[PRESS RELEASE] WeGO launches program to foster youth ‘champions’ of the future
The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) is launching a youth program to build the capacity of young people in South Korea and abroad on the topic of smart cities. Open free of charge to all under 35, this program is set to counter the issues of digital divide brought about by the accelerated digitalization brought upon by COVID-19 pandemic. Major domestic and international universities are supporting this program which is starting on March 4.
February 23, 2021
SEOUL – At the occasion of the WeGO 2022 Activities Kick-off Event, WeGO launched a new program aiming to build the capacity of young people in South Korea and overseas in the fields of urban development, sustainability and smart cities and prepare them for living and working in this era of 4th industrial revolution.
The ‘WeGO Smart City Champions’ consists in a 15 week-program divided in a series of series on key smart city topics and capacity-building workshops. Phase 1 consists of a lecture series providing insight and informing participants about the key foundations of smart city. Phase 2 is designed as a capacity building workshop, where students work in teams to come up with an innovative solution to a smart city challenge. Anyone under 35 can sign-up for the program by filling in the online application form.
An answer to the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic
The idea behind implementing this program came from the challenges emerging after the pandemic has greatly accelerated the digital transformation and digitization of societies around the world.
“Following the COVID-19 pandemic, cities are now being pushed into developing smart cities, but the general public’s knowledge about smart cities is quite limited. On top of this, the pandemic-induced digital transformation has also led to the increase of certain threats and challenges, for instance related to cybersecurity and the digital divide,” said Jung Sook Park, Secretary General of WeGO.
“Finally, different from the previous goal of focusing on technology, the main aim for cities now should be to focus on people, and develop people-centered smart cities,” she continued. “The WeGO Smart City Champions is also aiming to ensure that this smart city development is inclusive, and thus focuses on youth as they are the leaders of tomorrow.”
Benefits for youth participants
Phase 1 lectures will deal with topics including smart technologies and open data, cybersecurity, sustainable development goals (SDGs), and data management ethics, to reflect both the foundational principles of smart cities and key issues relevant to smart cities today.
In addition, the interactive workshops in the second phase of the program intends to provide with the opportunity to meet other peers and exchange on common topics of interest, as well as develop key skills such as team-building and design thinking.
As a result, by completing both phases, WeGO also expects to boost young participants’ employability and help them access the competitive job market.
Support from universities and institutions around the world
WeGO has already partners with various domestic and international universities such as the Catholic University of Milan, Chengdu University of Technology, Dongguk University, Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Kookmin University, Korea University, Seoul National University (Graduate School of Public Administration and Global R&DB Center), and Yonsei University, some of them through MOUs. WeGO has also joined arms with UN youth network for the sustainable development goals Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Korea and multi-disciplinary organization focused on the digitalization and the urban social contract Edgelands Institute.
A couple of these schools will include the WeGO Smart City Champions program in their curriculum and provide credits to students who complete the program.
“The task of making cities resilient, inclusive, healthy, secure, sustainable and prosperous is the key task of the 21st century–the century of cities. This gargantuan task requires an efficient, global pooling of knowledge, resources, data and analyses. Moreover, the younger generations, who will be the inhabitants and leaders of such cities, must be involved in their transformation from the start,” said Professor Matteo Tarantino of the Catholic University of Milan. “I believe WeGO is proving to be a great accelerator of such processes, and is excellently positioned to catalyze the energy of the global youth towards this task. Joining its effort with my little contribution was a natural choice for me.”
At the WeGO 2022 Activities Kick-off event held on February 23 where the program was officially launched, youth participants of the program shared their expectations in joining the program.
“Our team is now majoring in public administration, but at the same time, we are interested in smart cities, regional economies, and ICT policies. So, we, who will lead the world [in the future], now study about what policies are needed for smart cities. Through this, we will lead the innovation of smart city in Korea,” said Bo-eun Park, student at Kookmin University. “[I believe that] our innovative and creative ideas will be very useful in creating a smart city,” she added.
“I believe that during the course of 15-weeks the WeGO Smart City Champions program will support, mentor, guide and train us in developing our conceptual knowledge of smart cities, […] which will help us achieve both personal and professional goals,” said Siriwan Chaichana, PhD-student at the Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration. “Moreover, the smart city capacity-building phase will be a great opportunity for youth to build a network among participants and exchange knowledge and ideas in a practical way for the smart city development project.”
For the full schedule, lecture topics and information on the professors, please visit WeGO’s website.
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About WeGO
The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), established by 50 founding members in 2010, is an international association of city and other local governments, smart tech solution providers, and national and regional institutions committed to the transformation of cities into smart sustainable cities
WeGO’s Secretariat is based in Seoul and supported by regional offices in Africa (Abuja, Nigeria), East Asia (Chengdu, China), Eurasia (Ulyanovsk Region, Russia), the Mediterranean (Beyoğlu, Turkey), and Latin America (Mexico City, Mexico).
WeGO has more than 200 members around the world and serves as their international platform to improve the quality of life, innovate in the delivery of public services, and strengthen regional competitiveness.
Press Contact
Alizée Rousset
alizee@we-gov.org
02-720-2931