Chaired by Kazakhstan, the first meeting of the Dialogue of Women of Central Asia 2023 took place in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, yesterday under the theme “Role of Women in Innovation and Technology Development”
Kazakh media reports say that supported by the United Nations, the event brought together the members of the National Commission for Women Affairs, Family and Demographic Policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, speakers of the Houses of Parliament of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, parliamentarians from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, heads of state bodies, as well as representatives of civil society and international organizations and the diplomatic corps.
The Dialogue included a special thematic session on "Role of Women in Innovation and Technology Development” organized by the National Commission for Women Affairs, Family and Demographic Policy under the President of Kazakhstan.
Jitv.kz says participants noted that it is important to support and increase the participation of girls and women in the field of science and innovation. New technologies, above all, should also promote gender equality.
“While at home, a woman can have access to information technology and pursue activities such as her professional or business endeavors. Therefore, it is very important to ensure women have legislatively guaranteed access to high-quality information technology and quality information,” said Aigul Kuspan, member of the Mazhilis, the Lower House of the Kazakh Parliament.
“Today, we are attending a highly important event focused on empowering our girls and women economically through the development of information and communication technologies. We are currently involving them in IT technologies and expanding STEAM programs. I would like to say that Uzbekistan is implementing a very large-scale program in this regard, with the support of the leadership of our country, and we would be happy to share our experiences with other countries,” Gulnora Marufova, member of the Senate of Uzbekistan’s Oliy Majlis, said.
Experts reportedly addressed other topical issues as well, including the role of women in strengthening peace and security, as well as regional cooperation in ensuring women’s rights and interests, and enhancing their role in public and state affairs.
Ms. Niloufar Murdova, Director of the American Space Dushanbe, also participated in the event. She reportedly presented the iCode project in the “Education” block.
The Dialogue of Women of Central Asia is an informal platform for discussing topical development issues and strengthening cooperation between women parliamentarians in the region, supported by the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).
The Dialogue aims at realizing the creative and peacemaking potential of women to support efforts on strengthening peace, prosperity and sustainable development in the Central Asian countries and all over the world. Officially launched in December 2020, the Dialogue was chaired by Uzbekistan in 2021 and Turkmenistan in 2022.
