On 10 July, an introductory class of APDA Global Young Leaders Course, founded by Hanna Yoon, a Strategy & Communication Consultant / General Manager of Education of APDA, was held. This course is designed to help adolescents understand the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) measures and design a vision for the future. The participants have a meaningful forum with experts from various fields, and are given the opportunity to participate in international talks by world lawmakers. The process is conducted due to COVID-19 and social distancing.

Lecture by Dr. Osamu Kusumoto

Dr. Osamu Kusumoto, Executive Director/Secretary General of APDA, attended to congratulate the launch of the APDA Global Youth Leaders Course. He said that the APDA has contributed to supporting sustainable development activities, encouraging young people like you to create new ideas and lead society in this era of transformation.

Lecture by Dr. Helen Lee

The lecture was accompanied by another lecture by Dr. Helen Lee, former professor at Troy University (AL, USA), under the theme of “Design Thinking”. Dr. Lee delivered five stages of design thinking and the methods of interviews, surveys, and observation research to students. The progress of the discussion utilizing design thinking is well known to have a positive effect on clear problem recognition and creative solution development.

After the lectures, the students teamed up to discuss how to practice the Zero-Waste. After a design thinking process such as brainstorming and How Might We (HMW) questions, each group defined the problem and presented solutions respectively considering the position of the target.

There was also time to present what was organized through group discussions. On behalf of each group, the presenter introduced non-environmentally friendly management of companies, lack of citizens' awareness, and lack of role for institutional cooperation as fundamental problems in realizing Zero-Waste. It also suggested that companies and citizens should come up with continuous benefits from participating in activities for Zero-Waste, and hold conferences and fairs to encourage the government, businesses, and individuals to resolve problems and achieve effective cooperation.

Students have the opportunity to act as international leaders, exchanging in-depth opinions on agenda that need to be discussed around the world in the course of Global Youth Leaders Course. Starting 10 July, students will attend real-time online classes every Saturday, taking lectures and discussion classes consisting of 10 experts from various fields, including women, children, health, economy and smart agriculture, and interviewing lawmakers from various countries.

* This article is written based on the content of the class after APDA interns attended APDA Global Young Leaders Course.
** Copyright of this article is in the APDA and it is prohibited from unauthorized copying without permission

Keywords: APDA, UNFPA, IPPF, SDGs, Design Thinking, Global Youth Forum, Global Youth Leasers Course, International Meetings, Social problems, Social issues, Policy Recommendation, Kusumoto Osamu, Helen Lee, Research

Written and edited by
Intern, Young-jun Park Intern, Jun-young Park Intern, Da-seul Shin Intern, Yea-un Lee Intern, Ha-yeon Choi

Planning/General Manager
Hanna Yoon (Ph.D. in Media and Governance) APDA Strategy and Communications Consultant/ Founder and General manager of APDA Global Global Young Leaders Course Director of KGM Lab Adjunct Professor at Soongsil University

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