Special Conferences

[Korean and Japanese Youth Special Conference] June 3, 14:00-17:00 : Let’s Change the World While Doing What We Want to Do—“Presenting Cases of Korean and Japanese Youth Social Enterprise”

-Moderator: Lee Eun-ae (Managing Director, the Work Together Foundation)

-Presentations:
• Okabe Tomohiko (Chief executive officer, Kotolab) – Slums Revitalizing Cities.
• Lee Jihye (Director, Organization Yori) – Making a Multicultural Community through Food.
• Kudo Kei (Executive Director, Sodateage Net) – Hikikomori, Neets, and Freeters’ Return to Society.
• Hong Dae Ryong (Co-president, noridan) –Youth Waking the Body and Changing the Heart.
• Ito Takeshi (President, ASOBOT) – Community Businesses and Shibuya University.
• Pengdo (Co-founder and Brand Manager at dooing.net) – Youth Speaking Through Design/

-Discussants
• Ito Ken (Director, ISL Center for Social Innovation)
• Cho Hyoung (Trustee Director, Korea Foundation for Women)

The lives of Korean and Japanese youth are marked by the phenomenon of dumping social relations and possibilities, banishing themselves from society and running around and around with the singular goals of entering high ranked universities, getting jobs at large enterprises, and making money. Because of the similarity between the youth issues in Korean and Japan, the same critical questions and solutions have also emerged: the youth generation has taken on itself the job of innovating society. At this special conference, Korean and Japanese youth social entrepreneurs, who have regained their vitality and joy of life through this challenge, share examples from their experience and speak the message to youth. We hope that the cheerful and daring challenge of youth who suggest “changing the world by doing what you want to do” can encourage other 20-year-old youth to change their society.

[Youth Career/Professional Education Conference] June 2, 18:30-21:30 : What Will We Do for Youth Professional Education?

- Participants: Concerned career advisors from individual schools, vocational teachers and lecturers, teaching interns, youth activists, etc.

- Location: haja Center 999 Club

- Main Program
Share in the diverse experiences of Finland’s Omnia Vocational College, which pursues the continuing and vocational education of youth, and hear about this school’s secret for success, its special educational method and program. Finally, spend time discussing the direction of career and professional education for Korean youth.

- Moderator: Chung Yonsoon (Korean Employment Information Service, Career Path Training Center Research Committee)

- Keynote Speech: Juha-Pekka Saarinen (Principal, Finland’s Omnia Vocational College)

Presentations and Discussants :
• Im Seung Jae (Deputy Director, Employment Policy Division, Urban Competitiveness Headquarters, Seoul Metropolitan Government)
• Cho Yeong-hun (Head, Sandoll Peace Education Research Institute, Alternative Education Collective Post-Secondary Curriculum Research Team)
• Kim Jong-gwan (Principal, Seongdong Technical High School)
• Ha In-ho (Teacher, Incheon Commercial Girls’ High School)
• Kang Won-jae (Head, haja Center Planning Team)

* Introducing Finland’s Omnia Vocational College

Finland’s vocation school group Omina! Saying “every road leads to Omnia,” we teach vocation skills through continuing education for children, youth and adults. Omnia is Finland’s largest vocational school with several campuses in and about Helsinki serving five thousand 16-20 year-old day school youth and about two thousand night school youth and adults, and employing nearly six hundred staffs. Offering a diverse range of creative career programs that provides work experience through apprenticeships and career training, when graduates are placed as workers or laborers, the superior ability and creativity they exhibit is considered top-notch.