Special 
bulletin
Educating Cities Award
on Good Practices on Living 
Together in Cities
Globalization and urban growth bring with Through this award, the IAEC seeks to grow at developing empathy and acquiring social 
them the challenge of ensuring equitable appreciation for and give international conscience. Furthermore, the jury concluded 
access to basic services and responding to recognition to the work carried out by the that creating spaces that promote cross-
growing inequalities. UN-Habitat has warned cities in the Association while inspiring other cultural and cross-generational dialogue, 
that if this growth is not accompanied cities to build more educating, inclusive and that foster the exchange of knowledge, as 
by proper urban planning it could lead to cohesive environments where people of well as the setting up of joint projects and 
social and spatial segregation, contribute different ages, cultures and creeds can live conflict management from the perspective 
to rootlessness and individualism, thus together in harmony. of respect for the values of cultural diversity, 
dehumanizing cities and negatively impacting mutual understanding and peace, surely 
their governance. In order to counter these An international jury, made up of academics, favors coexistence. Opening the schools to 
effects and foster social bonds, the need representatives of the IAEC Executive their environment and turning communities 
to make the citizenry co-participants in Committee and United Cities and Local into open classrooms allows the members 
defining development strategies and the Governments (UCLG),  studied the 57 of those communities to forge bonds of 
design, implementation and evaluation of candidacies from 45 cities, from 11 countries complicity for that holistic lifelong education 
urban transformation activities, is becoming in 3 continents. The diversity and richness that the Educating City seeks.
increasingly important. of the experiences analyzed highlights the 
educating potential of cities as active agents of We s incere ly  congratu late  to  Espoo, 
Indeed, the Educating Cities Award on social transformation. After a rigorous work of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat and Saha-gu, the 
Good Practices on Living Together in Cities analysis of the initiatives received and a debate winning cities of the 2016 Award, along with 
responds to the wish of the International rich in nuances, 3 winning good practices were our thanks to all the cities that participated!
Association of Educating Cities to highlight chosen for this First edition of the Educating 
planning, management and intervention Cities’ Award for their contribution to better 
models that can contribute to the elimination living together in the city. The Secretariat of the IAEC
of physical, social and communication c/ Avinyó 15, 4th
barriers, reduce urban conflicts and avoid The jury underscored the importance of 08002 Barcelona (Spain)
segregation, by fostering the creation of new education for active citizenship, through Ph. + 34 93 342 77 20
social bonds and a sense of belonging to the firm pedagogical and awareness actions Fax. +34 93 342 77 29
city, a city that requires the contribution of aimed at learning to get involved in one’s E-mail: bidce@bcn.cat
each and every citizen. environment and to better living together, 
Espoo (Finland) L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Spain) Saha-gu (Republic of Korea)
Espoo 
Opinmäki Learning Centre
Espoo, located in the metropolitan area activities organized by different institutions, 
of Helsinki, has a population of 280,000 clubs and associations. 
inhabitants, and is the second most 
populated city in Finland and the one with Moreover, it hosts the Active Learning Centre 
the highest growth rate. Thus, it is expected (AKKU, acronym in Finnish), which includes the 
to grow by 24% over the next 15 years. services of a modern library open every day 
Home to international companies and high from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm,  pioneer in offering 
tech businesses, Espoo is one of the largest self-service book loans, and a Makerspace, 
innovation hub in northern Europe. where users of all ages can experiment, share 
and learn new things, ranging from 3-D 
In 2005, the City Council of Espoo put forward printing to sewing. 
the idea of creating the Opinmäki Learning 
Centre in the Suurpelto district, a newly built Thus, the classrooms, which in the mornings 
residential area, making it a new pole of are used for school children and teenagers in 
attraction in the city. the afternoon are used by the adult education 
center and different cultural entities and 
Opinmäki is a municipal facility designed to organizations, while the hall, auditorium 
operate as a formal education center and also and restaurant are used for lectures and 
as a venue for educative and cultural activities seminars as well as theatre, dance and musical 
and services for all the citizenry.  A meeting performances. 
place which has been designed and planed with 
the active participation of the inhabitants. This facility, opened in 2015, is doing an 
important work in the creation of community 
For this purpose, a Users Group was created, feeling and the generation of social bonds 
made up of neighbors and representatives of amongst the inhabitants of this new residential 
different cultural and educational institutions area. It is a place that fosters dialogue, 
and services in the city, which put forward stimulates participation and provides new 
suggestions on the shared use of the facilities experiences to people of different ages and 
and its main operating principles, which were cultures. 
incorporated into its design. 
