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[News_Seoul's ODA] Foreign Public Officials Learn Know-how of ‘Miracle of Han River’ through Seoul Internship Program

Date 2017-01-11 Writer ssunha

Foreign Public Officials Learn Know-how of ‘Miracle of Han River’ through Seoul Internship Program

 

  • Seoul Metropolitan Government operates the ‘2017 Seoul Policy Experience Internship Program’ for foreign public officials in January.

  • Participants learn about Seoul policies through hands-on experience and field trip.

  • Cooperative network with future leaders of developing countries will boost exports of Seoul’s policy.

Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) will operate the ‘2017 Seoul Policy Experience Internship Program’ for 15 foreign public officials, attending the Master of Urban Administration and Planning (MUAP) course of International School of Urban Sciences, University of Seoul, from Monday, January 9thtoThursday,January 26th,2017.

 Internship Program
Supporting foreign public officials from developing countries to study for master’s degree in urban administration and planning in University of Seoul is one of the Seoul’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) project. Among 9 projects for ODA run by SMG, this project is significant in terms of diversity of participants’ background and scale of budget.

- 15 public officials from 11 cities of 10 developing countries will participate in the ‘2017 Seoul Policy Experience Internship Program.’ Since 2008, 168 public officials from 42 cities of 32 developing countries have taken classes of the MUAP course.
- Participants are in their 40s or younger and have worked in various sectors, including urban development, housing, environment, waste management and traffic management.
. * budget for supporting the students in the MUAP course in 2017 is 690 million won (688 million won in 2016).
 
During the internship period, SMG will introduce history of Seoul and its key policies. Participants will be assigned to divisions of SMG and affiliated corporations as an intern to have hands-on experience, and field trip to the major facilities in Seoul will be also arranged.

- Participants will learn about Seoul’s experience for effective development and urban problems at Seoul City Hall, Seoul Institute, Seoul Global Center, Seoul Urban Solutions Agency and CityNet.
- SMG will organize tours to Seoul Bus Transfer Center, Mapo Resource Recovery Facility and Cheonggyecheon Museum.
 
As Seoul has been a role model for developing countries for its rapid growth in a short time, the internship program is expected to be a valuable opportunity for Seoul to introduce its policies to the foreign public officials, strengthen the cooperation with developing countries, and expand opportunities for Seoul’s policy export.
 
 
Bijay Keshar Khanal from Kathmandu, Nepal said, “I am very pleased to join the internship program in such a good organization, like Seoul Metropolitan Government.” Lee Hui Sung, Director General of International Relations Bureau, said, “Working with Seoul Metropolitan Government officials will be a great opportunity for public officials from developing countries to learn Seoul’s know-how for urban development and problem-solving because we have first-hand experience in them. We will systematize our knowledge and experience to meet the needs of developing countries so that we could provide them with practical assistance.”
 
Korea is the first former aid recipient country to join OECD DAC (Development Assistance Committee). As the capital city of Korea, Seoul will play a critical role in connecting donors and recipients for mutual growth by providing suitable support. As ODA is not only the assistance which is beneficial to recipients but also the strategy for the common bright future of prosperity, Seoul Metropolitan Government will make an effort in improving effectiveness and suitability of the supporting projects.