The determination to organize a forum that would contribute to the personal development of the future of the youth, promote socialization among the youngsters sharing the same history, culture and language and prepare a future generation of leaders with an increased sense of awareness towards the social problems is based on the 6th Summit of the Turkic Council, which was dedicated to the cooperation in the field of youth and sports. In this respect, the decision to organize the "Turkic Council Young Leaders Forum" was taken during the Second Meeting of Ministers in charge of Youth and Sports of the Turkic Council held on 13 May 2017 in Baku.
The forum started with the commemoration ceremony of the National Leader of the Republic of Azerbaijan Haydar Aliyev. The participants of the forum laid flowers to the monument built in his honor and visited the museum depicting the life of the great leader.
The forum continued with the opening ceremony. Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Vasif Talibov, Minister of Youth and Sport of the Republic of Azerbaijan Azad Rahimov, Deputy Secretary General of the Turkic Council Dr. Ömer Kocaman, President of Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva, Deputy Secretary General of TURKPA Ali Yıldız made opening remarks on the activities carried out in the field of youth and sports, national youth policies, priority areas in the field of youth, global tendencies among youth, situation of the youth in the Turkic world and youth and sports cooperation from the perspective of international cooperation. Minister of Youth and Sport of Nakhchivan Autonomous Region Azad Jabbarov, Consul General of the Republic of Turkey to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Emin Kiraz and the representative from Turks Abroad and Related Communities of the Republic of Turkey Hüseyin Çardak were also present at the ceremony.
After the opening speeches, Chamber Orchestra of the Nakhchivan State Philarmonic entertained the participants with a colorful concert.
During the second half of the day and the next two days, around 50 representatives of the relevant governmental institutions, national youth councils and youth organizations from the Member States, as well as the members of the Student Council of the Turkic University Union engaged in interactive discussions of the four round-table sessions chaired by Deputy Secretary General Omer Kocaman. The sessions and the presentations on specific topics focused on the ways to strengthen youth cooperation under the Turkic Council, expectations of youth living in the Member States, suggestions regarding the current and future activities of the Turkic Council and their development perspectives.
One of the primary topics discussed at the round-table sessions was devoted to the operationalization and subsequent implementation of the "Youth Platform" established under the Turkic Council with the aim of strengthening the relationship among the youth institutions such as non-governmental youth organizations and National Youth Councils of the Member States. The platform is expected to increase the cooperation and coordination among the youth of the Member States with various projects and activities by bringing them under one roof, and gaining them a unified representative capacity towards the world.
In the framework of the program, participants also had the opportunity to take excursions to the Nakhchivan city and visit cultural-historical places of Nakhchivan such as the State Flag Museum, Historical-Architectural Complex "Khan Palace" and Duzdag Physiotherapy Center.
At the end of the program, the participants of the Young Leaders Forum had a friendly football match with the representatives of the Nakhchivan youth.
Project Director Ali Çiviler and Research Assistant Dastan Almen accompanied the Deputy Secretary General during the Forum.
