Osan City's 'Hanaro Integrated Learning Network' Selected as 'UNESCO Sustainable Development Project'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Osan City's 'Hanaro Integrated Learning Network', which has been continuously operated since 2017, has been certified by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO as the '2020 UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Official Project'.

The city announced on the 2nd that following last year's certification of the 'Learning Salon' at Osan Centennial Citizen College's Question Mark School, it has received this year's certification of the 'Hanaro Integrated Learning Network', making it 2 consecutive years of ESD certification.

The 'Hanaro Integrated Learning Network' is a shared learning space creation project that includes 'specialized campuses' utilizing idle hours at community centers in six districts of Osan City and 'stepping stone classrooms' utilizing idle time slots at private facilities and public institutions within the city. It is a distinctive project that actively utilizes idle resources existing within the community to connect all of Osan as one.

The 'UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Official Project Certification System' has been operated since 2011 with the goal of discovering and publicizing excellent examples of various education for sustainable development (ESD) being practiced in Korean society, thereby promoting concrete methods of ESD practice domestically, and developing and introducing Korean-style ESD models to the international community.

An official from the UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development Korean Committee, which deliberates on UNESCO ESD official project certifications, stated the reason for ESD certification: "Osan City's 'Hanaro Integrated Learning Network' project, from the perspective of lifelong education, creates an educational network across the entire region and organically combines and utilizes regional resources in terms of sharing economy, attempting to create jobs and bring about community change—a project that can be applied in other regions as well."

This year, a total of 15 UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) official projects have been certified, including Osan City's 'Hanaro Integrated Learning Network', and the certification validity period is 3 years total from July 1 to June 30, 2023.