On Oct. 20 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Gangdong-gu Office, Gangdong Arts Center and each community service center will transform into a polling station. An election for the 2nd Gangdong-gu adolescent delegate will be held.

Gangdong-gu has organized a council made up of elected adolescents since 2016. It has established a system in which adolescents under the age of 19 participate in district affairs, and an election for the 2nd adolescent delegate will be held this year.

Adolescent delegates ages 9~18 were openly recruited until Sep. 14 with a total of 82 applicants. Materials such as pledges were submitted and a total of 57 final candidates were selected making it a fierce competition.

The 57 candidates will electioneer within the boundaries recognized by the Gangdong-gu Adolescent Council Election Management Committee from Sep. 18 to Oct. 20. The candidates may make presentations and conduct promotional campaigns on their pledges.

The pledges of the candidates were varied and included 'I will propose making public bicycle rentals for children near parks for families to enjoy outings conveniently,' 'I will let female middle/high school students select either pants or a skirt for their school uniform,' 'I will aim for a Challenge Day (donation) for enjoying volunteer day,' 'survey on school cafeteria food,' 'invigoration of children's playground,' 'I will invite famous YouTubers and hold a children's YouTube production contest,' 'I will publish a Gangdong-gu Children's Newspaper,' etc.

The candidates will fill out a designated promotional material for campaigning, which will be sent out via mobile SMS to voters who have submitted prior applications.

Adolescents ages 9-18 who reside in Gangdong-gu or attend school in the area may vote and they may add their representative to the election and vote for them.

Even without voting rights for the Adolescent Council, all adolescents can view the various pledges of the candidates. The information can be found on the 'Gangdong-gu Adolescent Council' Facebook page and 'Gangdong-gu Office Children-Friendly City' Kakao Plus Friend app.

In addition, the policy monitoring results and requests of the Adolescent Council Election Management Committee and Children's District Office Organization have been incorporated this year so that more children/adolescents can participate in the election.

An easily-accessible polling station has been installed in each community service center (excluding Seongnae 1-dong) with a total of 19 stations. Preliminary elections will also take place on 10.14~10.15 at the Pre-Historic Culture Festival.

Various opportunities will be provided for citizens such as the recruitment of electoral administration support adolescent volunteers for the operation of 20 polling stations (1 preliminary polling station and 19 official polling stations) or direct participation in the electoral administration after completion of the Gangdong-gu Election Management Committee training on the 16th.

For households with children who have voting rights, participating in the 22nd Pre-historic Culture Festival and the elections as an educational experience will prove to be a meaningful time.

Residents of Gangdong-gu or attendees of schools located in Gangdong-gu ages 9 and 18 may vote by submitting their student ID, children's ID or certification, or by notifying their name and birth date at the polling station.

For transparent and fair election processes, a business agreement has been concluded with the Gangdong-gu Election Management Committee in Sep. 2016. They are collaborating to provide support such as installing the polling stations and supplying voting forms; for prior training for electoral administration staff; for advisory support for the general election of the Adolescent Council delegate; and for proper exercise of rights and participation of adolescents as citizens.

A Gangdong-gu official said, "Our district, which was the 7th city to be certified as children-friendly by UNICEF in the country, plans to continue to establish an appropriate system through our efforts to promote vulnerable participation rights of our children. In order to listen to the opinions of various adolescents, we will openly provide opportunities for participation and the process of electing a representative directly will become an opportunity for the children to strengthen their capabilities as a citizen. We hope that many adolescents will look into the pledges of the candidates and participate in the election with much interest."

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