Osan City Holds Workshop for 'Stepping Stone Classroom' Lifelong Learning Program

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Osan City held the '2020 First Half New Stepping Stone Classroom Stakeholder Workshop' at Osan City Hall on the 13th.

The workshop was attended by approximately 30 people, including space representatives and citizen activists from 16 newly designated Stepping Stone Classrooms in the first half of the year.

The event began with the first part featuring the Stepping Stone Classroom selection results and presentation ceremony, followed by the second part with an introduction to the Osan Centennial Citizen University and a special lecture on the role of learning coordinators.

The 'Stepping Stone Classroom' is a project of the Hanaoro (路) Integrated Learning Network, which received certification as a new UNESCO Sustainable Development Education (ESD) official project in 2020.

It refers to a 'shared learning space' where idle spaces in public institutions and private facilities located within a 10-minute walk from residents' homes are opened for learning activities with neighbors, enabling various lifelong learning meetings to take place.

As of the end of last year, the city has designated and operated a total of 216 Stepping Stone Classrooms, including 54 public facilities and 162 private facilities. Approximately 150 citizens, including space representatives (learning coordinators) and citizen activists (connection managers), are participating.

Over the past year, 41,824 Osan residents used the spaces for 6,226 sessions totaling 14,650 hours through Osan Centennial Citizen University Question Mark School, Exclamation Mark School classes, and lifelong learning club meetings.

Osan City Mayor Kwak Sang-wook, who attended the workshop, said, "Ten years ago, our city struggled with the lack of buildings or spaces to operate lifelong learning programs. The reason why Osan City, which still has no lifelong learning center, is being benchmarked not only domestically but also internationally is precisely because of the numerous lifelong learning programs operated through Stepping Stone Classrooms," and added, "I hope that you will convey the meaning and value of Stepping Stone Classrooms, which connect people and hearts through learning, to many citizens."