<Middle-grade government employees of the central government of the essential 4 Caribbean countries participated in YU IIDC’s Saemaul training program>
Saemaul international development education propelled by YU (president Sur Gil-soo) has expanded to the Caribbean area in Central and South America. The middle-grade government employees of the central government of the 4 essential Caribbean countries participated in the Saemaul training program.
This training is part of the project businesses by Ministry of Public Administration and Security, and was created to spread the value of economic developments and the meaning of Saemaul Movement to leaders of future generations of developing countries.
In this program that was held for 8 days from September 9th to 16th, 9 middle-grade government employees from the central government of 4 Caribbean countries such as Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago participated. In particular, the participants of this training were specifically selected by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Foreign Office. This is the first time where the Caribbean coastal countries participated in the Saemaul training program.
This is their first visit to Korea, and they showed great interest in Korea’s Saemaul movement and experiences in development. Through this training, it can be anticipated that the Saemaul movement will be expanded to the Caribbean area, and construct cooperation network of these countries and the international development.
In this program, we studied the theories regarding the Saemaul Movement and Korea’s economic development- such as the outcomes of Saemaul Movement and its factors of success, the fundamentals and strategies of Saemaul Movement, and Saemaul education and the roles of the educators, and we had a field learning experience in Gyeongsangbuk province Agricultural Research & Extension Services and Cheongdo Saemaul Movement Memorial Hall. Based on the knowledge and experiences obtained from this training program, we exchanged opinions on the application plan of Saemaul Movement on the actual field by the participants creating an Action Plan for their countries’ development.
Kemuel Jean Baptiste, the president of the trainees from Saint Lucia’s Agriculture and Fishing, shared her feelings on completing the training by saying, “I was able to experience and learn about the Saemaul Movement and Korea’s economic developments. I want to be a government employee not just for myself but also for the country’s development. I hope there can be more chances for other government-employees in different Caribbean countries to participate in the Saemaul training program.”
Furthermore, Park Seung-Woo, the director of the International Development and Cooperation Agency who compiled this training program, said “in the success of Saemaul Movement, the local residents’ conversion of awareness based on the understanding of the Saemaeul spirit, the leaders’ strong philosophies, and the continuous policy played an important role.” and “from this training, I hope there can be more opportunities where along with the Caribbean area’s development, we can continually share Korea’s Saemaul Movement and our experiences of economic developments.”
Meanwhile, YU International Development and Cooperation Agency acts as a base education institute for the global Saemaul Movement that provides education training programs to local government employees for Development Strategies of Developing Countries and Support for regional development policies. Since its establishment in July of 2013 until now, it has been enforcing education, lectures, and academic conferences to main developing countries such as Africa and Southeast Asia regarding the Saemaul Movement and regional development, and Development Policy Establishment.
