A seminar co-hosted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the Graduate School of International Studies of Ewha Woman's University was held on June 28 at the Korea Press Center under the theme, "Korea's Development Assistance: Prospects and Strategies."
At the seminar, prominent development experts from home and abroad, including Dutch HIV/AIDS Ambassador Laetitia van den Assum and Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Pham Tien Van, had in-depth discussions about a range of issues regarding Korea's Official Development Assistance (ODA), including the emergency relief for the tsunami disaster.

Yonhap News Agency, Korea's sole news wire service, opened a "KOICA Report" corner on itsKorean-language website on June 1 in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) it concluded with KOICA in February of this year. According to the MOU, Yonhap News uses KOICA staff, volunteers, and experts serving abroad as honorary correspondents. The correspondents, scattered throughout 41 developing countries around the world, wire vivid, on-the-spot reports on indigenous cultures, and local custom and stories to Yonhap. Their reports are available on Yonhap News Agency's Internet homepage (www.yonhapnews.co.kr).

KOICA will launch the second essay contest under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade from August 29 to September 2. Essay topics can be anything related to ODA, for example, development of ODA projects, promotion of awareness, etc. Applicants should be currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs. The first-prize winner (one individual or one team) will receive the Foreign Minister's Award and a scholarship of three million Korean won (US$ 3,000). Each of the two runner-ups (two individuals or two teams) will receive the KOICA President's Award and a scholarship of two million Korean won (US$200). All prizewinners will be given an opportunity to visit KOICA's overseas project sites.

An equipment donation ceremony was held on April 27 in Erbil, Iraq, in the presence of KOICA President Kim Suk-Hyun. In his congratulatory speech, President Kim expressed his hopes that KOICA's assistance would contribute to socioeconomic development of the country's northern region. Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government evinced his appreciation to theKorean people for their vital assistance. As part of its Iraq reconstruction program, KOICA has thus far delivered $20 million worth of equipment for information technology, construction, and traffic patrol.

KOICAparticipated in the 6th Annual International Innovation Exhibition held from May 24 to 27 at COEX in Seoul by displaying specific cases of developing country governments "re-invented" by KOICA's assistance. The 'Egypt Product Quality Management System," showcased in Foreign Ministry Booth, is Arabic-language groupware composed of the Quality Management System, the Information Support System, and the ICA (Industrial Control Agency) Homepage. KOICA had provided the system to the ICA of the Egyptian Government in July 2004 as part of its efforts to narrow the digital divide with developing countries.

Eight members of the National Assembly's Unification, Foreign Affairs, and Trade Committee visited KOICA's overseas project sites in late May. Rep. Kim Won-Woong, Hong Joon-Pyo, Shin Kye-Ryoon, and Park Sung-Bum visited Peru and Paraguay, and Rep. Kim Sung-Won, Yoo Sun-Ho, Choi Byung-Kuk, and Kwon Young-Kil went to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia. In their meetings with Korean volunteers and Taekwondo instructors serving in the regions, the lawmakers attentively listened to their activities and grievances, and asked them to continue to maintain the high level of volunteerism.

The award ceremony for the 8th KOICA Writing Contest was held on July 14 at the Agency's main auditorium. A total of 59 finalists were honored at the ceremony, including three gold-prize winners, five silver-prize winners, 15 bronze-prize winners, and 30 encouragement award winners. The grand prize of the Foreign Minister's Award went to Kim Min-Jung, (6th grade, Dongdab Elementary School), Kim Ye-Eun (Yeonseo Middle School) and Hwang Hee-Su (Gujeong High School). The Teacher's Award was given to Han Seung-Dong (Dongdab Elementary School) and two others. At the ceremony, attended by prominent figures from the government and media, KOICA President Kim Suk-Hyun offered congratulations to the prize winners through his speech. The winners of the grand prize, gold prize and Teacher's Award will also be given a chance to visit KOICA's project sites and cultural attractions in Cambodia and Sri Lanka at the end of July.

KOICA carried out domestic training for this year's first group of team-based volunteers from May 25 to June 14 at the Volunteer Training Center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. All new recruits are required to complete the domestic training course before going on a mission abroad. KOICA conducts the training program 10 to 11 times a year to allow volunteers to choose when to receive the training. During the training course, volunteers learn about work ethics, project management, community activities, and cultural diversity. After the completion of the training, the first group of 123 volunteers will go on a one or two-year tour to implement projects in developing countries.

KOICA's Training Program Department held a workshop on its invitational training program on June 10 at the International Cooperation Training Center (ICTC) in Yeomgok-dong, Seocho-gu. The staff members made presentations and had discussions on how to improve the Agency's 14-year-old flagship program. The department plans to sophisticate the training program by putting the partner countries' demand at the center of the design and implementation of the program.

KOICA volunteers serving at the Taekwondo Association of Kiyev in Ukraine showed off their skills on May 28 at Maidan Plaza, the largest one in Ukraine, with about 20,000 Kiyev citizens watching their performance in amazement. The four volunteer instructors and their local students demonstrated splendid Taekwondo maneuvers and shattered bricks and wood pieces with bare hands and feet amid the cheers and applause from the Kiyev citizens and the media. Maidan Plaza is well known as the epicenter of the nation's civil revolution. Ukrainian citizens staged the Orange Revolution in the lead-up to the November 2004 presidential election.

The ground-breaking ceremony of the Korea-Afghanistan Public Officials Training Institute was held on June 16 in Kabul, Afghanistan, in the presence of President Hamid Karzai, Chairman Moshahed of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC), and Korean Ambassador to Afghanistan Yoo Young-Bang. The $6 million project, aimed at the construction and maintenance of a main building, a dormitory, an auditorium, and a cafeteria, is part of the Korean Government's reconstruction and development initiative in Afghanistan and will be jointly implemented by KOICA and the IARCSC. The institute is scheduled to open in the first half of 2006.

 
KOICA and Pukyong National University concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on May 4 on mutual cooperation for grant aid programs to developing countries. The MOU provides a systemic cooperation mechanism under which KOICA can strengthen its cooperation with Pukyong University. It also opened the way for KOICA to be provided with high-quality volunteers from Pukyong University. For Pukyong University, the partnership with KOICA will provide its students with an opportunity to take part in international development and grow into regional experts.

An equipment donation ceremony was held in June 6 in Mauritania in the presence of nearly 50 eminent government officials, including the Korean ambassador to Morocco and the Mauritanian Minister of Culture, Youth, and Athletics. KOICA has provided the Northwestern African country with computer equipment and vehicles worth US$ 500,000. Mauritania, a desert country with the total population of three million, will allocate the computers, printers, A/V equipment, and sports apparatus to youth centers (La Maison des Jeunes) across the country to be used for education and cultural activities. Ministry officials expected the equipment to contribute to keeping the nation's teenagers safe from drugs and crime by encouraging them to participate in a variety of cultural activities.

 
 The 7th Annual Photo Exhibition on NGO's Development Cooperation, hosted by the Korea NGO Council for Overseas Cooperation (KCOC) and sponsored by KOICA, was held at the exhibition hall in Hyehwa Subway Station from July 5 to 12. Twenty-two Korea-based development NGOs, including Good Neighbors, World Vision, Korea Food for the Hungry International, participated inthe event. Displayed at the exhibition were 90-odd pictures showing images of Korean aid workers and their activities in developing countries around the world, including the emergency relief in the tsunami-stricken South Asian region.