In addition to being at the heart of the 
Opinmäki was thus built as a cluster of open Suurpelto district, this education and cultural 
center has been consolidated as a reference 
Concrete, wood and brick were the main point for the entire city. Proof of this is the fact 
materials used in its construction. The scope that the Active Learning Centre has become 
and simplification of the spaces foster an in just a few months one of the most used 
open learning environment and encourage libraries in Espoo.
the interaction of people of different ages and 
cultures.  
Amongst the services that are provided we 
Espoo International School with its curricula 
in English, a sports facility, an adult education 
center, as well as a wide variety of cultural 
Municipal facility designed 
 
with the active participation Presented by: City Council of Espoo, 
of the citizenry that provides Education and Cultural Services
Contact: Ms. Annika Forstén 
a wide range of educative e-mail:  
activities and opportunities 
for people from 0 to 100 
years old. 
02 Educating Cities
L’Hospitalet de Llobregat 
Boosting Learning-Service as a tool More than 2,000 students 
participate in Learning-
of living together, social cohesion and 
Service  act iv it ies  for 
participation approximately 70 entities 
in the city.
With a population of more than 260,000 Learning-Service Development Centre of 
living in just 12.4Km2, L’Hospitalet de Catalonia, the regional government and the 
Llobregat is the second most populated City Council. 
city in Catalonia. It borders on Barcelona 
and is characterized by being a city that At the same time a municipal team of experts 
has welcomed large numbers of immigrants. was put in charge of monitoring the projects 
19% of its population is of foreign origin, and offering training and guidance to teachers, 
mainly from North Africa, Latin America and educators and social activists who wish to 
Asia. The immigrant population is unevenly promote this methodology in their schools and 
distributed and exceeds 35% in some associations. This team is also in charge of 
neighborhoods. The unemployment rate is building bridges between schools and entities 
16.5% and gross family income is 18% lower willing to welcome students in their social and 
that the Catalan average. educational activities.
In 2007,  L’Hospitalet de Llobregat decided Every year new schools and social entities 
to focus on the improvement of education as join the Learning-Service projects in the city. 
a city strategy. Thus, the City Council set a Nowadays, more than 100 stable projects 
number of targets, including enhancing success have been inventoried which involve more 
at school, preventing early school dropout, than 2,000 students from 44 primary and 
secondary schools. These students contribute 
fostering inclusion of immigrant students in the to meet the needs of different groups of 
schools and the city, opening the schools to approximately 70 social and educative entities. 
the community by creating broad educational 
networks, and bringing young people more The Learning-Service activities range from 
in touch with their immediate environment offering services in elderly residences (motor 
in order for them to feel proud of it and get skills exercises, memory games, musical 
involved in its transformation. recitals, etc.), to supporting reading-writing 
learning or digital literacy for adults, welcoming 
Thus, the City Council decided to adopt the and integrating new students into the schools, 
Learning-Service methodology and to extend story-telling in libraries for children, care 
it to all schools, high schools and leisure time and embellishment of the school and its 
educational centers in the city, as part of a environment, organization of bicycle tours for 
global urban strategy with the political support the disabled, or even contributing to solidarity 
of the entire Council and the involvement campaigns, etc. These activities that bring 
of different departments of the municipal together people of different ages and cultures, 
government. become a clear example of fostering cross-
generational and cross-cultural relationships, 
The Learning-Service (ApS, original acronym) social cohesion, values education and the 
is a pedagogical methodology that combines, creation of bonds with the neighborhood.
