Lee Min-keun, the mayor of Ansan, is expanding youth-led cultural policies based on cooperation with local universities.
Mayor Lee participated in the '4th Ansan Union Festival' held at Ansan Wa~Stadium on October 31.
The festival, planned and operated by local university students, concluded successfully with over 12,000 participants, including students and citizens.
This event is part of Mayor Lee's initiative to strengthen cooperation with local universities and increase youth participation, emphasizing that local students took the lead in planning and operating the festival rather than merely consuming cultural content.
The event was jointly organized by five local universities: Seoul Arts University, Shin Ansan University, Ansan University, Hanyang University ERICA, and Korea Hotel and Tourism College. It focused on fostering exchange and unity among universities while sharing the creativity and talents of youth with the community.
In particular, Mayor Lee established the 'Ansan City Local University Cooperation Working Committee' this year to strengthen practical cooperation with universities.
Administrative and budget officials regularly exchange ideas with the student festival planning team, ensuring that student suggestions are incorporated into the actual planning and operation of the festival.
This approach aims to address improvements raised during last year's event and enhance the student-centered operational framework.
It has concretized a collaborative model that reflects the voices of youth in administration and develops policies together with local universities.
This year's festival featured a variety of programs, including the 'Union League' university sports competition, the 'Union Star' talent contest, a rock festival, and the 'Union Show' featuring university performances.
Notably, the festival's programming was centered around band performances, reflecting the opinions of the student festival planning team.
Eight bands, including Cherry Filter, East Asia Tigers, Na Sang-hyun Band, The Bridge Brass, Dragon Pony, Idiotape, Cardi, and Hatz Wave, performed and received enthusiastic responses from the youth audience.
Student-run promotional and experiential booths were also key features of the festival.
In the university soccer finals, Ansan University emerged victorious, while Shin Ansan University won first place in the mixed relay race.
In the talent contest, the youth team from Korea Hotel and Tourism College took home the grand prize, and the Itamae booth prepared by students from the same college was awarded the top prize among unique experiential booths.
During the ceremony, Mayor Lee conducted a touch button ceremony with local university heads and the student festival planning team.
The festival's theme, 'Turning Up the Volume of Youth,' was also selected by the students, reflecting the festival's focus on youth.
Mayor Lee stated, "It was a meaningful event as local universities and students created the festival together, and citizens enjoyed it as well."
He added, "I will continue to support the Ansan Union Festival as a platform for university exchange and unity, allowing youth to showcase their talents and passions as a representative cultural festival."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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