As part of CRSS’ Pakistan-Afghanistan Track 1.5/II initiative “Beyond Boundaries” – an ongoing cross-border series of high-level dialogues and meetings since October 2015 – CRSS and its Afghan partner OESP held a Pak-Afghan Youth Leaders Summit on Saturday, November 23, 2019, at Islamabad, on “Connecting Youth Beyond Boundaries for a Better Tomorrow.”
A 21-member visiting delegation of young Afghan professionals from 11 provinces of Afghanistan and 24 youth leaders from all four provinces of Pakistan, belonging to various fields of expertise participated in the summit – creating an inclusive and representative platform. In addition, 4 Afghan youth leaders based in Islamabad were also selected and made part of the Afghan group. In total, 49 youth leaders participated from both countries, including 23 female leaders and 26 male leaders.
The chief guest and keynote speaker was Special Adviser to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Mr. Usman Dar. While the chairpersons for the three sessions were Ms. Mehnaz Akber Aziz (MNA and Development Professional), Mr. Rehman Azhar (Senior Journalist and Anchorperson) and Ms. Ammara Durrani (Public Policy, Human Security and Sustainable Development Expert).
Six nominated youth leaders each from Pakistan and Afghanistan spoke on the themes of 1) Role of Young Leaders in Bridging the Gap between the Two Nations; 2) Building on Commonalities & Fusion Art Culture & Media. Leaders from both the countries were split into four groups for the 3rd session for Brainstorming on the themes of: Education and Vocational Training; Trade, Economic Opportunities and Jobs; Media and Creative Arts; and Mainstreaming Gender, Refugees, Minorities and Environment, to come up with five Recommendations from each group.
After a very inclusive, positive, and interactive discussions by the speakers and chairs followed by Question & Answer sessions during the three sessions, the youth leaders of both countries from the four groups unanimously drafted the following joint policy recommendations on the four themes:
Education and Vocational Training
- Reallocation of the budget.
- Plugging the divide between academia and the job market.
- Syllabi revision and improvement.
- Census data on learning outcome on all children.
- Faculty capacity building framework.
Trade, Economic Opportunities and Jobs
- Both states should create trade facilitation centers.
- APTTA clauses of 2010 should be reviewed and amended.
- Free movement of the Afghan products and traders through Pakistan to China and India, and Pakistani products should have access to Central Asia and Europe.
- Afghanistan being a war-ravaged state, Pakistan, as a goodwill gesture, should give tax free provision to Afghan products for a maximum of five years.
- Afghanistan should accept Pakistan’s offer to join CPEC.
Media and Creative Arts
- Two grand events (one each in both capitals) per year preceded by one month of art residencies, workshops, and exhibitions.
- Joint working groups supervised by Ministry of Culture and Art to ensure sustainability of programs.
- Airing of Afghan dramas and movies in Pakistan and vice versa.
- Training programs for young journalists on countering fake news, media ethics and professionalism. – Academic inculcation of neighboring cultures.
- Jointly managed WebTV that will have programs from both sides.
Mainstreaming Gender, Refugees, Minorities and Environment
- Meaningful inclusion of young women in all policy-making processes.
- Bringing minority voices to youth platforms.
- Promotion of environment/climate change issues through exchange programs and symbolic work (e.g., tree plantation).
- Both countries should develop collaborative work, such as awareness programs, trainings on gender, minorities, refugees and environment.
- Implementation of refugees policy – allowed access to education, good livelihood.