From 17 to 18 May, the Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) hosted the first Model United Nations (MUN) Conference of the season with support from the UN Office (UNO) Tashkent. 

The opening ceremony was attended by Stefan Priesner, the UN Resident Coordinator, Abdumalik Djumanov, the Rector of WIUT and Abdudjabbor Abduvahitov, the Rector of the President’s Academy who later delivered a special lecture on the issue of disarmament in the global agenda. 

The delegates of the first MUN consisted of the students from WIUT, University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Management Development Institute of Singapore in Tashkent, Tashkent Islamic University, Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research and the American University in Central Asia.

After many years, the conference was held with an innovative eye on its methodology: sessions of two General Assembly Committees took place simultaneously with two separate issues on the table.

Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee debated the topic of “Ensuring the future prosperity for youth: focusing on youth unemployment”, while the delegates of the International Security Committee held heated discussions on “Fostering international peace and security: disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation”. 

The first MUN concluded with a certificate-awarding ceremony to all the delegates, while the most active participants landed special prizes from the UN Information Office and the WIUT for their outstanding work in such nominations as “The Best Position Paper”, “The Best Delegate and the Best Contribution” and “The Best Speaker”. 

The UN Information Centre (UNIC) Tokyo has been conducting local guided tours for many years. Interested junior and senior high school students from throughout Japan participate in a one-hour programme, where UNIC interns guide them around the facilities inside the UN University (UNU) premises including, the Library, Conference Hall and UNIC Tokyo office.  

The well-trained interns brief the students on UNIC Tokyo activities as well as on the UN and its work. The briefing also covers the Secretary-General’s five-year plan and priority themes.  

“Today I realized that there are various problems around the world, and that the United Nations has been working to solve them”, “Today’s guided tour further deepened my interest in the United Nations.  Now I would like to learn more about the Organization and its activities” are a couple of junior high school students' comments.  From Yamagata Prefecture, the south-west corner of Japan’s Tohoku region, the pupils participated in UNIC Tokyo’s guided tour at the UNU Headquarters Building on a sunny afternoon in mid-May.  

Current UNIC intern Yuki Ishizuka briefed the students from Yamagata.  Ms. Ishizuka is actually a teacher on sabbatical from a local junior high school in the same Prefecture as the students.  “I hope that I can go back to Yamagata prefecture in a few years after obtaining my Master’s Degree in Tokyo” she shared. She hopes to bring back the experience acquired at UNIC Tokyo to enlighten “my students about the global issues faced by the United Nations” Ms. Ishizuka said with excitement after sending off the group.  

On 14 May, the first meeting of “UN 4 You(th) - You(th) 4 UN” initiative was held at UNO Yerevan and “SERUND(Generation) Pan-Armenian Youth Center”.

The aim of the initiative is to give an opportunity to youth organizations to learn about the UN activities and objectives globally and the work of UNO Yerevan. UNO staff in addition, also educated the youth about the Millennium Development Goals in reference to Armenia.

The event was attended by members of the UN Communication Group (UNCG) and relevant staff from the following agencies UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Children\'s Fund (UNICEF), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN Department of Public Information (UNDPI) and UN  Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), while representatives from the following youth organizations were present: “SERUND(Generation) Pan-Armenian Youth Center”, YOUTH, School for Young Leaders, Youth for Future, Wide Opportunities, Youth Government of Armenia, Society Without Violence, WE Center for Young Innovators, Generation of Hayk, WostAYN (Armenian Youth Network) and others – overall 24 NGOs.

The meeting was very productive in terms of both the content and youth participation. During the discussion, the representatives from the youth organizations found common interest, which formed a platform for further cooperation with different agencies of the UN Country Team. Publications from UN agencies were also available for participants which gave first-hand information about the specifics of each UN Country Team member.

“UN 4 You(th) - You(th) 4 UN” initiative received a positive response and several meeting several agreements were reached to ensure further co-operation on a strong foundation.

Find more photos from the meeting here.

The UN Office Tashkent continues to keep everyone in the loop on the week's UN activities in Uzbekistan... see for yourself! 

In its eleventh episode, UNews shared knowledge on how the youth television complex Bunyodkor, in cooperation with the National Association of Electronic Mass Media, is preparing to launch a unique media project. A new training center will provide online instructions and information sharing with leading international media experts.

The new interactive platform training center for youth has become the place where people from all regions of the country can chat online with the world's media. The studio is fully equipped to conduct workshops, webinars and space bridges with international and regional stations. UNO interviewed Polina Komleva, Press Secretary of the National Association of Electronic Mass-Media in Uzbekistan, about the significance of the new breath of media.

For its part, UNDP continues to promote good democratic governance based on legal judicial reforms through its “Civil Justice Refom Project: Effective Court management”. Through its project “Supporting Uzbekistan in Transition to a Low-Emission Development Path” UNDP presents to students, from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy and Westminster International University in Tashkent, an electronic course on international climate negotiations. The e-course was organized with modern IT and teaching technologies to ensure better understanding of the negotiation process. The head of this Project Liliya Zavyalova spoke about the first module and plans for the future.

The Development Programme is also focusing on employment policy and planning, social legislation and administration, the advancement of women and supporting socially-vulnerable groups as part of a UNDP Inclusive Employment and Social Partnership Project. The crucial role of civil society organizations in policy formulation and in providing support and employment for vulnerable people has not been fully recognized or used. In this regard, UNDP and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population launched a complex project “Inclusive employment and social partnership”. Listen online to learn how the Project aims to assist vulnerable groups that are victims of trafficking, domestic violence, women from poor households, single mothers and persons with disabilities.