Tariq Saeedi and Elvira Kadyrova
The young SDG Ambassadors, a joint initiative of the UN RCO and the government of Turkmenistan is hugely successful by all counts.
To understand the nature of this initiative, here is an Instagram post by the UN in Turkmenistan:
Young SDG Ambassadors to advocate for Agenda 2030 in Turkmenistan
To unleash the potential of Turkmen youth, the United Nations country team, the National SDG Center, the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan called on the young people to present ideas on how they can contribute to raising awareness on SDGs at the national level.
In the last 4 years about 100 enthusiasts participated in the contest, they came from all the regions of Turkmenistan to serve as Ambassadors for the Sustainable Development Goals. There is now a 3 cohort of 18 members that recently were selected and already onboard.
Young SDG ambassadors – are socially active people, leaders of their local communities. Each of them is going to advocate for one Global Goal among their peers for one-year period, disseminate the information on sustainable development among youth, develop a platform for the collaboration at the national and regional levels to build new partnerships for SDGs.
Today SDG Ambassadors are invited to high level events conducted by national and international organizations in Turkmenistan where they present their vision and advocate for sustainable development where “no one is left behind”.
Such initiative takes place in Turkmenistan for the first time. Connecting the youth to the implementation of the national programs initiated by the Government of Turkmenistan is coherently linked to the implementation of the Agenda 2030.
In July 2019, Turkmenistan presented its first National Voluntary Review to the High-Level Political Forum to be held in the UN Headquarters in New-York, one of the SDG Ambassadors joined the delegation of Turkmenistan. — Instagram @sdg_ambassadors_tm
Here are the requirements for the aspiring SDG ambassadors:
– Age 18-30 years old;
– Citizen of Turkmenistan;
– A youth leader who contributes to the achievement of one SDG at the local and/or national level through his unique public initiatives;
– Russian and/or English language proficiency (possession of other official UN languages – advantage);
– Skills of public leadership, public speaking, blogging;
– Global thinking and desire to act in the interests of all mankind;
– Commitment to the principles and values of the sustainable development.
The fourth group (called Cohort in official parlance) of SDG ambassadors will soon start their tenure.
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The mechanism of youth SDG ambassadors of Turkmenistan is where potential meets opportunities.
It is an undeniable fact that every young person is full of potential. It is also true that the institution of SDG ambassadors is designed to offer unrestrained opportunities for every aspect of the potential to unfold in a nurturing environment. — We are making this statement as professional journalists and independent observers.
The UN system and the government of Turkmenistan have both acknowledged the role of the SDG ambassadors in the promotion of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). We fully agree with them.
What we want to underline in this commentary is a single point: the role of SDG ambassadors as the source of positive peer pressure to their audience and followers.
The peer pressure is generally seen as a negative phenomenon, and rightly so.
The smartphone is an inseparable companion of every young person. People spend a considerable part of their waking hours on the phone and the net. It is the gateway to all the worlds that exist out there; good, bad, ugly, and vile.
Here are two of the mildest examples of what they come across when surfing the net:
- There are people feeding lemon slices to their little babies and cracking eggs on the foreheads of their toddlers. For some it could be funny but in the realm of decency, it is not.
- There are countless short clips of people disrespecting the strangers in the name of ‘prank.’ This is not only in bad taste but it also tears across the warp and weft of the society.
Actually, the idea of ‘prank’ took the wrong turn quite a while ago. What started as mildly funny larks has evolved into cruel and heartless tricks on the strangers. The urge to cause pain to the strangers and humiliate them feeds on itself. It is a vicious and culminates in knife attacks on the streets.
There are countless ‘challenges.’ Some of those challenges such as taking selfie from a precarious and outright dangerous position have already claimed many lives.
It is the natural desire of every young person to belong to a larger group. In a lot of cases, the price of getting accepted into a group is to yield to pressure and do things that they would not do on their own.
There is also the matter of instant gratification, served by ‘likes’ and thumbs-up.
The algorithm of most of the social platforms is such that it jacks these things up to the status of ‘trending.’ Once it has reached the status of trending, the committers of these things keep doing more of the same in a stronger manner, to retain the status of trending for as long as possible.
All of this – and much more – is what is called the ‘negative peer pressure.’
The SDG ambassadors of Turkmenistan have emerged as an antidote to this negative peer pressure.
Most of the SDG ambassadors have their own social media communities where their followers look up to them to learn as to what is chic, what is trendy, what is the thing to do. This is a kind of peer-mentor relationship.
On collaborative platforms including the events organized by the UN system, the SDG ambassadors keep the audience engaged with their charm and their enhanced sense of balance.
They are where the young people go in search of companionship – the Internet. — They are a strong bulwark against the negative peer pressure.
The institution of the SDG ambassadors has brought together the potential and the opportunities.
The young SDG ambassadors of Turkmenistan are the generators of the ‘positive peer pressure.’ /// nCa, 23 February 2024 [photo credit – UN Turkmenistan]