FEALAC

Workshops / Seminars, Networks

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea is pleased to propose the "FEALAC Youth Language & Culture Exchange Program (LCEP)" as a FEALAC regional cooperative project for the year 2023. This initiative, in collaboration with the FEALAC Cyber Secretariat, aims to foster stronger links and solidarity between all member countries by promoting public and cultural diplomacy, as well as people-to-people exchanges. The primary objective of this program is to enhance cultural understanding among the youth of FEALAC member countries in East Asia and Latin America.

To ensure the success of this endeavor, FEALAC Regional Projects require the involvement of at least one country from each region. Therefore, we kindly request each FEALAC member country to recommend one to two university students who can participate in the program.

The youth participants will have the opportunity to engage in immersive cultural experiences, interact with their counterparts from different countries, and develop a broader perspective of the FEALAC community. Through activities such as language learning, and cultural workshops, the project aims to facilitate meaningful connections and lasting friendships among the youth of East Asia and Latin America.

Within the scope of the project, youth participants are provided with opportunities to engage in various cultural experiences, interact with counterparts from different countries, and develop a broader knowledge of the FEALAC community. Implemented on online platforms, the LCEP project enables participants to exchange lectures and conduct interactive sessions, fostering cultural knowledge accumulation and mutual understanding. Activities encompass presentations, discussions, virtual tours, and interactive workshops, allowing participants to ask questions, share personal experiences, and learn from each other's cultures and languages.
Youth participants are grouped into teams based on their preferred languages, enabling them to learn from counterparts in the other region. Participants dedicate at least six hours in total over four weeks to the program, utilizing online platforms such as Zoom, WhatsApp, and Google Meet, among others. The activity plan for youth participants is recommended to include a variety of culture and language-related activities, such as classes titled 'Basic Korean,' 'How to Greet in Suriname,' 'Indonesian Heritage in Jakarta,' 'What We Eat in Argentina,' 'Intermediate Malay,' 'Advanced Spanish,' 'Chinese Greetings,' and 'Exploring Brunei Darussalam,' among others. Upon program completion, participants are required to submit a final report detailing their activities and on their thoughts of the program. A completion certificate is also offered to those who have participated in over 80% of the total program.
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Please refer to the attached 'Project Guidance'.


[Next Steps]
(a) The inception of the ‘FEALAC Youth Language & Culture Exchange Program (LCEP)’ marked the beginning of a FEALAC regional initiative. In proposing a FEALAC regional project, it is crucial that at least one country from each region takes on the role of coordinating country, following the FEALAC projects' methodology. In its inaugural year, the LCEP project demonstrated its potential impact by yielding substantial outcomes through the facilitation of cultural exchanges among the private sector and the next generation of FEALAC. However, only seven countries participated—five from East Asia and two from Latin America—with a total of 20 youths from East Asia and 4 from Latin America.
To enhance the implementation of the LCEP Program, designating one country from Latin America with the task of recommending youth delegates representing the region could facilitate more productive discussions with Korea, the coordinating country of East Asia. The reason for such designation is to promote a broader spectrum of cultural exchange between the two regions by strategically dividing responsibilities. Through this collaborative effort, it is expected to influence the scope and methodology of existing LCEP cultural exchanges.

(b) Furthermore, for the sustained success of the project, it is not only essential to have a coordinating country from Latin America but also to cultivate active interest from both regions. This concerted effort aims to strengthen mutual understanding between East Asia and Latin America, contributing to the enduring impact and effectiveness of the initiative.

(c) Along with the start of LCEP project, Korea will continually engage in cultivating national and regional projects and contributing to increasing the visibility of FEALAC in collaboration with the Cyber Secretariat. The ‘FEALAC Supporters Program’ marked its 5th year in 2023, and its application was expanded to foreign students from FEALAC member countries residing in Korea. Taking further steps, the ‘Young Voices of FEALAC: Ideas for a better Trade, Investment, Tourism, MSMEs (TITM) Connection’ was held in September, and by inviting FEALAC member countries, the LCEP Program was initiated in August.


Finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea and the FEALAC Cyber Secretariat hope that more national projects within FEALAC will be cultivated by all member countries. Furthermore, countries could identify commonalities and similar characteristics in each other’s projects, and develop them at a regional level to foster closer ties between East Asia and Latin America. This series of efforts will contribute to “aiming for dynamic cooperation and closer coordination among Working Groups to promote greater visibility of FEALAC” (Article 15, Santo Domingo Declaration, 2019).