Ashgabat, 20 october 2020: A joint project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Turkmenistan and Youth organization named after Magtymguly, funded by the Japanese government, organized a three-day online youth seminar “Peace, Security, Youth”.

The seminar was attended by more than 30 young people from five regions of the country and Ashgabat city. The aim of the seminar is to build a dialogue between young people from pilot cities on peace and security issues, as well as to discuss the needs, challenges, priorities in the life of young people and proposals for their solution.

“Young people are the driving force behind progress and development in any country. The participation and voice of youth is very important to UNDP. We are proud that through the joint project we created a platform where young people openly discuss and find solutions to the persisting problems which they face,” noted Rovshen Nurmuhamedov, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative.

During the workshop, participants discussed the concept of peace and security, as well as the role of youth in building peace. The issues of gender equality and emotional intelligence were also raised.

The project staff shared their experience in working with youth on employment issues, existing challenges and solutions. The participants also worked in groups and discussed the success stories of the recipients of grant support from the project.

“It is very important for young people to have a positive role model. As part of our project, we provide advisory support to young people who find themselves in difficult life situations. We are working on their emotional state, helping to create social networks that create job opportunities for them. Our experience shows that it is the provision of emotional support to young people, together with the development of professional skills, that give the best results, ”says Ogulnur Hommaliyeva, national consultant on youth development .

On the last day of the online training, young people practiced in writing and improving resumes, the art of photography, psychology, managing feelings, and building a personal brand.

The seminar was prepared with support of the volunteers, employees of the Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy, representatives of the Google Developer Group, Prep4Success program, young activists, as well as UNDP project staff.