Astana hosted the International Volunteer Forum, which brought together about 400 participants from more than 30 countries. The purpose of the Forum was to strengthen cooperation among volunteer organizations from different states and increase the importance of volunteering in achieving global development goals.
Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Ambassador Kairat Sarybay, speaking at the opening ceremony of the Forum, stressed the importance of the initiative of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to hold a Rally of Volunteer Movement Leaders in Astana in 2024 under the auspices of the CICA Youth Council, announced at the Sixth Summit of the Organization in October 2022 in Astana. Kairat Sarybay said that 28 CICA Member States host numerous volunteer organizations, associations and movements that work in close coordination, which reaffirms the significance of strengthening multilateral cooperation in the social, cultural and humanitarian spheres, as well as promoting inter-civilizational dialogue and people-to-people contacts.
The Secretary General also took part in the plenary session attended by President of Kazakhstan Tokayev, heads and representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations.
The President of Kazakhstan extended appreciation to those who devote their lives to helping others, especially at the international level and called them the elite of humanity, stating that they as true ambassadors of peace and kindness make a huge contribution to building an inter-civilizational dialogue. “Today we are committed to supporting the volunteer movement. We will also strengthen our cooperation with international volunteer organizations,” said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
In his message to the Forum participants, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed gratitude to the millions of people around the world who devote their time and energy to helping those in need, and appealed to governments everywhere to support and recognize volunteering as a vital tool for empowering communities and building social cohesion. António Guterres also added that volunteering is key to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring that no one is left behind.
As part of the Volunteer Forum, the CICA Secretariat, in cooperation with the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, held a working session in a hybrid format on “Prospects for the development of volunteering in the CICA countries” attended by about 60 representatives from 15 Member States of the Organization. CICA Deputy Secretary General Ms Chi Fang and Vice-Minister of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr Daniyar Kadirov delivered welcoming remarks at the meeting.
The CICA Deputy Secretary General noted that at the Sixth CICA Summit, Kazakhstan as the Organization’s Chair had emphasized the importance of the CICA human dimension and the commitment to conserving and developing human resources. Ms Chi Fang also underlined that the meeting is one of the preparatory stages for implementing the Kazakh President's initiative to hold the Rally of the Volunteer Movement Leaders of the CICA Countries.
Daniyar Kadirov, in turn, said that the main purpose of the event is to establish close ties among the Member States in volunteering, exchange information and experiences, and jointly address challenges faced by volunteers at the global level.
The meeting reviewed the current state of volunteering in the Asian region, interaction between national youth organizations and associations of CICA Member States, and discussed providing necessary assistance to the regional population.
Furthermore, participants exchanged views on the draft statement of the ministers of foreign affairs of the CICA Member States on promoting volunteerism for sustainable development. Additionally, representatives from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Iran, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan shared their experiences in fostering volunteering, as well as information on existing volunteering initiatives in their countries.
Photos: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/m8tvua7JgbJcAw
