Article

UNESCO strengthens youth development and engagement in Uzbekistan

UN Youth Advisory Board and Uzbek Youth Parliament delegates teamed up on 24-25 January in Tashkent to learn about youth civic engagement and to develop a set of recommendations to address youth issues in Uzbekistan.

A youth group is seen holding their diplomas after having participated on a two-day training programme, based on UNESCO’s tools on youth engagement in Tashkent

March 11, 2022

Last update: March 14, 2022

The two-day training programme, based on UNESCO’s tools on youth engagement, developed by the Social and Human Sciences Sector, was delivered by international UNESCO youth trainers as a contribution to the Youth Task Force Workplan of Uzbekistan’s United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). The tools are unique in the UN system, allowing youth-related stakeholders to exchange on targeted policy, research or programming action plans, thus leading to relevant, endogenous and sustainable solutions.

Sharing their ideas and experiences, participants designed actionable policy solutions to foster young people’s active citizenship while considering the diverse experiences and needs of different youth groups, particularly those with fewer economical, geographical and physical opportunities. The young change-makers took ownership of the discussions, creating an atmosphere of reflection, critical thinking and active debate.

“A training is usually in the form of reporting and receiving information. [UNESCO] trainers convey their practice in a more teachable way.” “I recommend conducting such trainings, not only in cities but in remote regions”

Young training participants

After two intense and inspiring days, the young participants indicated they had “received new information on problems and opportunities for youth” that they had not paid attention to before, with others suggesting they would become “more active in the process of policymaking”.

On 26 January, UNESCO’s staff in Tashkent also participated in a training and capacity-building workshop on how to engage with young people. The training was based on UNESCO’s tool on meaningful youth engagement, upscaled as a UN capacity-building tool, helping policy and programme officials to partner with young change-makers. So far, more than 350 UNESCO staff have been trained worldwide.

Contacts

Murodjon Khalikov, UNESCO Office in Tashkent, m.khalikov@unesco.org
Maria Kypriotou, Youth Section, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO, m.kypriotou@unesco.org

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Youth engagement in Uzbekistan