CIFAL Jeju Engages Youth from South Korea as Partners in the Implementation of the SDGs

24 August 2016, Jeju, Republic of Korea – CIFAL Jeju jointly with the Jeju Special Self Governing Province, Global Inner Peace, and Jeju National University hosted a three day youth workshop titled "Nature, Culture and the Youth" gathering 43 students from 25 universities from the Republic of Korea.

The event took place from 22 to 24 August 2016 at Jeju Stone Park and South East areas of Jeju island, serving as a platform to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to exchange perspectives on sustainable community development. In addition, the event served as a venue for the exchange of knowledge and ideas, while encouraging participants to take responsibility as global citizens to achieve the SDGs.

The workshop was led by three experts on sustainable tourism, sustainable agricultural products, and foreign policy for sustainable policy of Korea: Ms. Eun-joo Lee, Director of Jeju Olle Foundation; Mr. Yoon-woo Kim, President of Murung Farm; and Mr. Min-soon Song, President of University of North Korean Studies. The lectures focused on key topics including sustainable tourism, sustainable agricultural products, and sustainable foreign policy.

The workshop also included field visits to learn and experience on sustainable environment and sustainable community development in terms of tourism, agricultural products, cultural heritage, and cultural art.

The workshop was highly dynamic including action plan presentations of the participants on implementation of SDGs as the youth, which enabled the participants to explore in-depth knowledge of SDGs.

As the global citizenship education is essential for the achievement of the SDGs, the event facilitated the youths to understand the key values of the global citizenship and the importance of youth initiatives.