The Turkic Council and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Youth Dialogue Exchange was held on 11 December 2017 in Istanbul.
Based on the decision taken by the Secretary General of the Turkic Council, Amb. Ramil Hasanov, and the High Representative of the UNAOC, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, at the bilateral meeting held in New York in September 2017, the youth affiliated to both organizations came together to exchange views and experiences on the projects and activities they are conducting, as well as to discuss issues relating to youth empowerment.
Representatives from nine leading Youth Solidarity Fund-recipient youth organizations from across the world, as well as non-governmental youth organizations from Turkey attended the meeting. The representatives of the Student Council of the Turkic University Union were also present at the meeting.
At the opening, the Deputy Secretary General of the Turkic Council, Dr. Ömer Kocaman, underlined the importance of youth for the Turkic Council and provided information on the projects and activities conducted under the roof of the Council. He also informed the participants about the projects that will be put in action in 2018. UNAOC Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF) Project Director, Vanessa Suen, extended information on the YSF initiative, which supports youth-led organizations that foster peaceful and inclusive societies by providing direct funding to projects promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue since 2008.
The youth from both sides presented their projects and involved in a lively debate on the current problems of youth in the world, potential ways of addressing their expectations, and mechanisms to engage the youth in their respective societies and decision-making processes, among others. In commemoration of the Second Anniversary of the historic UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on “Youth, Peace and Security”, they also discussed what role the youth may take in peace processes and prevention of violent extremism, as well as the how the international community can best support the youth so that they can become more involved in peace processes and prevention of violent extremism.
The youth agreed to start working to develop a joint project to raise awareness on youth empowerment and invite one another to join their activities.
Project Director Ali Çiviler accompanied the Deputy Secretary General at the meeting.
