Youth & Development Summit | Kabul
Youth & Development Summit initiated & conducted by Afghanistan Economic and Legal Studies Organization(AELSO) with the cooperation of Bakhtar university and The White Assembly, on the occasion of International Youth Day for two days separately with participation of Afghan women and men at Kabul.
In this Summit, speakers spoke about youth’s role in economic, social and cultural development and emphasized that youth as the backbone of Afghanistan’s development, should have part in various governmental & private sectors, in order to have an active and remarkable contributions in decision-making, policy-making and implementation of major development projects.
Baheer Zaland; the Academic Vice Chancellor of Bakhtar UniversityBaheer Zaland, the Academic Vice Chancellor of Bakhtar University spoke about the role of universities in the development of society and said: “Universities are the base of academic institutions. A society is made up of five different elements which the most important one is; academic institutions. The academic institutions & universities are the places where future generation will be raised to build foundation of the society. Based on academic education, we can figure out different types of society’s problems and expand our vision.”
Muhammad Younus Rashid; Head of Deputy Ministry for youth AffairsMuhammad Younus Rashid, Head of Deputy Ministry for youth Affairs, talked about minstery’s programs at the summit and said: “We asked the customs, municipalities and the Ministry of Finance to allocate an amount of their income to fund youth. So, youth who are have ideas will receive loan from these funds to begin their entrepreneurial project & start-ups. Beside this, we planned a major economical & social program for youth which builds the base of “National Youth Network”. Also, we are about to provide online business trainings for educated women.”
Hanif Farzan; Chairman of AELSOHanif Farzan, Chairman of AELSO, spoke about role of this organization in developing ideas of prosperity and said: ” Afghanistan Economic and Legal Studies Organization(AELSO) is a non-political organization that had different activities by publishing books, conducting academic & economic seminars and played an important role in supporting youth technically & spiritually at last two decades. Today’s youth have vision, experience, commitment foresight that lead Afghanistan towards peace, development and prosperity. Now, youth’s internship season is over and work season starts. It is time to give more opportunities for youth to participate in governance, policy-making, and building the country.”
Abdul Qaher Beheshti; the General Programs Director of AELSOAbdul Qaher Beheshti, the General Programs Director of AELSO, spoke about economic & legal prospects of Afghanistan Economic and Legal Studies Organization(AELSO) and added: ” Entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation are vital elements of Afghanistan’s development and prosperity. Youth can submit their entrepreneurial projects & new initiatives through specific mechanisms that AELSO prepared. So, we could provide them the implementation surface by bringing support of national merchants and partner universities.”
Roya Hafezi; Head of Afghanistan’s Women Chamber of CommerceRoya Hafezi, Head of Afghanistan’s Women Chamber of Commerce, spoke the role of youth in development & entrepreneurship and pointed out: “During the past two decades, the majority of youth have been active in entrepreneurship sectors and have created many economic activities. Today, the majority of youth started from zero to run their own business & career and continued to do their activities, successfully. As head of Women’s Chambers of Commerce, I announce my full supports from all youth’s business ideas, especially women.”
Dr. Khaybar Kheshki; university professorDr. Khaybar Kheshki, university professor, talked about youth’s role in development of Afghanistan and said: ” One of the biggest achievements of last 20 years, is creating intellectual mentality that youth have it. I personally thank AELSO for conducting such initiative that is carrying important message of; clear mentality, intellectual freedom and education. The three main pillars of development are; youth, economy and education. We should always act based on truth & logic and never be emotional, this is a road map so that the youth who rely on it can reach their goals. Youth worked in the governmental of private sectors for the past 20 years. Now, it is necessary to give them the opportunity to use their talent for the prosperity of Afghanistan. There are a few basic points that, in my opinion, build the foundation of development: 1. Elitism 2.Professionalism 3. Purposefulness 4. Youthism ”
Madina Morwat; Journalist of TOLOnewsMadina Morwat, Journalist of TOLOnews, expressed her view about role of youth in cultural development and said: ” During last 20 years, youth had achievements in various fields such as; sports, education, and freedom of speech & expression. Nowadays, Afghanistan is witnessing brave women who accepted many challenges in all sectors, especially the media, despite the limitations and continued their activities. Today’s youth will write history of future. They proved their commitment & determination by staying at country in this difficult situation.”
Abdul Hasib Rahimi; young entrepreneur of the countryAbdul Hasib Rahimi, young entrepreneur of the country, talked about how to implement entrepreneurial ideas and said: “To start a small business, you need to take the following steps first:
- Do a general research & analysis about the business idea that you have
- Consider the problems and needs of the market
- Measure the needs of the market economy
- How will your business find a place in the market?
- In the current situation, the best solution is to create a job for yourself so that you can improve it later
- Always be risk taker and responsible”
Najia Sroosh, young Afghan entrepreneur and owner of Sada-e-Banowan Radio Station, talked about role of local media in economic development of Afghanistan and emphasized: ” Main responsibilities of media is to inform, enlighten, increase the level of people’s awareness and to develop the society. Joint/Mass media produced many different educational, news and entertainment programs so far, but it should also work for achieving the basic goal of society, which is human development.”
Hemat Khawani; Head of Journalism Faculty at Bakhtar universityHemat Khawani, Head of Journalism Faculty at Bakhtar university, talked about role of young journalists and investigative journalism in cultural development and added: ” Developing countries were subjected to cultural invasion due to the experience of war and colonialism, which has affected all aspects of their lives. We should consider a few below points for the media & cultural development in the country:
- Media should have the freedom to release & publish different news
- Subcultures should be supported
- The process of information should not be one-sided which this issue will be prevented by the freedom of the media
- The political system should have a clear vision and framework for supporting the media”
In this Summit, different from our other conducted programs, we provided enough opportunities for youth to present their views on stage. In this part of the program, Afghan women & men shared their ideas about the role of youth in the economic, social and cultural development of the country.
Sakina Nazari; participant of Youth & Development SummitSakina Nazari, participant of Youth & Development Summit, said: “Youth Day should be celebrated on that day which youth could be able to bring a change on themselves. Youth Day is a blessed time for youth to rethink once again about themselves and decide to work, enhance their capacity and to transfer future generation this important message that escaping is not the solution. A wise youth is the one who stays in this difficult situation and works hard to bring a change to the society rather than escaping to foreign countries and ignoring the responsibilities that they have towards their homeland.”
Sarajuddin Noori; another participant of Youth & Development SummitSarajuddin Noori, another participant of Youth & Development Summit, said: ” Youth needs to realize their vital & basic responsibility from citizenship & religious view in the society. In my opinion, the main responsibilities of youth in society are: honesty, commitment, persistence, motivation and time management. By observing these points, youth can lead not only themselves but also the society towards prosperity and development.”
The Youth & Development Summit has ended by appreciating inspiring young leaders who had remarkable activities for motivating youth and having part in economic, social and cultural development of the country during last one year.
Publications & Public Relations Department