📰Seoul City Council Vice Chair Meets with UCLG ASPAC President

Date: August 22, 2024
Reporter: Jeong Gi-hwan

Kim In-je, Vice Chair of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (Democratic Party, Guro District 2), met on August 21 with Dakila Cua, Governor of Quirino Province in the Philippines and President of UCLG ASPAC. The two discussed ways to enhance policy and personnel exchanges between Seoul and cities in the Philippines.

The delegation, comprising 14 members including the vice governor, provincial councilors, and secretary-general of Quirino, visited Seoul to benchmark Korea's outstanding policies and expand exchanges with local Korean governments.

Quirino Province, located in northeastern Luzon, is relatively small but has received significant agricultural investment from the Philippine government and KOICA’s ODA support, thanks to efforts led by Governor Cua.

Vice Chair Kim welcomed the delegation on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Korea-Philippines diplomatic ties and emphasized Seoul’s experience with rapid development could serve as a valuable reference for the fast-growing Quirino Province.

President Cua stressed that while the UCLG ASPAC is actively engaging with various local governments in Korea, exchange with Seoul holds special significance and requested continued interest from Seoul in both bilateral exchange and UCLG ASPAC activities.

This visit follows a similar delegation from Quezon City in February. The social cooperative Sigolgil also participated in the meeting to discuss cooperation between the two countries.

📰Jeon Young-geun Promotes Busan Education to Philippine Delegation

Date: January 23, 2025
Reporter: Byun Jin-seong

Jeon Young-geun, a candidate for Superintendent of Education in Busan, delivered a keynote lecture to Philippine education officials visiting Busan to benchmark Korea’s education system. The visit, hosted by the social cooperative Sigolgil, included 18 participants such as congress members, governors, principals, teachers, and supervisors from the Philippine Department of Education.

Held at Ramada Encore Hotel in Haeundae, the lecture introduced key innovations in Busan’s education, including:

• “Neulbom School”, an afterschool care program tailored for the era of low birthrates.
  
  

• Use of AI and big data for personalized learning.
  
  

• Modular classrooms to address overcrowding.
  
  

• Internet-based learning and the Busan Academic Support System (BASS).
  
  

Jeon also shared initiatives like creative experiential centers, school sports clubs for violence prevention, and self-directed learning enhancement.

The session included a Q&A, where questions about teacher training, budget management, and the free semester system were addressed. Jeon emphasized the global potential of Busan’s educational model and expressed hopes for stronger international educational ties.

The social cooperative Sigolgil, a Gyeonggi-do preliminary social enterprise, held the “2025 Green ODA Workshop” as part of Gyeonggi Province's international development cooperation projects.

Previously, Sigolgil hosted the UCLG ASPAC HDP Nexus Committee in Zhengzhou, China, in October 2024, where local governments from Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines discussed strategic climate responses and governance systems.

The January workshop was a follow-up program, held from the 13th to the 17th, aiming to enhance ODA capacity amidst global climate challenges.

Participants included 12 delegates from three countries (Mongolia, Vietnam, and the Philippines), including UCLG ASPAC member cities and Gyeonggi’s partner cities.

The program featured sessions on:

• Korea's economic development and ODA history.
  
  

• Low-carbon coffee production case studies.
  
  

• Climate resilience practices in international cooperation.
  
  

Participants visited Pyeongtaek’s “Awesomeplex,” an innovative waste and climate response facility, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to learn about Green ODA policies and programs.

Sigolgil specializes in agricultural and rural development consulting for developing countries and was designated a Gyeonggi-do preliminary social enterprise in 2021.

In 2024, they also conducted a study tour for Quirino Province officials and are set to host another tour in Busan for principals and education supervisors from the Philippines later this month.