WeGO and TCS open a global discussion on Smart and Inclusive Solutions Towards Age-Friendly Society at Jeju Forum 2022
September 14, 2022
Seoul – WeGO hosted a symposium themed “Trilateral Cooperation for Smart and Inclusive Solutions Towards Age-Friendly Society” session at Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity 2022 in partnership with the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS).
The symposium was a first of its kind to bring experts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to share the best practices of the three countries in building up age-friendly societies via smart approaches and shed light on future directions of smart urbanization with emphasis on age-inclusiveness.
The Secretary-General Ambassador of TCS, H.E. OU Boqian opened the symposium with a remark, pointing out the common challenge of digital divide amidst the growing aged populations and rapid urbanization and digitalization in the three leading economies. Underscoring that China, Japan and ROK account for world’s largest aged population, she called for an easy, equal and universal access to digital economy by aged group, so as to develop a shared community with inclusiveness and equity.
The Secretary-General of WeGO, Ms. PARK Jung Sook delivered the opening remark stating that the North-East Asia region including Korea, China, and Japan is expected to face the most rapid population decline in the near future. She stressed the importance of bringing “Inclusive smart city for women” and “Reducing the digital divide in aging society” for inclusive sustainable development. She pointed out in this digitized post-covid era, the role of WeGO as a global knowledge exchange platform is more important, enabling the global smart city communities to learn from each other and adapt quickly to fast digitization.
UN-Habitat Executive Director Ms. Maimunah Mohd SHARIF delivered a keynote speech highlighting the cities’ pivotal role in addressing the socio-economic issues. She emphasized the importance of people-centered approach and implementation of digital technologies at local level to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth.
Moderated by TCS Deputy Secretary-General Ms. SAKATA Natsuko, Professor REN Yuan from Fudan University elaborated China’s efforts in pursuit of a smart aged society by carrying out an comprehensive action plan “Intelligent HelopAge” since 2017, which involves the concept of Internet Plus and other smart technologies. He added that the demographic problem could be averted with progress and reforms in our technologies.
Professor LEE Suk-won from Seoul National University made an introduction on ROK’s elderly health care policies embedded in the smart city masterplan. He cited cases on the digitalization of healthcare by adopting smart technologies including Internet of Things (IoT) and emergency video treatment instruction.
In recognition of Japan’s demographic shift toward super-aged society, Professor Emeritus HIROKO Akiyama from the University of Tokyo advocated a perceptional transmission from “life expectancy” to “healthy life expectancy”, and then “engaged life expectancy”. She called for the redesign of communities for aged society by concerted efforts of both public and private stakeholders.
The symposium served as a platform to discuss the efforts led by Korea, China, and Japan to create a sustainable model for the smart cities of an aging society. WeGO and TCS will continue this meaningful effort among the three countries together with the leaders in the region.
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.
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