Sustainable Development Goals Youth Ambassadors in the Kyrgyz Republic 2020-2021

Stage 1: Sustainable Development Goals Academy

Information on how to apply

Sustainable Development Goals

On the 25th September 2015 193 United Nations member states have adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - a universal and integrated plan for the world’s development for the coming years. All countries agreed to have a common set of directions for development and do everything possible to achieve social equity, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability for all. The 2030 Agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to multiple issues such as poverty, hunger, health, climate change, natural resources, economy, peace, justice, gender issues and many others. The implementation of the Agenda by 2030 will depend on successful efforts and cooperation between various stakeholders, including governments, civil society, private sector, academia, youth, women and children, indigenous populations and many others.

The SDGs include 169 targets, one third of which are related to youth. Youth is one of the key stakeholder groups acknowledged globally for implementation of the SDGs and possesses a huge potential for action for achieving the SDGs.

Five years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda the general awareness about the SDGs in the Kyrgyz Republic remains very low. The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic demonstrated its commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, created national SDG coordination mechanisms and submitted its first Voluntary National Review in summer 2020. However, the process of conducting this review has demonstrated once again that the engagement of youth into SDGs-related processes needs to be improved and more effort needs to be made in raising awareness about the SDGs among different population groups, especially youth that constitutes 28% of the country’s population and has a big potential in accelerating the achievement of sustainable development in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Sustainable Development Goals Youth Ambassadors Programme

In summer 2019 the United Nations System in the Kyrgyz Republic and the State Agency for Youth, Physical Culture and Sports (SAYPCS) launched a new programme for youth activists on informing the population of the Kyrgyz Republic on the SDGs and mobilising youth action for achieving the SDGs on local, national and international levels. 34 young activists from different regions of the country became the first group of SDG Youth Ambassadors. During 10 months of their activism they have conducted 173 events reaching almost 13 000 people increasing their knowledge of the SDGs and promoting the idea that everyone can make a contribution to sustainable development.

In October 2020 the UN System and SAYPCS are launching the new intake of participants. This time the Programme will be split into two stages. The first stage - SDG Academy - will gather 20 participants over 4 months for in-depth study of the SDGs and training different skills via several educational events. During the second stage the 5 best out of 20 participants will become SDG Youth Ambassadors and will be promoting the SDGs during 6 months; each Ambassador will represent one of the five dimensions of sustainable development (planet, people, prosperity, peace, partnership).

Participation in this Programme gives young activists an opportunity to expand their knowledge and strengthen competencies and skills needed to promote the sustainable development agenda. Within the first stage participants will be able to build capacity in promoting youth participation in achieving the SDGs through a special education programme by the UN System, SAYPCS and partners. Participants selected for the second stage will have an opportunity to conduct their own initiatives in promoting the SDGs, get mentors’ support from the UN System and take part in national and international events on the SDGs, representing the voices of youth of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The Ambassadors will be acting on a voluntary basis and will get support from the UN System in the Kyrgyz Republic and SAYPCS, including by training, mentoring as well as an opportunity to take part in various events. The Programme goals are:

raise awareness on the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs among the population of the Kyrgyz Republic, especially youth;
empower youth SDG activists in the country;
strengthen platforms for engaging opinions between youth and national stakeholders responsible for coordinating SDG action in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The responsibilities of the SDG Youth Ambassadors during the second stage of the Programme will include the following:

Actively promote the SDGs and the overall 2030 Agenda among peers, at local and national level in the Kyrgyz Republic and mobilise youth of the country for SDG action, including by:
- preparing and disseminating information to increase awareness about the SDGs among various stakeholder groups;
- Conducting presentations, trainings and other events on the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda in different institutions;
- Spreading information on recent events (such as publications, reports, conferences and other updates), taking place at national and global levels and related to the SDGs, via various communication channels.
Take part in and support national, regional and international events related to the SDGs and other events of national stakeholders, the UN System, governmental and non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders;
Take part in regular coordination meetings and other events of the SDG Youth Ambassadors Programme;
Document and consolidate own experience, best practices, cases and success stories, collected during own activity as SDG Youth Ambassador, in written /graphic/video formats;
Make effort to mobilise resources for implementation of own initiatives and projects as SDG Youth Ambassadors;
Support and promote the values and principles of the UN.

Requirements for SDG Academy applicants

The eligibility criteria for participation in the first stage of the SDG Youth Ambassadors Programme are:

age 18 to 28;
citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic;
completed basic general education (9 grades of school);
written and spoken Russian and/or Kyrgyz skills.

Overall requirements for candidates are:

at least 2 years of experience in activism / volunteerism / work on advocacy / promotion / improvement of youth-related issues at any level and/or leadership experience;
knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals;
basic knowledge about sustainable development issues in the Kyrgyz Republic at national and local levels;
understanding of problems and opportunities of youth in the Kyrgyz Republic;
excellent communication and publications skills;
PC skills and skills in using online communication tools (e.g. Zoom, Skype and other)
experience in teamwork;
Adherence to values and principles of the UN.

The following will be advantages:

Experience in promotion in social media;
Knowledge of the basic principles of youth participation and youth policy of the UN;
Good English language skills.

The applicants should take into account that participation in the Programme will require quality engagement and should be ready to allocate enough time for successful participation in the programme (at least several hours per week) during the first stage and (in case selected further) during the second stage (from November 2020 until August 2021). The applicants should not be officially affiliated with political parties. The Programme participants from 2019-2020 are not eligible to apply.

How to apply for the first stage (SDG Academy)?

The applications for the first stage of the Programme are accepted until 8 November 2020 via an online form via the links:

in Russian: https://forms.gle/7TkZ1kJ9vdyvJnRk8
in Kyrgyz: https://forms.gle/sH9DQWotDjxGW6KNA

The application form consists of several parts:

General information
Experience and skills
Education
Questions on the SDGs (test for checking SDGs knowledge)
Participation in the SDG Academy (selection of the preferred theme)
(!) Video-presentation: in addition to the online form, applicants must 1 one video file with responses to the following 2 questions: Why you have to become the SDG Youth Ambassador? How to achieve Sustainable Development Goal X in the Kyrgyz Republic (choose one of the 17 SDGs and offer your solutions)? The video has to be sent to Aisuluu Gazieva (UNFPA) via WhatsApp to +996 773 062 770 also indicating name, last name and birth date.

How will the SDG Academy participants be selected?

Selection of the 20 participants of the SDG Academy will be conducted in two stages:

All online applications will be checked for eligibility. Eligible applications (including filled in online forms together with videos) will be ranked according to relevance to the overall requirements.
Candidates with the most relevance to overall requirements will be invited for an online interview with a selection committee consisting of representatives of the UN System and SAYPCS.

During the selection of participants the following will also be taken into account: gender balance, geographic balance, as well as such criteria as belonging to vulnerable groups, diversity in age, experience, professional background.

Contact information: Tynchtykbek Bakytov, SDG Youth Ambassadors Coordinator, t.bakytov@gmail.com, +996 557 409 647.