Citizen Governance and Local Development

The joint seminar on “citizen governance and local development” took place at Kintex, Goyang City on May 10, co-organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Center for Local Autonomy at Hanyang University, and sponsored by the City of Goyang. Attended by about 200 active participants - mostly interested citizens who are already involved in citizens’ participation through local community centers- , the seminar could successfully provide a practical and useful forum where participants discussed the crucial aspects of citizen governance, in particular, its relation with local development.   

The seminar was opened by Mayor Choi Sung, City of Goyang with his keynote speech, stressing that he would do his best to shorten the distance between the city administration and citizens. He was also very proud of the strong citizen participation in his city, explaining the city’s policy aimed to vitalize local community and citizen’s participation in city administration. Following presentations covered theoretical framework to understand citizen governance, the current status of citizen governance in the city of Goyang and some strategic suggestions for successful citizen governance.  

During the discussions opened also to the floor, many participants enthusiastically shared their stories related with community centers and came up with several suggestions to their local government in order to strengthen the role of the community centers.  For instance, these ideas include a need for having a standing staff at the community center as well as a need for providing an incentive to those who voluntarily work for the community.  

At the end of the seminar, participants fully shared the idea that citizen governance actually serves as a driving force for local development, because it helps citizens to build up their democratic capacities and to bring them altogether to maximize their potential and resources for better local solutions.