Welcome to BASE21

By Kim Ae-hwa
Secretary General, Labor Human Rights

1. Background:
Since we started a campaign for supporting migrant workers 10 years ago, various programs have been developed for them. In the educational field, programs have been conducted in a nearby consultation office, a school or religious organisation. The training programs range from Hangul alphabet and computer skills for a beginner, to history and specific labor law. A history program is necessary for migrant workers to understand Korean culture and to be able to manage themselves to Korean society. A labor law program is designed for migrant workers so that they can adapt to the workplace.
At the same time, community activities, which include migrant workers' independent meetings, are prominent. There are some communities in which leaders and members are rich in experience in a social movement and other community support groups within their country's democracy movement. With the progress of migrant worker movements we've seen migrant workers and community leaders participate in a social movement with enthusiasm and try to map out their direction. We've also found migrant workers who carry out activities in their community and ask for leadership training. What's more, there have been many migrant workers who show their desire to work for a NGO in their country after returning home.
Therefore, they have become interested in social democratic movements and NGO activities in Korea. And yet, because this kind of interest was personal and intermittent, it was limited to whenever there was a special issue related to migrant workers. To comply with these demands, we became aware of the need for basic political education of migrant workers. This training program was the first try to implement political education, needed to train community leaders as activists.

2. Purpose of education
Asia NGO Information Centre was set up in the Protestant Episcopal Church College in 2000 to promote NGO research and activity in Asia. In this centre there are many progressive professors, who take part in social civic movements who willingly joined this education program. As did the Joint Committee for Migrant Workers in Korea (JCMK). The formal title of the leadership program for migrant workers, sponsored by the Asia NGO Information Centre, is 'Leadership Course in Asia Civic Society'.
As can be assumed from the title, this program focused on training migrant workers to qualify them for work as an activist in an NGO after going back to their country. It also provides them with political education, which is needed for cultivating an activist and it aims at positively training migrant workers in the migrant worker movement in Korea. The program will send a migrant worker, based on their Korean experience, to attend social activities and fighting for democracy after going back to their country.
Through this program we expect that they can enhance their understanding of the social-democracy movement in Korea and open their eyes with information on international migrant work and NGOs. Additionally, we wanted to encourage migrant workers in Korea to exchange their culture and news between communities and countries. 3. Curriculum
The education course was made up of 10 courses a week. Themes were largely divided into history of Korean movements, international solidarity and the migrant worker movement. History of Korean movements dealt with democracy and cultural movements in Korea. This course was intended to link the democracy movement in each country through Korean experience. In the migrant worker movement class, the cause of migrant works and a brief history of Korean migrant worker movements and migrant work in Asian countries were introduced. In this class students had time to learn about the demand of migrant work as a current issue.
International solidarity covered what an NGO is through studying cases of international NGO activities and focused on what individuals can do after returning to their country. We also introduced the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in a class to let students think over what they can do with Korean labor unions.
The course included a middle-term workshop and graduation ceremony. Owing to the short period of the course, I should admit that it ended up as a sample curriculum. There were three people in charge of the support groups and professors. I presided
over the working progress with help from the Asia NGO Information Centre.

4. Organisation and Progress
Only migrant workers who were active in migrant worker movements, interested in the social-democratic movement in Korea and who intend to participate in NGO activities after returning their country were allowed to apply.
Organisation was recommended by each support group under the Joint Committee for Migrant Workers in Korea (JCMK). In all, 26 people from the Philippines, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Indonesian participated in the program. The average number of participants was 15 people. To tell the truth, the percentage of attendance was higher than expected, considering
the long distance to travel to the training centre, tight schedules and cold weather.

The program was run between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. On Sundays, a one-hour computer course was also run after lunch. Most students who attended the computer class didn't have their own e-mail address. Yet, they were very interested in using computers, so we extended the class time in order for everyone to have their own e-mail address set up because they considered it vital to continue communicating with each other once the program was finished.
A middle term workshop was held in a nearby place for one day. Spending time together, we had a chance to introduce our countries, and ourselves follow rhythmic movement and play sports. Participants took part in the workshop voluntarily and positively, so they could promote friendly relations between each other.
I was sorry that the progress didn't go smoothly in the language and time aspect. From the beginning, our biggest concern was the language barrier.
There were students who could and couldn't communicate in English. Even students who could communicate in Korean were not familiar enough with the language to understand the lessons. Therefore, lessons were mainly given in slow English and sometimes summarised in Korean.
Despite every effort, I should admit that there was a limit of students' participating in the lessons. Another problem was trainees' tight schedules. Since all trainees were workers and participated in activities in their communities, they couldn't concentrate on the lessons, even on Saturday and Sunday. Besides, various campaigns related to the work permit system
occurred at the same time and sometimes students had to miss lessons. Along with the time problem, I want to point out the long distance travelled to class. Students live all over the metropolitan area and it took some of them over an hour to come and go to a lesson.

5. Plan on leadership training for migrant workers
A: We are planning to keep up (information) exchange through management of our homepage. We have to think over how to continue to communicate with each other. The evaluation on the training course is needed in detail. If possible, teachers should get together and review the training program by community.

B: After this program on leadership training for migrant workers is developed as an educational circuit, it will overcome its limitations. The centre will bring together educational themes which migrant workers ask for and develop a curriculum. We will then travel to any place where a demand exists, so that they can choose and apply for curriculums.

Personally, I hope that in the future, themes about feminism and human rights for minorities will be included in the curriculum. Because most migrant workers in Korea work in the manufacturing industry, the ratio of female workers is low and their community activity is also relatively weak. As a result, if something bad unexpectedly occurs for them, support groups and communities have no proper education program to offer them. Up to now our movement for migrant workers has focused on the labor movement. Yet, the movement for migrant worker needs is accessed from different points of view.
A human rights movement for minorities will be one. It says we need more consciousness in this area and about these people. We hope that an educational method will be created and developed which can conquer a language barrier and use an audio-visual education system.
The graduation ceremony is to be held on January 28th. On that day a workshop is scheduled to take place for prosperity of communities. Students, community leaders and people in charge of support groups are going to participate in this workshop in order to evaluate activities in communities and discuss problems to be solved. I hope many people attend the ceremony and congratulate our students who finish the course in spite of the difficult circumstances.

******
In Asia NGO Information Centre there will be an education program for activist sponsored by JCMK. We are planning to give computer lesson for beginner to migrant worker and activists who work for supporting migrant worker. Education for activist is not working education but cultural education, so to broaden understanding migrant workers around us. Various themes such as human rights for minority, religion and human rights and education on Asian countries with social-scientific access will be dealt with.