Pukyong National University

"We are the siblings of youth in care", universities and local organizations united

- PKNU launched the 'Hope ladder for youth dreams and talents development program with PKNU keepers

△ Hope ladder for youth dreams and talents development program with PKNU keepers.

Local institutions, such as universities, youth recovery centers, and educational experience facilities, are attracting attention from the local community by claiming to be 'brothers and sisters' to help improve the social adaptability of youth in care and vulnerable youth.

Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-Soo) announced that it held the ‘Hope ladder for youth dreams and talents development program with PKNU keepers’ at Aloysius basecamp 1968 (Amnam-dong, Busan).

About 30 PKNU keepers, a student volunteer group from Pukyong National University, experienced carpentry, gardening, cooking, media, engineering, crafts course together with 50 teenagers in care of local youth recovery centers and child welfare facilities for four days from August 16th.

This program started in 2021 with Pukyong National University building a cooperative network to nurture the potential and sociality of teenagers with youth recovery centers in Busan and Gyeongnam, and Aloysius basecamp 1968, an educational experience facility, and celebrated its third year this year.

Pukyong National University picked university students to participate in this program from the existing student volunteer groups and named them ‘PKNU Guardians’ to build a strong bond with the youth in their care. Their role is to help them open their minds and actively participate in the program.

The program also consists of a curriculum that will help teenagers find their dreams and talents, such as pizza making, construction of wooden boxes and flower baskets, digital drawing, block robots assembling, and hand-knitting.

The youth recovery center and educational experience facilities, which are cooperative organizations, recommended students to participate to support the organization and operate programs.

Yim Joo-Han (3rd-year student in electronics and communications engineering), one of the participants, expressed his impression by saying, "I felt that if I supported all of these teenagers just a little bit, they would achieve their full potential. Thinking of them as my younger siblings, I want to continue many activities together and support them."

Pukyong National University plans to expand contribution activities to the local community by actively utilizing the resources of the national university including this program, mentoring between university students and teenagers, and continuing sports activities to help youth in care become self-reliant. <Pukyong Today>

△ Pukyong National University students are engaged in experiential activities with teenagers in need.