The Youth Research Center held a meeting of the JastarX dialogue platform at the K. Baiseitova Kazakh National University of Arts. The main topic of discussion was “Constitutional Reform in Kazakhstan: New Opportunities for Youth Participation.”
Experts in politics, law, and social development spoke. They briefed participants on key aspects of parliamentary reform and discussed the changing role of youth in government processes.
Opening the dialogue platform, Gulishan Nakhbayeva, Director of the Youth Research Center and moderator of the meeting, said: “The main task of the Constitutional Commission, established by the Decree of the Head of State, is to develop proposals for the further development of constitutional reform aimed at strengthening the parliamentary system, increasing the accountability of state institutions, and expanding the opportunities for citizens, including youth, to participate in decision-making processes. In this context, discussing the role of youth as active participants, rather than passive observers of ongoing changes, is particularly important.” Speakers included Sherzod Pulatov, Chairman of the Republican Ethnomediation Council of the Assembly of People’s Assembly (APK) and the Uzbek Ethnocultural Center of Astana, member of the National Kurultai under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Jamaladen Ibragimov, Professor of the Department of Constitutional and Civil Law at the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Doctor of Law; Zhaksylyk Sabitov, Director of the Scientific Institute for the Study of the Ulus of Jochi of the Kazakh National University of Higher Education, PhD, historian; Elmira Otar, Associate Professor at the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, PhD, sociologist and analyst, and co-chair of the Young Scientists’ Club of the NEC of the Assembly of People’s Assembly of People’s Assembly of the Republic of Kazakhstan; and Laura Sansyzbayeva, Political Scientist, Expert of the Analysis and Communications Department at the Youth Research Center.
It is worth noting that, in 2023, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Youth Research Center launched a new expert platform, JastarX, for a free and open dialogue on current issues of concern to society and young people.
The goal of the expert platform is to strengthen ties between government agencies, the expert community, and young people, to facilitate effective decision-making on pressing social issues, taking into account the views of young people, and to increase civic engagement and active participation of young people in public life.
