From 18th to 24th August, Choson Exchange held the August instalment of our startup and economic policy workshop series in Pyongyang, North Korea. While we have focused on startup skills and legal frameworks in recent months, the themes of our workshop in August revolved around organisational design, healthcare and the circular economy. The number of participants in our workshops have also seen a gradual increase, with 80 North Koreans participating in the August workshop.
In the August instalment of our workshop series, we were privileged to have a team of business and academic leaders share their experiences and expertise. Workshop leaders have always come from a variety of professions and levels of seniority; many of the August Workshop Leaders were young, with the exception of distinguished professor Riccardo Leoni from the Department of Management, Economics and Quantitative Methods at the University of Bergamo , who providedthe 80 enthusiastic North Korean participants with invaluable insights in organisational design
A census conducted by one of our partners indicated that many of the participants in the August workshop were local policymakers. Participants were more appreciative of themes with a more “macro” focus such as healthcare and circular economy. In general, the participants were highly engaged in lectures and discussions with our workshop leaders; group discussions during breakout sessions were highly enthusiastic, and everyone benefited from the mutual exchange of information and ideas.
As part of Choson Exchange’s aim to provide an immersive local experience for our workshop leaders, the workshop leaders of the August workshop also embarked on a curated tour of Pyongyang. The tour entailed visits to industrial facilities, local home visits, interactions with local students amidst other activities; our workshop leaders were given many exclusive opportunities to gain deeper insights into many aspects of North Korean economy, society and industry.