Press Release

Eco-initiatives of Bezmein youth for a sustainable future

13 September 2024

September 13, 2024, Bezmein, Turkmenistan - A Velayat Youth Conference on Climate Change was held in Turkmenistan ahead of the Conference of Youth (COY19) and the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The event was organized by the Government of Turkmenistan in cooperation with the UN Resident Coordinator’s office, the UN Development Programme, the Embassies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Great Britain and the United Arab Emirates in Turkmenistan. The conference was held at the Institute of Engineering, Technical and Transport Communications of Turkmenistan, where young people from all over Ahal velayat gathered to discuss environmental issues and explore opportunities for more active youth participation in addressing climate change.

The conference was attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan Gismet Fizuli oglu Gezalov, the British Ambassador Mr. Stephen Conlon, the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Mr. Dmitry Shlapachenko, young SDG Ambassadors, eco-activists, youth aged 17 to 35, as well as representatives of UNDP, embassies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Great Britain in Turkmenistan and representatives of national ministries and departments.

The conference started with welcoming remarks, followed by the first session in the hall. During this session, the young SDG Ambassadors presented the results of previous conferences, sharing their experience and achievements, suggestions for improving the environmental situation.

In the second session, all participants were divided into working groups, where experts and facilitators explained to the participants the objectives and expected results of the meeting. Then important topics such as the implementation of innovative technologies in Arkadag City, the impact of transportation infrastructure on climate change and sustainable development technologies in the transportation sector, innovative engineering solutions to reduce carbon footprint were discussed.

At the end of the second session, each working group prepared their proposals for solving the tasks, which will be combined into a preliminary version of the Turkmenistan Youth Statement.

In the final session, the leaders of each working group presented the results of their work and proposals for inclusion of the discussed actions in the Roadmap of the Turkmenistan Youth Statement.

The conference was an important step towards involving Turkmen youth in addressing climate change and developing sustainable solutions for the future of the country.