Turkmen youth participate at Non-Violence Cup tournament

With the support of the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator UN Turkmenistan jointly with IDEA Central Asia the Non-Violence Cup tournament among Turkmen youth was convened on 15 January 2023. The event was held as part of the Spotlight Initiative Regional Programme for Central Asia and Afghanistan funded by the European Union and the annual global campaign devoted to the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence.

Thirty-two participants representing students and instructors from Turkmenistan and split into four “Government versus shadow Government” groups learnt from the demonstrative debate round from IDEA Central Asia, and then took part in a full round of debates. During the debate, which was held in the British Parliament format, the young participants learnt how to combat and prevent gender inequality, gender-based violence and other forms of violence, promote women’s participation and rights in all spheres of social life and hence, bring about positive transformational changes in the community.

It served as a platform to express insights, ideas and vision through the lens of young people to address gender related issues from a wide range of perspectives, as well as advocate for gender equality and the rights of women.

Based on the results of the competitive round and the previous online trainings, 8 finalists got the opportunity to take part in the regional INSTA -debates on 29 January 2023, where they will compete for the title of the best debaters on gender equality across Central Asia.