Seventeen, Unesco launch community learning centers in East Timor
Boy band Seventeen gives a speech at the 13th Unesco Youth Forum in Paris in November 2023. [PLEDIS ENTERTAINMENT]
Seventeen and Unesco opened two Community Learning Centres (CLC) in East Timor.
The two CLCs, located in Oecusse and Manatuto, were opened in April by the Korean National Commission for Unesco (KNCU) with the help of Seventeen and its #GoingTogether project.
The Community Learning Centres will give 300 underprivileged children each year a chance to receive literacy education, learn languages like Korean and English and acquire sewing and computer skills.
Seventeen kicked off the #GoingTogether campaign in August 2022 to raise awareness of the importance of education. The band donated parts of its world tour profits to fund education in Malawi.
Seventeen also stressed the importance of education in its speech given at the 13th Unesco Youth Forum, which took place in Paris, France, last year.
"Through the campaign, we seek to make young people, the ones who will be leading the future, aware of the importance of education," Joshua said. "The campaign also supports growth through educational opportunities.”
Seventeen released its first compilation album, “17 is Right Here,” on April 29. The album features four brand-new tracks followed by eight Korean versions of previous Japanese releases and 20 lead tracks of Seventeen.
The band is currently holding its “Follow Again” encore tour in Korea and Japan, which kicked off at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in April. Seventeen is set to perform at the Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka on Saturday and Sunday, followed by a finale concert at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on May 25 and 26.
BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]