Seoul's Seongbuk-gu said Saturday it held a policy-sharing forum as part of its children and youth participatory budget program — designed to guarantee meaningful participation rights for young residents — and advanced 16 final proposals to be reflected in next year's district budget.
The children and youth participatory budget program is one of Seongbuk-gu's signature child-friendly policies, allowing children and teenagers to directly propose projects they believe the community needs, with the district incorporating approved ideas into its budget. The program has run continuously since 2014 to improve transparency and democratic accountability in budget planning and to deliver resident-centered governance.
From June through July, the district accepted project proposals from children and youth in the area, receiving a total of 66 submissions. Each proposal then underwent a review by the relevant administrative departments, which assessed appropriateness, legal compliance and feasibility.
Hosted by the Wolgok Youth Center, the forum drew about 60 participants, including project proposers and members of the Children and Youth Participation Committee. Attendees first reviewed the progress of projects selected last year before splitting into seven groups for roundtable discussions.
During the discussions, participants refined the content of proposals deemed feasible by departmental review and merged similar projects into consolidated initiatives.
Proposals requiring revision were also reworked and elevated into final agenda items. As a result, 16 actionable proposals were finalized, including "FUN SPORTS" and "Youth Summer Festival Summer Beat."
The 16 proposals will be put to an online preliminary vote running from Aug. 14 through Sept. 4, followed by an in-person vote at the participatory budget general assembly on Sept. 5. Projects will be confirmed for implementation in order of votes received and incorporated into Seongbuk-gu's budget for next year.
Seongbuk-gu District Mayor Lee Seung-ro said it was deeply meaningful to see children and teenagers directly engaging in solving community problems and building their capacity as democratic citizens. "Seongbuk-gu became the first district in the country to receive UNICEF Child-Friendly City certification in 2013, and this year became the first to earn a fourth certification," Lee said. "We will spare no effort to ensure that children's voices go beyond mere suggestions and are realized as actual policies and projects."
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