- Sustainable Smart Cities: Molding the Young Pioneers of Smart and Innovative Urban Solutions -

8 - 18 July 2019 | Korea and Singapore

The ASEAN-Korea Centre hosted the 2019 ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop in Seoul, Korea, and Singapore from 8 to 18 July 2019. Under the theme of ´Sustainable Smart Cities: Molding the Young Pioneers of Smart and Innovative Urban Solutions,´ 80 university students from 10 ASEAN Member States, Korea, China, and Japan participated in the Workshop. Through various activities during the Workshop, the participants increased their understanding of ASEAN and ASEAN-Korea relations, developed their capacity to become suitable person in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and created networks among one another. The Korea program was co-hosted with Seoul National University Asia Center (SNUAC) and the Singapore program with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Korea Program Opening Ceremony

The Workshop consisted of the Korea Program from 8 to 13 July in Seoul and the Singapore Program from 13 to 18 July in Singapore. H.E. Lee Hyuk, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, delivered his opening speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Workshop held at the SNUAC on 8 July, and Dr. Park Bae-gyoon, Head of Department of International Relations at the Center for Asian Cities, SNUAC, delivered his welcoming remarks.

Lectures

The Korea Program is composed of lectures on various topics as follows.:

Site Visits

To experience various attempts of Seoul for developing a sustainable smart city, participants visited sites such as Seoul Energy Dream Center where visitors can see the city´s efforts to recycle resources and use eco-friendly energy, Sewoon District Maker City Lab which became an example of an effective urban regeneration project initiated by a private sector, Nowon Energy Zero (EZ) Center which practices a government-level project of energy town, Seongdaegol Energy Village where the grass-root energy movement started, Seoul Expressway Traffic Information Center which controls real-time traffic conditions and collects public transportation information in Seoul City, and Cheonggyecheon Museum which shows the history of the Cheonggyecheon as world-wide model for city regeneration.

Group Assignments

To improve understanding of the Workshop topic and build friendship among one another, participants were involved in a variety of group activities in 10 different groups. During the Workshop, each group made daily recap posters outlining the activities of the day and produced and presented videos based upon their understanding of sustainable smart cities.

Cultural Experience

Participants also had time to introduce their home country´s culture. Students from 10 ASEAN Member States, Korea, China and Japan had a chance to introduce various cultural aspects of their own country to other participants in forms of song, dance, costumes and languages.

Korea Program Closing Ceremony

The Closing Ceremony of the Korea Program, which took place at the Centre’s ASEAN Hall on July 12, was attended by the 80 workshop participants as well as ambassadors and foreign officials from the 10 ASEAN Member States in Korea. Starting with closing remarks by H.E. Lee Hyuk, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, Dr. Park Soo-jin, Director of the Seoul National University Asia Center, delivered a farewell remarks, H.E. Thant Sin, the Chairman of the ASEAN Committee in Seoul and Ambassador of Myanmar delivered a congratulatory remarks, and H.E. Yip Wei Kiat, Ambassador of Singapore to Korea delivered a farewell remarks. On behalf of the participants, Ms. Kim Hyun-hui from Korea and Ms. Maggie Yang from Indonesia gave a speech of appreciation. The Korea Program was wrapped up with an Award Ceremony to the best teams of cultural performances and video-making activities.

Singapore Program Opening Ceremony

The participants departed for Singapore on 13 July for the second leg of the Workshop from 13 to 18 July. The opening ceremony of the Singapore program at the RSIS of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore on 15 July began with the opening speech by H.E. Lee Hyuk, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, followed by welcoming speech of H.E. Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman of RSIS, and a congratulatory speech by H.E. Ahn Young-jip, Ambassador of Republic of Korea to Singapore.

Lectures

Like the Korea Program, the Singapore Program invited experts from various fields to give lectures for better understanding of ASEAN, ASEAN-Korea relations, and sustainable smart cities.

Site Visits

Participants gained different aspects of a smart city that Singapore is eager to establish by visiting Changi International Airport Jewel Terminal, Sentosa Islands, National City Gallery by Urban Redevelopment Authority, Gardens by the Bay, Punggol New Town Discovery Cube, and Social Innovation Park. Participants visited newly opened Changi International Airport which harmonizes nature and architecture, Gardens by the Bay, a huge forest in the city, and National City Gallery where participants could re-envision Singapore´s urban planning and development and the current status of Singapore´s smart city project. Also, the visit to the Social Innovation Park, a social enterprise striving to ensure a sustainable life for citizens of Punggol New Town and Singapore, highlighted Singapore´s ambition and best practices toward a smart city that all countries could learn from.

Cultural Experiences

Also, the participants had a chance to experience various ethnic traditions and multi-cultures of Singapore. They visited the Malay Heritage Center at Kampong Glam, Little India and Chinatown where they could see the efforts of people in Singapore to maintain the diversity and multicultural ethnic background, such as China, Malay, and India.

Group Assignments

Participants presented a policy proposal on the last day, with knowledge and experiences gained through various activities during the Workshop. Each group had time to explore the urban challenges that 10 ASEAN Member States are facing, propose and share smart and creative policies with urban solutions that address them.

Singapore Program Closing Ceremony

17 July, the last day of the Workshop, the Closing Ceremony was held to celebrate the end of the Workshop. At the closing ceremony held at the RSIS in Singapore, H.E. Lee Hyuk, Secretary General of the Centre, delivered a closing remarks and Mr. Adrian Tan, Head of Policy Coordination and Specialist Research Coordinator of Malaysia Programme in the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies (IDSS) of RSIS, delivered a farewell speech to congratulate the Workshop on its successful conclusion. It was followed by an awarding ceremony for the groups that presented smart and innovative policy proposals and participants who actively participated in the 10-day Workshop. Also, a Singaporean participant Ms. Heather Lin and a Korean participant Ms. Park Da-young gave a speech representing all participants to share their thoughts and impressions of the Workshop. The participants wrapped up their schedule by exchanging gifts and bidding a farewell to one another.