Seoul Vows to Boost e-Government
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Tuesday vowed to develop digital media as a key tool for ``e-government'' as advanced information technology (IT) is critical for the city government to better serve citizens.
``Digital media allows us numerous possibilities,'' Mayor Oh said during a talk with Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of the One Laptop Per Child Association and a founder of MIT Media Lab. ``We can easily listen to citizens' demands and creative ideas through the Internet and facilitate them to better serve citizens.''
The session was held as part of the World e-Government Mayors Forum, which kicked off in Seoul Monday.
Oh emphasized the importance of ``e-government'' and introduced some examples of successful e-government such as ``10 Million Imagination Oasis,'' which encourages citizens to propose their ideas directly to the city government through a Web site.
Negroponte also expressed his hope that as a leading city in the digital era, Seoul will contribute to the development of digital media for people and cities in comparatively poor environments.
Hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the World e-Government Mayors Forum invited Mayors and governors from 35 cities to offer them a chance to share their experiences in e-government practice and present fresh visions for future e-governments.
Chief information officers, officials from e-government institutes, experts on digital governance and IT specialists also joined the three-day event.
The opening ceremony took place Tuesday morning with a welcoming speech by Mayor Oh at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul.
Participants then joined Mayor's Roundtable sessions to discuss the main topics, including ways to promote exchange and cooperation between global e-governments and solutions to narrow the digital-divide.
In the evening, the Seoul mayor and other leaders of participating cities jointly proclaimed the Seoul IT Declaration, which aims to come up with practical ways to reinforce e-government collaboration.
Through the declaration, they agreed to form a cooperative body between e-governments, which expects to allow member cities to launch and carry out joint projects, including sharing models of e-government.
The event will close with two workshop programs on Wednesday followed by a farewell luncheon.
For more information, visit the World e-Government Mayors Forum's official Web site at https://wegmf.seoul.go.kr.