By Honorary Reporter Katerina Lygkoni from Greece

Photos= Katerina Lygkoni

The KDI School, the GDNL affiliate in Korea, organized the live video seminar on March 16 to shed light on the latest evolution of COVID-19 in Korea and the world, the coronavirus' impact on the global economy and the best practices to contain it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought fear and disruption to the world, thus every input and knowledge exchange are valuable for all.

A leading Korean school on public policy, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) School, has responded to this challenge by organizing an online educational seminar series through the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN). Established in 2000 by the World Bank to design customized learning solutions for those working in development, the GDLN includes over 120 affiliates in about 80 countries with the objective of "using distance learning methods and connecting development decision makers to exchange knowledge globally." 

The KDI School, the GDNL affiliate in Korea, organized the live video seminar on March 16 to shed light on the latest evolution of COVID-19 in Korea and the world, the coronavirus' impact on the global economy and the best practices to contain it. Participation was free with  registration and the invited speakers were experts in the field.

People around the world participated from home or office through YouTube and asked questions in the chat room created especially for it. Korean education is aggressively utilizing technology, thus in these rough times of social isolation due to health and safety reasons, the seminar was a great assistant to knowledge sharing.

In the videoconference "Impact and Response to the Coronavirus," experts from Korea, Sri Lanka, Australia and Singapore shared their experiences in the measures to contain COVID-19 and its impact.

Sudath Samaraweera, an epidemiologist at Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health, talked about the division of his country into 26 health districts to which each is assigned an epidemiological expert for faster response and the early setup of testing centers. He also discussed misinformation spread via social media that creates panic, highlighting the importance of accurate news.

Jayant Menon, director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and former lead economist at the Asian Development Bank, spoke of the economic impact of COVID-19 in Asia including disruption in production, negative effect on GDP and the many scenarios due to the unpredictability of the situation.

Park Nam-gi, a professor at Gwangju National University of Education in Korea, presented his nation's social responses to the outbreak, stressing how systems can be created to share challenging experiences.

Meru Sheel, a research fellow at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health of Australian National University, spoke of COVID-19 Preparedness pillars in Pacific island countries and the importance of early community information and preparation.

Sapumal Dhanapala, regional office professional of the World Health Organization (WHO), presented his organization's strategy for mapping the outbreak and the dissemination of timely information.

Online attendees from all over the world said they found this initiative by the Korea Center for the GDLN useful and that they hope knowledge sharing on good practices for and policies toward the coronavirus fight will multiply from other countries.

Through knowledge sharing, this pandemic could turn into a "pan-success."

For more information on the GDLN in Korea, click www.gdln.or.kr.

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article was written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.