Shinhan Financial Group launched the ninth fellowship for youth with disabilities, who will be dispatched to six continents to gain a global experience and vision, at a ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.

Dubbed “Global Challenges of Youth with Disabilities,” the annual program kicked off with a launching ceremony at the Press Center in central Seoul.

Besides young participants, officials of Shinhan Financial Group and the Korean Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities attended the ceremony as organizers, in support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Group chairman Han Dong-woo presented the youth fellowship with 380 million won ($338,000) during this year’s ceremony. Shinhan Financial Group has financially patronized the event since 2005, funding about 2.5 billion won to dispatch some 570 disabled young people over nine years.

The event is the country’s only overseas training program for youth with disabilities, who generally have had limited opportunities to develop global leadership, the group stated.

“The dream team of youth with disabilities and the challenges they undergo will be a great encouragement to our troubled society,” the chairman said, vowing “active support for the beautiful challenges lain before the young men and women with disabilities.”

Thirty-three young participants, mostly from Korea and some from Asia-Pacific countries, and 32 assistants will meet local experts on welfare and legal policies for the disabled in six continents, the group said. The 65 participants are divided into six groups.

Team Africa focuses on the mission of “elevation of social perception about people with disabilities.” The members will climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which will be later compiled into a documentary film and online cartoons, to invoke social awareness of disabilities.

Team South America will visit Bolivia to discuss how to combat poverty among the disabled through international cooperation. Exchanging welfare movements and policies is also part of the team’s assignment, in addition to visits to Bolivian welfare organizations for the disabled.

Team Europe will explore “social movements of people with disabilities and their political participation” in a visit to Germany. The team is scheduled to meet with German policymakers and learn the history and current conditions of the political participation of Germans with disabilities.

Two teams are sent to the United States of America to study and hold in-depth interviews on the U.S. special education system for language-impaired people. They will also look into U.S. criminal law related to disabilities, as well as how to adapt advanced U.S. public education for people with disabilities to Korea.

Team Korea consists of 10 international participants from 10 Asia-Pacific countries, including Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia. The team will visit Korean nonprofit organizations and government agencies involved in the welfare of the disabled.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)