Low Birthrate Committee National Contest… “Policies Created Directly by the Public to Be Reflected in the 5th Basic Plan”,
“(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kwon Ji-hyun – In a national contest organized by the government to find solutions to low birthrates and aging population, various ideas such as ‘Care Points’ and ‘Mom Taxi’ emerged.”,
“The Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy held an award ceremony for the ‘Policy Contest on Low Birthrate and Aging Population Created with the Public’ at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul on the 16th.”,
‘A total of 3,639 public proposals were submitted during the contest, which was held for a month starting in March this year. Among them, 1,663 proposals were submitted by middle and high school students.’,
‘The Low Birthrate Committee’s Policy Monitoring Group and experts who judged the contest selected a total of 31 excellent proposals, choosing 15 from each of the middle/high school category and the college/general category, aside from the grand prize.’,
“The grand prize went to Kim I-seul from the college/general category for proposing ‘Hyo Points’. The idea is to encourage activities like carbon-neutral practices and walking by awarding points that can be used for personal or parental care services.”,
‘Kim stated, “I focused on increasing citizen participation in solving social problems” and expressed hope that this would serve as an opportunity for society to prepare concrete plans for aging.’,
‘The top prize in the middle/high school category was awarded to Kwon Byo-ri, who proposed the “Mom Taxi” system. This is a taxi service equipped with childcare items for emergency outings with children, aimed at reducing parenting stress. Kwon said, “To increase the birth rate, there needs to be a perception that life remains convenient after having children.”‘,
“Other winning entries include a ‘digital public transportation guide board for the elderly’ that features large text and voice guidance, a parental leave allowance insurance system for young self-employed individuals, and a system of proxy receipt of parental leave allowance by grandparents.”,
‘Ju Hyung-hwan, vice chairman of the Low Birthrate Committee, stated, “The significance of the contest lies in the fact that the public, including future generations who are the policy consumers, created the policies themselves,” adding, “We will consider reflecting the excellent proposals in the 5th Basic Plan for Low Birthrate and Aging Society.”‘,
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