The public-private-academic joint planning committee kicked off Tuesday to ensure the successful staging of the 2026 Seocho AI Festa, with 17 members — including representatives for children, women, persons with disabilities and senior citizens — reflecting voices across generations and social groups.
Seoul's Seocho-gu district office held an inaugural ceremony Tuesday for the "2026 Seocho AI Festa Joint Planning Committee" in the fifth-floor conference room, formally launching preparations for a resident-driven AI festival.
The joint planning committee — formed for the first time this year — serves as an advisory body for all aspects of festival planning for the "Seocho AI Festa," now in its second edition. Its role spans program proposals, promotional ideas and the incorporation of the latest AI trends. A total of 17 members, including AI specialists, content creators and community representatives from a range of generations, will work together through October to build a festival that residents of all backgrounds can enjoy.
The committee goes beyond AI experts to include community representatives from children's, women's, disability and senior citizen groups, ensuring that perspectives across diverse generations and social strata are broadly reflected. The district also expects the committee to raise public understanding of and access to AI technology, while establishing a public-private cooperation model in which residents take a direct role in the planning process.
At Tuesday's ceremony, members received their appointment certificates and were briefed on the direction and operational plan for the 2026 Seocho AI Festa. Participants shared their aspirations and ideas for the festival, offering suggestions on expanding hands-on AI programs that are easy and approachable, developing age-tailored content and devising resident-participation events.
The 2026 Seocho AI Festa is scheduled for Oct. 17 at Seocho Culture and Arts Park, billed as a future-technology experience festival where AI and robots come together. The event will feature more than 50 AI experience booths, a physical AI (robot) zone, a resident participation contest and a variety of future-technology programs. The district plans to run programs that let residents experience firsthand how AI is being applied across education, culture, lifestyle and welfare, bringing them closer to the changes that emerging technology is driving.
"The 2026 Seocho AI Festa is not simply an AI technology exhibition — it is a future festival built together by residents and experts," Seocho-gu District Mayor Jeon Seong-su said. "Working with the Seocho AI Festa Joint Planning Committee, we will create a creative and differentiated AI festival unique to Seocho, one where people of all generations and backgrounds can feel at home with AI."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
