23 feb 2011
Regional meeting on youth program development
In the framework of the project “Mainstreaming Youth Policies Against Radicalism” PO ASTI held a “Regional Meeting on Youth Programme Development”. The project is funded by the European Union, under the "European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights" (EIDHR).
The aim of the meeting was to present the draft concept on the prevention of radicalism among youth in Tajikistan, which was developed by experts of a working group of the project.
- The participants of the meeting were:
- The head of the Regional Department of Education
- The representatives of the Youth, Sport and Tourism Department
- The representatives of the Office for Religious Affairs and religious associations of Sughd region and target districts
- The representatives of target districts’ local authorities
- The chairmen and representatives of target districts
- Media representatives - TV SM-1, TV Asia the newspaper “Omuzgor”.
The project coordinator, Tyuryaev J., made an introduction speech. He thanked all participants for taking part in the event and asked participants to introduce themselves.
Furthermore, the head of the representative office of «International Alert» in Tajikistan, Mark Fumagalli, briefly told about the activities of the international non-governmental organization «International Alert».
In his speech he noted that «International Alert» is a British organization, and its headquarter is situated in London. «International Alert» is an independent, non-governmental peacebuilding organization that works to lay the foundations for lasting peace and security in communities affected by violent conflicts. It seeks to identify and address the root causes of conflicts in different regions of the world. It cooperates with partner organizations in East Africa, West Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and the Caucasus. Its regional programs are supplemented by research in the sphere of business, humanitarian aid, development assistance, security and gender balance in peace-building and lobbying of policy change and its practical use in government and international organizations.
Rabiev N., the chief accountant of the public organization Association of Scientific and Technical Intelligentsia of Tajikistan (PO ASTI), briefly told about the activities of the organization. In particular, he noted that one of the goals of ASTI’s work is to contribute to poverty reduction, development and the implementation of educational programs, programs for community health, strengthening civil society, and contributing to the development of democratic reforms.
During the meeting, Rakhmonov T., ASTI project officer, spoke about the project objectives and activities. He noted that the project aims to reduce the spread of radicalism among young people in Asht and B. Gafurov districts of Sughd region. «International Alert», in partnership with the Association of Scientific and Technical Intelligentsia (ASTI) and the Public Committee for the development of Tajikistan, would support the development of a pilot youth program on radicalism prevention among young people through implementation of a number of youth activities in six communities.
Mullojanov P., expert of the working group, presented a draft concept on youth and radicalism. As Parviz Mulladzhanov noted, the draft concept was developed last year by a team comprising representatives of official agencies, civil society, academics and experts on religious issues. The concept also took into consideration the opinion of representatives of Tajik youth.
Furthermore, participants discussed key issues of a draft concept, which is related to the specific problems faced by youth in Sughd regarding religious influence and religious ideas.
Based on the concept discussions, participants selected areas of intervention in order to test the proposed policy in six pilot communities. These areas included civil, religious education, cultural events and media campaigns.
In addition, participants agreed that the concrete indicators that would be the program impact on the vulnerability of young people to the radical influences.
As the Head of Regional Department of Education of Sughd region, Jalolov S. J. noted, the implementation of this project was timely and very relevant in the country. At first glance the emergence of radicalism in Tajikistan looks surprising, and perhaps paradoxical. In many areas of the society, it is impossible to achieve the desired purity because of its extraordinary diversity.
Giyasov N. I., another expert of the working group, said that the project was timely and relevant, especially after the latest events that occurred in the Arab countries. And it is difficult to imagine what might occur in different regions, including Central Asia. The mechanism needs to be detailed. If the purpose of the proposal is to enter it into the law, then it is necessary to develop mechanisms that will help achieve the goals. It is necessary to conduct more detailed studies on radicalism issues in the regions. The programs, in which Giyasov participated, were generally devoted to religious issues. He said that after studying the problem areas they need to develop a radicalism prevention program.
In March, within the project framework 2 meetings will be held in two target districts of Sughd region on the development of youth programs.
