Seoul Selected for IAEC Executive Committee: "Only Asian City"

Elected by Vote at IAEC World Congress Just One Year After Joining
Introduction of the Senior Lifelong Learning Program "7th Grade Classroom"
Plans to Strengthen Intercity Exchange and Cooperation Networks

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been selected as an executive committee city at the 18th International Association of Educating Cities (IAEC) World Congress. This achievement comes just one year after joining the IAEC, and Seoul is the only Asian city among the 15 executive committee cities.

The 18th International Association of Education Cities (IAEC) World Congress held in Granollers, Spain. Provided by Seoul City

The executive committee is the core body that leads the main policy directions and initiatives of the IAEC, and Seoul will participate in its operations for the next four years. The city was elected to the executive committee through a vote involving member cities from around the world, officially joining the decision-making structure.

The IAEC is an educational city network comprising about 500 cities from over 30 countries. Its goal is to expand education into urban policy and the daily lives of citizens, promoting citizen growth, social integration, and sustainable local development.

During the congress held at the end of last month, the city introduced its flagship senior lifelong learning program, the "7th Grade Classroom," which drew the attention of member cities. The 7th Grade Classroom, aimed at citizens aged 65 and older, is a model designed to address the challenges of a super-aged society by preventing social isolation and supporting healthy aging and ongoing social participation.

Seoul plans to further expand policy exchanges by sharing its experiences with lifelong learning, digital transformation, responses to an aging society, and citizen participation with the international community, while also integrating best practices from global educational cities into its own policies. In addition, the city will actively engage in discussions on joint agendas among international educational cities and strengthen networks for exchange and cooperation between cities.

Jinwoo Jung, Director of Lifelong Education at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, stated, "We will continue to further develop lifelong learning policies so that all citizens can learn and grow throughout their lives, based on cooperation with cities around the world."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.