The Global Youth Employment Forum, organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), will be held in Gyeonggi Province for the first time in Asia.
Gyeonggi Province announced Wednesday that it will co-host the "2025 International Labor Festa" with the ILO and the Ministry of Employment and Labor at KINTEX in Goyang on January 16-17. This marks the first case of a local government, an international organization, and a central government jointly hosting such an event.
Key figures attending the event include Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon, Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon, ILO Employment Policy Director Lee Sang-heon, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Deputy General Secretary Jordani Aurenya, and International Organisation of Employers (IOE) Africa Advisor Amadou Sako.
Major domestic labor and management representatives will also attend, including Federation of Korean Trade Unions Chairman Kim Dong-myung, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Chairman Yang Kyung-soo, and Korea Employers Federation Chairman Son Kyung-shik.
The centerpiece of the event is the third ILO Global Youth Employment Forum. Following previous forums in Geneva, Switzerland in 2012 and Abuja, Nigeria in 2019, this third edition will bring together 97 youth delegates from 50 countries, including 34 from Korea and 63 from overseas. Over two days, the young participants will draft a "Call to Action" on youth employment.
The event will focus on the role of local governments and future labor policy development amid technological changes including AI. On the first day, a dialogue with 100 young people will cover topics such as social mobility, work-life balance, and the future of AI and jobs. Afternoon sessions will discuss "Decent Work" and the role of local governments through case studies from Manchester, UK and Huila Province, Colombia. Responses to digital transformation, including the EU Platform Work Directive and examples from Brandenburg, Germany, will also be shared.
The second day will feature in-depth discussions on "Inclusive Employment Solutions and Youth Labor Rights in the Digital and Green Economy." Participants will include major domestic labor-management-government figures along with representatives from the ILO, ITUC, and IOE.
"This International Labor Festa will serve as an opportunity for local governments to take the lead in establishing future labor policies amid technological changes and to cooperate with the international community," said Hong Sung-ho, Director of the Labor Bureau at Gyeonggi Province. "We hope this will be a forum where young people from around the world and labor, management, and government representatives come together to create new standards for decent work."
