Media Advisory: Kazakhstan to chair the Dialogue of Women of Central Asia 2023 under the theme “Role of Women in Innovation and Technology Development”

Date: Friday, 16 June 2023

On June 19, 2023, Astana will host the official opening of Kazakhstan's 2023 Chairmanship of the Dialogue of Women of Central Asia.

The Dialogue, supported by the United Nations, will bring 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 will include 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.

About the Dialogue of Women of Central Asia

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). Officially launched in December 2020, the Dialogue was chaired by Uzbekistan in 2021 and Turkmenistan in 2022.

About Techno Women Central Asia

"Techno Women Central Asia” brings together women in information technology (IT) and digital technology. The Techno Women Central Asia aims to increase the number of girls and women working in science and technology. The organization was part of Kazakhstan’s delegation at the sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67).

Central Asia: Acting Together

With the support of UN Women, a number of joint initiatives are underway in Central Asia to promote gender equality and women's empowerment:

“Act for Equal”: A regional community and virtual knowledge platform launched to share best practices on gender equality and the prevention of violence against women and girls in Central Asia, supported by UN Women Kazakhstan. The community hosts comprehensive discussions with the participation of representatives of various government agencies, parliamentarians, experts, and civil society from Central Asia and Afghanistan. Since 2021, the regional community of practice convened stakeholders, experts and activists to share their experience in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, as well as the women, peace and security, women’s human rights and gender equality agendas in Central Asia. Thanks to the platform, over 1000 partners have strengthened cooperation and exchanged knowledge and skills.

HeForShe: An international solidarity movement for gender equality, founded by UN Women in New York (USA) in 2014. Active in Central Asia since 2022, the initiative aims to actively engage men and boys in addressing the discrimination and violence faced by women and girls. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are currently official allies of the movement, with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the process of registering allies.

HeForShe advocates in Kazakhstan:

Actor and producer Yerden Telemissov
Blogger Gleb Ponomarev
Media expert Madi Mambetov
Director Rinat Balgabayev
Influencer Timur Balymbetov

HeForShe advocates in Kyrgyzstan:

The Central Asian Alliance to End Gender-Based Violence: To be launched on June 27th in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the Central Asian Alliance to End Gender-Based Violence catalyzes global commitments, the Spotlight Initiative Regional Programme, and other national and regional initiatives to combat gender-based violence, inspired by the Generation Equality Forum and commitments made by member states and civil society organizations from Central Asian countries. The Alliance has received support from all five countries of Central Asia.

For additional information, please contact Dinara Kussain, UN Women Communications and Advocacy Analyst in Kazakhstan, at + 7 701 816 77 06 or dinara.kussain@unwomen.org.