DUSHANBE, November 3, 2014, Asia-Plus – The deputy head of the Committee for Youth, Sports and Tourism Affairs under the Government of Tajikistan, Qiyomiddin Miraliyev, represented Tajikistan at the First Global Forum on Youth Policies that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan from October 28 to October 30.

An official source at the Committee for Youth, Sports and Tourism Affairs says some 700 experts in youth policies participated in the forum.

The United Nations notes that in 2014, of 198 countries, 122 countries (62%) have a national youth policy, up from 99 (50%) in the previous year.  These numbers reportedly show that governments are increasingly aware of the need for legal and policy frameworks that respond adequately to young peoples’ needs, aspirations and demands.

The First Global Forum on Youth Policies was co-convened by the Office of the United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, UNDP, UNESCO and the Council of Europe.   

The 2014 Global Forum on Youth Policies is the first of its kind and it reportedly brought together policymakers, civil society organizations, experts, academia, youth advocates, parliamentarians and UN agencies.  The Forum provided those present with a multi-‐stakeholder opportunity to assess the state of youth policy, in particular 20years after the adoption of the World Program of Action for Youth (1995).