Osan City Wins Excellence Awards in Two Categories at Manifesto Competition

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Osan City announced on the 11th that it won excellence awards in the local culture promotion and job creation and employment improvement categories at the 2020 Manifesto Excellence Case Competition, which selects outstanding cases of policy implementation by heads of basic local governments nationwide.

The event is an evaluation of heads of basic local governments across the nation in seven categories: job creation, income inequality resolution, response to super-aging population, climate environment, public safety and autonomy, local culture promotion, and newsletters.

Final awards were decided through fierce competition following online presentations of 172 cases that advanced to the final rounds out of 353 cases from nationwide submissions in the preliminary rounds.

Osan City advanced two out of seven categories—job creation and local culture promotion—to the final rounds and won excellence awards in each category.

The city presented the case of 'Soriool Library,' Korea's first instrument library, in the local culture promotion category. The library has greatly contributed to inspiring citizens' interest and curiosity about musical instruments through diverse hands-on experiences, and operates music creative learning centers and complex cultural and arts spaces where citizens participate together, realizing empathetic administrative libraries.

Additionally, Osan City received high praise for presenting in the job creation and employment improvement category the case of establishing a stable foundation for the social economy by fostering social cooperative childcare centers, expanding social economy participation in all-day childcare projects, and providing social economy education to diverse age groups.

Osan Mayor Kwak Sang-wook stated, "I am pleased and honored that Osan City's Soriool Library and social economy have been recognized as outstanding cases nationwide," and added, "Taking this award as an opportunity, we will continue to communicate with citizens and faithfully implement our promises to the residents without any setbacks, making our best efforts to build a 'Osan where people shine—a happier Osan.'"