[International News] 'The Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development 2016 goes to the Mayor of Seoul
'The Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development 2016 goes to the Mayor of Seoul
Park Won-sun, Mayor of the capital city of South Korea and the active promoter of sharing cities, becomes the first Korean to receive the Award. The ceremony will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden on November 17 – 18.
Gang Seung-hun, reporter (shkang@ajunews.com), 2016-04-17 11:15
“In the late 1990s, I challenged myself by getting involved in the ‘Beautiful Store’ program, which is part of the social movement based on sharing and public involvement and has a special mission for the reuse and recycling of resources. After I assumed office as the mayor, the city was declared a sharing city in efforts to resolve urban issues,” says Park Won-sun, the first mayor in Korea and second in Asia to win the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development, in recognition of his leadership in contributing to the advancement of a sharing city.
With a board made up of Swedish politicians, entrepreneurs, and the heads of an environmental committees, the Award is given to “people or organizations for outstanding performance and achievements towards a sustainable future”.
While most awards have been given to multiple people or organizations in the past, Mayor Park is only the fifth single individual to receive the award. Previous awardees include Al Gore, the former Vice President of the United States (for his achievements in raising public awareness of climate change and global warming), and Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General (the leader of the Green Revolution in Africa).
An official letter dated June 1st was sent, stating that “the jury wants to highlight the opportunities that sharing ownership and information offer for sustainable development.” The letter went on to explain that the Mayor has efficiently utilized the resources of the city of Seoul to create opportunities to share such resources and information, has supported corporate projects with a focus on sharing, and has made efforts to disseminate the culture of sharing.
Upon winning the Award, Mayor Park Won-sun remarked that it is symbolic, that the Award is not for himself but for the city and its people. “If our previous explosive development was for the total, inclusive economic growth, the growth in the future should be sustainable in nature, for the sake of all,” he added
The ceremony is scheduled to take place in Gothenburg, Sweden on November 17 and 18. Since 2012, Seoul has incorporated the concept of a sharing economy in public policy as the answer to a variety of urban issues (lack of parking space, environmental pollution, etc.).
To be more precise, the city assisted 72 start-up enterprises and organizations that participate in the sharing economy while adopting programs such as car sharing for residential neighborhoods, the sharing of parking lots, and tool libraries. SOCAR, for instance, grew more than 10 times in size in only 3 years of benefiting from the city’s assistance, attracting investments worth KRW 65 billion to become one of the leading companies in South Korea.
Park Won-sun, Mayor of the capital city of South Korea and the active promoter of sharing cities, becomes the first Korean to receive the Award. The ceremony will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden on November 17 – 18.
Gang Seung-hun, reporter (shkang@ajunews.com), 2016-04-17 11:15
“In the late 1990s, I challenged myself by getting involved in the ‘Beautiful Store’ program, which is part of the social movement based on sharing and public involvement and has a special mission for the reuse and recycling of resources. After I assumed office as the mayor, the city was declared a sharing city in efforts to resolve urban issues,” says Park Won-sun, the first mayor in Korea and second in Asia to win the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development, in recognition of his leadership in contributing to the advancement of a sharing city.
With a board made up of Swedish politicians, entrepreneurs, and the heads of an environmental committees, the Award is given to “people or organizations for outstanding performance and achievements towards a sustainable future”.
While most awards have been given to multiple people or organizations in the past, Mayor Park is only the fifth single individual to receive the award. Previous awardees include Al Gore, the former Vice President of the United States (for his achievements in raising public awareness of climate change and global warming), and Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General (the leader of the Green Revolution in Africa).
An official letter dated June 1st was sent, stating that “the jury wants to highlight the opportunities that sharing ownership and information offer for sustainable development.” The letter went on to explain that the Mayor has efficiently utilized the resources of the city of Seoul to create opportunities to share such resources and information, has supported corporate projects with a focus on sharing, and has made efforts to disseminate the culture of sharing.
Upon winning the Award, Mayor Park Won-sun remarked that it is symbolic, that the Award is not for himself but for the city and its people. “If our previous explosive development was for the total, inclusive economic growth, the growth in the future should be sustainable in nature, for the sake of all,” he added
The ceremony is scheduled to take place in Gothenburg, Sweden on November 17 and 18. Since 2012, Seoul has incorporated the concept of a sharing economy in public policy as the answer to a variety of urban issues (lack of parking space, environmental pollution, etc.).
To be more precise, the city assisted 72 start-up enterprises and organizations that participate in the sharing economy while adopting programs such as car sharing for residential neighborhoods, the sharing of parking lots, and tool libraries. SOCAR, for instance, grew more than 10 times in size in only 3 years of benefiting from the city’s assistance, attracting investments worth KRW 65 billion to become one of the leading companies in South Korea.