Suwon Special Municipality Joins 'Reading Nation' Declaration, First Among Local Governments

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jeong Jun-sung] Suwon Special Municipality has become the first local government to join the 'Reading Nation' declaration.

Mayor Lee Jae-jun of Suwon attended the Reading Nation proclamation ceremony held in the Grand Conference Room of the National Assembly Members Building on the 23rd, delivering opening remarks and reading the declaration. The ceremony was jointly hosted by the office of Rep. Kim Young-ho, chairman of the National Assembly's Education Committee, and the Reading Nation Promotion Committee.

The 'Reading Nation' is a project to transform reading education into a core national policy in the AI era. The Reading Nation Promotion Committee, launched on this day, is a pan-national coalition aimed at successfully implementing the Reading Nation project and spreading public consensus. The committee includes figures from the National Assembly, education sector, local governments, publishing industry, media, and culture and arts sectors.

The ceremony continued with congratulatory remarks from Education Minister Choi Gyo-jin, National Education Committee Chair Cha Jung-in, and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Jeong Geun-sik, followed by opening remarks from Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-jun. Members of the educational community including students, parents, and teachers, as well as representatives from local communities, jointly read the 'Reading Nation Declaration.'

In his opening remarks, Mayor Lee Jae-jun stated, "In the AI era, reading is the core of an educational revolution that nurtures talent capable of independent thinking and questioning," and added, "Beyond becoming a city of readers, we will create a future-oriented reading city where all citizens think, discuss, and grow together."

Following this, representatives from all sectors including Mayor Lee Jae-jun, children, students, teachers, parents, the education superintendent, citizens, and National Assembly members read the Reading Nation declaration and pledged, "The educational community and local community will work in solidarity to lead the nation-wide Reading Nation initiative."

Representing local governments in his participation, Mayor Lee Jae-jun declared, "Our local government will foster voluntary reading culture among citizens and build a robust reading ecosystem to realize reading villages and reading cities."

Starting with today's proclamation ceremony, the Reading Nation Promotion Committee plans to implement projects including pan-national reading campaigns, policy-related legislation and budgeting, and building the foundation of a reading ecosystem.