Mediothek Afghanistan (Khost) organized a provincial youth dialogue forum in Khost province on 11.02.2021 in which more than 50 participants, both young men and women, representatives of local government departments, young peace makers, and leaders of youth groups, university and members of Mediothek Youth Network participated.
Speaking at the opening of the event, Mediothek Khost coordinator, Saifullah Hayat shed light on the objectives of the dialogue forum adding that dialogue is a method to gain deeper mutual understanding and insights on a topic (in this case peacebuilding and the role of youth in Afghanistan) showing the different perspectives of the participants and I hope that each and every one of you actively participate and express your perspectives openly.
“The dialogue fora organized by Mediothek Afghanistan in different regions make the peace process more powerful, inclusive and transparent and work for the development of a common strategy for young men and women’s participation in peace process that is supported by United Nations” added Saifullah Hayat.
The project is aiming to promote the involvement of young multipliers in matters of peacebuilding, political processes through exchanges with one another and with political decision-makers at local, provincial and nationals as well as training and capacity building and skills acquisition. In addition to the current provincial dialogue forum, two series of 20 dialogue forums in provincial capitals, workshop with facilitators in the Ministry of Peace and a nation conference “Afghan Youth for Peace” in Kabul will provide further chances for young peace makers to come together to discuss the results of the ToT, the previous workshops and dialogue forums held during 2020. The current dialogue forum in Kabul was organized in collaboration with the Deputy Ministry of Youth Affairs – the main governmental entity responsible for policy making on youth affairs and improving youth conditions across the country.
Mohammad Afzal Afzali, head of the provincial department of the Deputy Ministry of Youth Affairs, admired Mediothek Afghanistan in Khost for organizing the dialogue forum in the province for such a large number of young participants, both men and women, and pledged the his department will work closely with Mediothek Afghanistan to advance youth position and promote their participation in political processes and the peace process.
Author and peace and conflict resolution trainer-educator, Spin Rawan Noorzai lectured participants about peacebuilding, the challenges of peacebuilding, role of youth in sustainable peace, and the ongoing peace talks. Participants had the chance to ask questions and engage in lively and open discussions in the first half part of the one-day dialogue forum.
Mr. Noorzai added that the most important aspect of sustainable peace is mutual acceptance and, in some cases, avoidance, however the role of young people cannot be ignored especially here in Afghanistan given that a large percentage of the population is young. Noorzai also discussed the issue of youth bulge in the country calling for more investment in youth and realizing Afghanistan’s demographic dividend and it will not be possible without including the youth.
The “Youth as Multipliers for Peace – Mobilization For and Participation in the Peace Process in Afghan Provinces” project began in 2020 with an advanced ToT workshop in Kabul followed by two rounds of local or district level workshops and discussion fora in 2020 across a dozen provinces aiming to develop common views and perspectives of young people on a peaceful future and collecting views about strengthening the peace process by directing engaging with more than several hundred young leaders across the target provinces. The current provincial dialogue forms are organized across 10 provinces throughout the country. The project will proceed with a workshop of facilitators with the State Ministry for Peace in Kabul, a national conference on “Youth and Peace” in Kabul with the participation of youth representatives from across ten target provinces, workshops and dialogue forums in a dozen provinces during this year and presentation of youth perspectives on the peace process to the Afghan government, UNAMA, EU representation and the German Embassy in Kabul in writing and through meetings and forums.
Under the supervision of the moderator, in the second part of the dialogue form-Khost, participants continued working through different working groups to discuss and analyze the challenges, opportunities and solutions that are available to youth. Each working group presented the results of their group work and a resolution was developed for further discussion and analysis. Participants also answered a questionnaire about peacebuilding, youth role in peacebuilding and challenges ahead.
