere," and argued, "Aiming for plaza culture rather than gated culture, a true learning city is where citizens can actively participate and learn in their daily lives."

He also said, "Realizing a 'lifelong learning city' begins with small study groups of citizens," and assessed that "Suwon is a city where lifelong education institutions and lifelong learning programs are active."

A presentation followed by Jeon Ha-young, Chair of the Korean Lifelong Education Association, on the theme of 'Local Community Change and Activation of Learning Circles'.

Chair Jeon said, "When learning circles are activated, they can lead to positive changes in the local community," and "lifelong learning culture can be fostered, and can be utilized as a means to solve various problems within the region."

In particular, he emphasized, "We must prioritize action over words and find ways to activate learning circles in the field."

Along with this, a topic presentation by Park Hyun-gyu, Center Director of the Hwaseong City Human Resource Development Foundation's Diverse Connection Center, on 'Daily Space + Lifelong Learning', and small group discussions where participants from five fields including learning circles, village communities, resident autonomy, lifelong education institutions, and literacy education freely discussed 'daily learning' were conducted.

A city official said, "We will actively reflect the opinions of experts and citizens raised at the forum in Suwon City's lifelong learning policies," and "We will do our best to create a lifelong learning city that realizes the values of sharing and inclusion."