in one concrete action, the learning of a 
determinate part of the educational curriculum This is an innovative form of learning that 
pedagogically renews the curriculum and which 
community. The students learn contents and has managed to cut down truancy and improve 
values and acquire skills by developing their living together in the schools. Proof of this is 
social commitment to more vulnerable groups 
in their environment, by exercising at an early from 52 interventions in the 2009/2010 
age their right to being active citizens engaged school year to only 5 last year. This tool, 
in the transformation of society. besides raising the image that the community 
has of both school and the youths, generates 
In order to drive forward the Learning-Service the emergence of collaborative networks and 
initiatives in the city, a permanent working strengthens the local associations. Presented by: City Council of L’Hospitalet, 
group was created that meets quarterly in Department of Education
order to coordinate, promote and evaluate Contact: Mr. Lluís Esteve Garnés 
the proposals. It is made up of 10 persons e-mail:  
representing teachers, social partners, the regidoria.educacio@l-h.cat
03 Educating Cities
Saha-Gu 
Gamcheon Cultural Village
Saha-gu has 375,000 inhabitants and of the elderly with low incomes, as well as 
is part of the greater metropolitan area renovating abandoned houses in order to give 
of Busan, Republic of Korea. The history them a new community use: museums, art 
of the Gamcheon Village, located on a galleries, etc. Thus, for example, an old public 
city slope, goes back to the 1950s when house has become a community center where 
thousands of refugees from the Korean various cultural and educational activities are 
War from all over the country began living organized.  
there, making it a large area of hurriedly 
built houses piled on top of each other on At the same time, the opening of village 
the hillside. Its streets form a labyrinth businesses is stimulated: shops, cafés 
and the pastel colors of its houses give the restaurants, galleries, crafts workshops, 
village a picturesque look. hotels, etc. Commercial  activit ies are 
creating jobs and generating income for the 
With the rise of industrialization, Gamcheon residents, part of which goes back into the 
reached almost 30,000 inhabitants, but community in different ways: distribution of 
afterward most of its population moved to food, organization of festivals and events, 
other cities, and the population fell to 8,000. reparation of houses, etc. 
This is an aging population, made up 24% 
of people over 65. Many of the houses were In order to enhance the residents’ capacity 
abandoned, which together with the lack of and self-management, they are offered 
basic infrastructure (running water, sewer courses in several areas, such as, for 
system, etc.), gave it a rundown look, in example, the management of business and 
danger of disappearing over the time. sales techniques or the creation of craft 
workshops for the local craftspeople, etc. 
In 2010, the local Government of Saha-gu, in Furthermore, volunteers are trained to give 
collaboration with urban planners, artists and guided tours of the village and stimulate the 
the residents, had the idea of regenerating curiosity and creativity of children in this 
the area and attracting tourism, opting for a unique area through the “Growing through 
sustainable development that would respect Art” initiative.
its unique character and artistic value. 
Moreover, sculptures and murals by artists 
In order to carry out this urban renewal and residents in the narrow streets of the 
process, a Residents’ Council was set up to village embellish it and surprise visitors.
promote the quality of life in the village and 
find solutions to the problems that arise. The numerous color tones of the homes, 
Organized into different working groups, the the more than 40 works of art exhibited 
residents are involved in areas such as house in the village, the craft shops, the art 
repairs, opening local businesses, promoting galleries and cafés, together with the 
the village, care and cleaning of the streets, programming of different cultural festivals 
etc. and the participation of the residents in the 
revitalization, care and promotion of the 
On the one hand, a major effort is being village, give it a unique appeal. 
made at renovations in order to improve the 
infrastructures (retaining walls, running water In 2015, Gamcheon was visited by more than 
and sewage system, street paving, parking 140,000 people, changing it from a poor 
areas, etc.). On the other hand, artists and marginalized area into a cultural, dynamic 
residents have begun repairing the homes village full of life.
Local government, town 
p lanners,  ar t ists  and Presented by: The local government of Saha-gu,
Division of Lifelong Learning
residents collaborate on Contact: Mr. Jeoung Seoungkoy
the cultural regeneration e-mail: jskoy@korea.kr  
of a marginalized area, 
transforming it into an 
active village full of life.
04 Educating Cities D.L.: B-31.664-2007 / ISSN: 1887-9640