2019 APYE KOREA Photo

APYE is a program that engages young people from the Asia-Pacific region in the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015 and regional development cooperation activities, and is held in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea during school holidays every year.
In the summer of 2018, Hanyang University, in collaboration with UYA (Urban Youth Academy), ADB (Asian Development Bank), and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), jointly hosted APYE Korea 2018.
Under the theme of “Social Venture for SDGs,” 160 young people from 16 countries participated in the 2018 APYE Korea, which was held from August 12 to 20, with the goal of identifying business models that address social issues that Seongdong-gu wants to resolve, such as educational disparities in multicultural families, recycling, childcare, information disparities for the disabled, and revitalizing traditional markets.
Participants will participate in Leadership Training, which will strengthen their ability to empathize with the problems around us and design solutions in teams with young people from the Asia-Pacific region, Local Immersion, which will allow them to work with local residents and mentors to come up with their own solutions, and Symposium, where they will listen to and discuss the presentations of each team.
In the process, they will think about how to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs and grow as global social innovation leaders.
On the last day of the event, the participants explained their solutions to the residents of Seongdong at Wangsimni Square and called for their participation.
The family of a Vietnamese migrant woman who was interviewed in the Multicultural Families and Education program came to Wangsimni Square to support and cheer on the participants' presentations, which left a lasting impression on everyone. Meanwhile, the Ttok Ttok team, which studied Ttukdo Market in the Traditional Market Revitalization Group, was selected as the best idea at the symposium by proposing a planning and marketing solution for the signature product of Ttukdo Market, and went through a social venture boot camp in the second semester to enhance the viability of the idea and is preparing to implement it as a follow-up project.
The significance of APYE Korea 2018 is not the 24 project ideas that more than 160 people came up with, but the fact that young people from all over the world were able to understand each other and share the excitement of encouraging each other's growth while working together to solve problems in Seongdong for a short time.
A leader who understands others and helps them grow can be called a changemaker who changes the world.
Meanwhile, APYE Korea 2018 was not only a program to help young people in the Asia-Pacific region grow, but also a great opportunity for global networking of social innovation organizations, as many partner organizations that share the dream of social innovation, such as LINC+ Project, International Office, Asia-Pacific Research Center, ERICA Campus Social Service Center, Seongdong-gu Office, Seongdong Youth Support Center, Office of the Vice President of the Philippines, SK Happiness Sharing Foundation, British Council, CSR Forum, Seongdong Multicultural Family Support Center, Seoul
Reutilization Plaza, Chinhae Educational and Social Cooperative, Seongdong General Welfare Center for the Disabled, and Seongdong Sangsang City Center, participated.